*[Enwl-eng] UWEC Work Group Issue # 21

[enwl]

UWEC Work Group Issue # 21We are continuing to analyze the environmental 
consequences of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

                              We are continuing to analyze the environmental 
consequences of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.


                                We are continuing to analyze the 
environmental consequences of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.











                                Dear Friends!

                                Today, fires caused by military operations 
are one of the main drivers of ecosystem destruction and biodiversity losses 
in Ukraine. Moreover, comprehensive impact monitoring is impossible in 
wartime, and there is no quantitative data regarding the burning of forests 
and steppes since the full-scale invasion began over two years ago. Damage 
resulting from the last decade of fires has yet to be calculated as well. 
Generally less forested, agricultural and steppe landscapes in eastern 
Ukraine are especially affected by the fighting. Burned forests in those 
areas will be more difficult to restore, and their role in mitigating 
climate change in the region will be almost impossible to replace. This 
month, Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group director Oleksiy Vasyliuk 
examines monitoring of forest fires caused by military operations:


                                a.. Flames of war: How Ukraine lost over 
1,000 square kilometers of forest


                                In conditions of the ongoing war, it is 
generally very difficult to effect environmental protection measures in 
nature reserves and national parks. Since the full-scale Russian invasion 
began, 812 protected area sites totalling roughly one million square 
kilometers have been damaged by military operations. Taken together, this 
jeopardizes achievement of the European Union’s Biodiversity Strategy, an 
important focus for Ukraine’s European integration. Expanded implementation 
of rewilding practices in wartorn areas offers one potential solution. 
Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Hubareva explores this topic:


                                a.. Ukraine’s protected areas: defended or 
degraded?

                                Despite the ongoing hostilities, nature 
continues to spontaneously recuperate. Today, there is even a special term 
for this – war-wilding. War-wilding can occur in areas affected by the 
full-scale war in Ukraine and is essentially a natural process of ecosystem 
restoration in areas abandoned by humans. That said, it is important that 
restoration contributes to the conservation of the country's biodiversity 
rather than becoming ground zero for the spread of invasive species. Despite 
the ongoing war, Ukrainian environmentalists are carrying out initiatives to 
rewild territories. Learn about how rewilding occurs and explore examples of 
rewilding in an article written by Ukrainian experts for UWEC Work Group:


                                a.. Spontaneous recovery in wartime: How 
Ukraine can become a testing ground for unique environmental projects


                                This month we focus on energy in our monthly 
review of stories related to the war’s environmental consequences in 
Ukraine. Intensified shelling of energy infrastructure in early April again 
raised the issue of how to restore Ukraine’s energy system. UWEC experts 
propose that electricity generation and the distribution grid be 
decentralized and become more energy efficient, in other words, moving away 
from large generation units such as thermal power plants, nuclear power 
plants, and hydroelectric power plants:


                                a.. Environmental consequences of the war in 
Ukraine: April 2024 review


                                UWEC Work Group experts Eugene Simonov and 
Oleksiy Vasyliuk also studied the question of decentralizing Ukraine’s 
electric industry and explore how development of renewable energy generation 
relates to conservation practices as well as the role of “green energy” in 
Ukraine’s integration with Europe:



                                a.. Distributed electricity generation in 
Ukraine: the risks and opportunities

                                You can read more of our analysis and news 
of the environmental consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on our 
website, on Twitter (X), Facebook, and Telegram.

                                We wish you strength and peace!

                                Alexej Ovchinnikov

                                Editor, UWEC Work Group


















                  UWEC · Charnali, 2 · Charnali 6400 · Georgia



                  From: UWEC Work Group
                  To: enwl at enw.net.ru
                  Sent: Monday, May 13, 2024 11:14 AM
                  Subject: UWEC Work Group Issue # 21





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