INFOGRAPHICS. How the war in Ukraine also destroyed the environment and killed biodiversity

Human losses, humanitarian crisis, destroyed cities, economic shock… In two years, the war has left deep scars in Ukraine. The fighting has also caused worrying damage to one of the richest ecosystems in Europe, the extent of which remains difficult to assess, particularly in areas occupied by Russian troops.

“The air, land and water have been polluted because of the fighting”, Victoria Kireeva, Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Environmental Protection, was outraged during COP28 in Dubai in December. Ukraine made an impression by presenting its assessment of CO2 emissions linked to the conflict. “After 18 months of war, the total amount of emissions is estimated at 150 million tonnes of CO2, more than the annual emissions of a highly developed country like Belgium”she had said.

With this assessment carried out by the experts of the Initiative on GHG Accounting of War, Ukraine intends one day to obtain compensation from Moscow for “environmental crimes”. “This is the first time researchers have attempted to estimate emissions from war, as neither conflicts nor military emissions are properly taken into account in climate agreements”explains Doug Weir, director of the Conflict and Environment Observatory.

Forests going up in smoke

The Ukrainian initiative detailed the causes of these unusual CO2 emissions: a quarter is due to the war itself (artillery, bombings), 15% to fires and 12% to civil aviation forced to bypass Ukraine for security reasons. The researchers also distinguished between direct and indirect emissions. The first include the results of explosions and fires, alterations of the landscape linked to bombings and the passage of vehicles, as well as contamination by toxic residues and noise pollution. Among indirect CO2 emissions, the reconstruction of Ukraine alone generates more than a third (36%) of the emissions linked to the conflict.

“At the end of October 2023, the fires started since the start of the war covered approximately 12,000 km2”or more than 20% of forests, explains Nickolai Denisov, director of the Zoï Environnement Network association.

“Even in peacetime, there are fires. But thanks to satellite analyses, we know that three-quarters of these fires occurred within a 30 km radius of the front line.”

Nickolai Denisov, director of the Zoï Environnement Network association

at franceinfo

As shown in the infographic below, these fires are in fact largely concentrated near areas where fighting has raged since the start of the Russian invasion.

In addition to emitting enormous amounts of carbon into the air, fires started by bombings and heavy artillery affect biodiversity by killing animals and their habitats. Especially since firefighter interventions are limited. In November 2023, more than 6 000 hectares of rare plants and wetland habitats burned on the Kinburn Peninsula near Odessa, according to an international study led by conservationists and published in the journal Parks in November 2023.

“The confiscation of firefighting equipment by Russian troops has aggravated these fires”estimate the authors. Elsewhere, mines make access to fire even more dangerous. “The firefighters are trying to do it anyway, but some of them have been killed and many vehicles have been destroyed. There are also fewer vehicles because they are requisitioned by the army, so the anti- fires are very far from being at their pre-war level”details Nickolai Denisov.

Heavy metals in soils

Research also shows that war ravages the land and pollutes the water, where heavy metals found in landmines and missiles enter. “In the deoccupied territories, excessive concentrations of mercury, copper, zinc and an increase in organic and biogenic water pollution are recorded at observation points where they were not recorded at all before the war “, explains the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The Kharkiv region, for example, recorded a 200% increase in cadmium contamination, a highly carcinogenic metal. The regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia are also experiencing an increase of 139% and 156% in oil spills, according to a study published in theInternational Journal of Environmental Studies.

The contamination seeps into groundwater, which provides 25% of the drinking water used in Ukraine. “The groundwater system is very slow, so it takes a while for heavy metals to enter and be detectable”explains Nickolai Denisov. The Donbass coal basin, the hub of Ukraine’s mining industry, is constantly threatened by bombings and power cuts. To prevent unexploited underground galleries from being flooded by water contaminated with arsenic or lead, which are abundant in coal, continuous pumping is essential. However, frequent interruptions in the electricity supply disrupt this vital process, thus creating a threat of permanent pollution for groundwater, according to specialists interviewed by franceinfo.

Displaced species

In June 2023, the explosion of the Kakhovka dam, in the south of the country, also had disastrous consequences on ecosystems, to the point that the prosecutor general opened an investigation for “crime of ecocide”, not recognized by the international law to date. After the destruction of the building, 63,447 hectares of forests were flooded and hundreds of animals were killed or forced to flee, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. “This had consequences downstream by releasing an immense mass of water: many homes were flooded, and many animals were displaced or killed”explains the director of the NGO Zoï Environnement Network.

Rare species, like the ant liometopum microcephalum or the Nordmann mouse, of which 70% of the world population lived in areas that were flooded, risk disappearing locally. “Upstream of the dam, the ecosystems were used to having this reservoir nearby, so they were dependent on this water.All living organisms that were present in the pool died. There is a strong risk that they will be replaced by more resistant and destructive invasive tropical species.adds Marie-Ange Schellekens, researcher in environmental law at the University of La Rochelle and specialist in the effects of conflicts on nature.

Although Ukraine represents less than 6% of Europe’s surface area, it is crucial for migratory species and is home to 35% of its biodiversity, according to the Official Journal of the European Union (PDF). This equates to over 70,000 species, many of which are rare and endemic. “DSince February 24, 2022, 812 nature reserves covering an area of ​​0.9 million hectares have been affected by the war., explains the Ministry of the Environment. According to him, “many species” present in the Red Book which lists the plants and animals threatened in the country have disappeared. But the census can only really begin once the war is over and the nature reserves are cleared of mines.

“War destroys vegetation. It destroys the soil, it compacts it, makes it dense and kills the fauna: large animals, small animals, insects up to the largest mammals.”

Nickolai Denisov, director of the Zoï Environnement Network association

at franceinfo

More insidiously, the war is also disrupting kyiv’s environmental policy, particularly in areas disputed or occupied by Russian forces. The Ukrainian territory has eight biosphere reserves recognized by UNESCO, areas favoring the conservation of biodiversity. That of Askania-Nova, in the occupied region of Kherson, had to evacuate all its staff and it is not possible “to monitor what is happening in the reserve only thanks to satellite images”writes the working group on the environmental consequences of the war in Ukraine.

The study published in the journal Parks in November 2023 cites several examples of these protected areas now threatened by war. In the national park of Pryazovske, one of the largest nature reserves in the country, in the Zaporizhia region, the authors observed “the establishment fortifications, trenches, training grounds for heavy artillery and a shooting range. In this marine reserve, “industrial fishing extracts 4.5 to 9 tonnes of fish per day”. THE Méotide national natural park, in the Donetsk region, would have been the scene of“shooting training on large bird colonies”.

Even in the territory over which kyiv has retained control, martial law intended to support the country’s defense capabilities has put climate and environmental issues on hold. According to Marie-Ange Schellekens, “all the environmental reforms started before the war have fallen through”. Law 7144, adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament on March 15, 2022 under pressure from foresters, for example allowed the resumption of logging during the “silent period”, crucial for the reproduction of animals and the preservation of biodiversity . Enough to fuel concerns for the future. “The question will be to what extent the Ukrainian government will integrate environmental issues during reconstruction”concludes Doug Weir.