Two years of war in Ukraine: War in Ukraine: “Steppes were plowed up”

Mr. Tyestov, it was recently reported that oil products polluted the Nemyshlya and Lopan rivers after a drone attack on a tank farm in Kharkiv. How are the environmental consequences of such attacks monitored?

Such monitoring is currently carried out in two ways. The first way is for government environmental inspectors to visit some places and try to determine the level of pollution. Secondly, the NGOs also have their own monitoring and register for such events. One of the aspects of President Zelensky’s peace formula is punishing Russia for ecocide. The High Level Working Group on the Environmental Consequences of the War presented a working report in Ukrainian and English on February 9th. Documenting environmental impacts is a priority of our state and will continue.

Your organization has recently focused on the state of forests, particularly old and pristine forests. Even before the Russian invasion, there were some problems with illegal logging and unsustainable forestry practices. To what extent have these problems worsened?

During the war, this problem became even more urgent because some things were restricted during this time. For example, people and therefore activists were no longer allowed to enter some forests and some documentation is no longer available online. This has led to a lot of clear-cutting and other unsustainable types of deforestation. Due to the naval blockade, the European Union is the market where our wood goes. If the EU implements its regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR), it will also give us some starting points for preserving the forests in Ukraine.

Interview

PhotoDocumentalist Dmytro Demchenko

Petro Tjestow has been working in the nature conservation sector for 14 years, most of which has been in non-governmental organizations. He also worked for the Ministry of the Environment for two years. He currently works for the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG). UNCG members were involved in assessments for the designation of new nature reserves. Tjestow is co-author of the study “Biodiversity in the rear of Ukraine” published by the UNCG in November 2023.

Is more wood being used for heating than before the war because fossil fuels have to be replaced?

The volume of firewood is not that big. The oldest and most valuable forests are quite far from cities, and it is difficult to get there to extract wood. The wood for heating comes from the forests that are really close to the cities.

How large is the proportion of ecologically valuable steppes in the country’s area and what ecological significance do they have?

This is very difficult to calculate because the steppes are on the front line. Before the start of the war, as far as we know, they made up one percent of the country’s area. Quilting is very important for a variety of reasons. First, they are oases of biodiversity. One of three species found in the steppes is included in the Red List for Ukraine. However, around 40 percent of Ukraine is arable land and the steppes have been plowed up.

Does that mean the pressure on the steppes has increased because they are in the combat zone?

In the Kherson region, for example, many farmers lost their farms and land because they were mined due to the war. The farmers have to move to the north of the Kherson region and plow the land there. They are now destroying these unique steppes for agriculture.

In your study, you also mentioned some changes in the law over the past two years that make it easier to destroy certain areas and make monitoring by environmentalists more difficult. What would be examples of this?

The first very important example is that access to the land use map was blocked. Not just at the front, but also in the rear. This is serious because conservationists and activists can no longer see which areas were plowed legally or illegally and what status these areas have, for example whether they were nature reserves. That’s why we can no longer do our job properly. But the control authorities were also quite restricted in their work. Today we can no longer simply write to the authorities and ask them to go to a certain place and inspect it, or to punish people who have violated environmental laws. Because the inspectors are no longer allowed to go everywhere and check the situation on the spot. In spring 2022, a new law was passed that allows for a simplified procedure for converting natural areas into arable land. And now the government has published a new draft law that aims to make it easier to use peatlands, for example for agriculture, peat mining or other industries.

Have you been able to prevent negative changes?

Yes, we also had some success. The state forest department wanted to abolish the environmental impact assessment, which was supported by the Ministry of Environment. But we worked against it. The European Commission wrote a letter to our Parliament and thanks to this, environmental impact assessment has not been abolished. International support is therefore very important for us environmental activists.

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Has the war changed the environmental awareness of people in Ukraine?

I don’t think we have any less support from the public. Of course it is not as strong as in Western countries, but it has not fallen compared to the period before the war. There are many eco-activists and conservationists. You joined the army, and there is an opinion in our society that we must also protect nature while we fight.

What should be taken into account when rebuilding the country after the war is over?

First: We must win this war. Secondly: I think that when it comes to reconstruction we have to be guided by European practice, and one that is forward-looking. We are not allowed to build any infrastructure in valuable natural areas. The most important point is that we should not use our steppes for agriculture, but that we can use them as carbon sinks, for example, and receive climate financing for this. In this way, we can generate income through sensible measures to prevent climate change. The same applies to deforestation. We are not allowed to destroy or damage trees that are older than 110 years. This must play a role in the discussions about reconstruction. A priority should be to remove all conservation restrictions and exemptions introduced during the war. This is also stated in the report mentioned at the beginning, which is now in the President’s office.

Compared to other European countries, how would you assess the state of nature in Ukraine?

Compared to Europe, a lot of nature has been preserved in Ukraine, for example there are a large number of lynxes and wolves. Preserving nature in Ukraine should be in Europe’s interest. And that is why we hope that as a future member of the European Union we can be a leader in preserving nature. In the EU, for example, a lot of money is now being spent on restoring damaged natural ecosystems. But if we protect nature now, there will be no need to restore it. From an economic perspective, the EU must therefore have its own interest in preserving the untouched nature in Ukraine.