Author: Editor

Fiber-optic drones have recently appeared on the frontlines of Russia’s war against Ukraine. These UAVs deploy thin optical cables that remain in forests, fields, and soil, forming large debris networks with unknown ecological impacts. The war is often described as a “drone war,” with both sides using UAVs to strike targets remotely and reduce human…

Read More “Fiber-optic drones in Ukraine: military advantage and emerging environmental risks” »

Ukraine can make nature a key pillar of national security through coordinated action by the state and society. Environmental risks must be integrated into national security strategies and treated on par with military threats. Creating multi-lateral expert teams within the National Security and Defense Councils would allow for rapid responses to environmental pollution and ecological…

Read More “How Ukraine can integrate environmental security into its national defense strategy” »

Israel demonstrates how environmental security can be integrated into national defense and diplomacy. Climate risks are treated as threat multipliers affecting water, food, migration and regional stability. Israel’s National Adaptation Plan incorporates climate risks into defense assessments and allocates significant funding for monitoring and the development of resilient infrastructure. Advanced environmental monitoring relies on satellite…

Read More “Environmental security in the Middle East: lessons from Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon” »

While the country’s eastern regions now under Russian occupation are primarily industrial areas, the southern expanse of Crimea and Kherson has historically been central to agriculture, botany and biodiversity. Although Ukraine covers less than 6% of Europe’s landmass, it is home to about 35% of the continent’s biodiversity. Many of the country’s rare and endemic…

Read More “Occupied agricultural lands and biodiversity at risk in Ukraine” »

Environmental security links clean air, safe water, fertile soils, and public health to the survival of society. Ukrainian legislation defines it as the prevention of environmental degradation and threats to human health through the actions of the state, businesses, and citizens. Russia’s full-scale invasion has raised the issue of Ukraine’s environmental security to a new…

Read More “Environmental security in Ukraine: war, ecocide, and recovery” »

Wetlands provide a variety of services: support biodiversity, regulate waterflow, and help to mitigate climatic impacts. They store carbon, recharge groundwater and reduce flood risks. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and EU environmental frameworks recognize their critical ecosystem services. The war has reshaped defense thinking in Europe. Latvia now restores peatlands as natural military barriers….

Read More “Wetlands as natural defense: how the Irpin wetlands stopped Russian tanks” »

The year 2024 became the hottest in 176 years of observations: the average near-surface air temperature on Earth for the first time exceeded the pre-industrial level (the average temperature in 1850–1900) by more than 1.5°C and reached 15.1°C. The year 2025 was slightly cooler (by 0.13°C), but it continues the negative trend of increasing greenhouse…

Read More “US exit from climate institutions amid record global warming” »