Category: Highlights

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…

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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….

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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” »

A combat zone is not only ruins, but also fields riddled with explosion craters. What could be done after the war? Agricultural lands in Ukraine during the war In 2022, UWEC—an organization uniting environmental scientists and activists from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Germany, and the United States—analyzed a satellite image of an arable field near the…

Read More “How warfare destroys Ukraine’s farmland and wildlife” »

Whether the decision is made to restore destroyed cities or to build new ones, two questions will inevitably arise: what to do with the ruined cities, and how dangerous are they for the environment? Asbestos in Construction Debris In 2017, Doctor of Technical Sciences Hennadiy Drozd, a professor at Luhansk State University, studied the possibilities…

Read More “Toxic ruined cities in Ukraine: asbestos, mines, and chemical legacies” »

History does not teach people well. Tragedies are forgotten, and power-hunger and hatred take over. Then the old questions arise again. Humanity has already thought about rebuilding ruined cities. It took 10 years to rebuild Stalingrad, 21 years to rebuild Warsaw, and in Dresden, the last ruined building, the Frauenkirche, was only restored in 2005….

Read More “Ukraine’s ruined cities: rebuild or start from scratch?” »

The IUCN World Conservation Congress was held on October 9–15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi. Founded in 1948, IUCN unites over 1,400 members from more than 170 countries worldwide. Its mission includes biodiversity protection, climate action, protected areas, and global environmental policy. IUCN is also the founder of the Red List of Threatened Species. Ukrainian conservation…

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The IUCN World Conservation Congress was held on October 9–15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. As the world’s largest environmental forum, it brought together scientists, policymakers, NGOs, and business leaders. Diana Garlytska became Regional Councillor for Eastern Europe, North Asia, and Central Asia A major outcome for Ukraine was the election of Diana…

Read More “IUCN Congress 2025: Ukrainian leadership and global recognition” »

Founded in 1948, the International Union for Conservation of Nature includes over 1,400 members from more than 170 countries worldwide. Its work focuses on biodiversity protection, climate change mitigation, protected areas, and environmental governance. The IUCN is also the creator of the Red List of Threatened Species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature World…

Read More “IUCN Congress 2025: Ukraine blocks Russia’s political lobby” »

Ukraine’s participation in the IUCN-2025 World Congress was a turning point: for the first time, war was recognized as a threat to biodiversity at the global level, and Ukrainian NGOs cemented their status as influential players in international environmental policy. In October 2025, Ukrainian environmental organizations participated in the work of the International Union for…

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