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COMMUNITY CASE STUDY article

Front. Sustain. Resour. Manag.
Sec. Natural Resources
Volume 3 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsrma.2024.1423444
This article is part of the Research Topic Insights in the Management of Natural Resources View all articles

War in Ukraine: an overview of environmental impacts and consequences for human health

Provisionally accepted
Walter Leal Walter Leal 1,2Joao H. Pires Eustachio Joao H. Pires Eustachio 1Mariia Fedoruk Mariia Fedoruk 1*Tetiana Lisovska Tetiana Lisovska 1
  • 1 Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany
  • 2 Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, North West England, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This paper discusses the significant yet often neglected environmental repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the adverse effects on soil, air, water, and biodiversity. Through a comprehensive bibliometric analysis, it examined existing research on the environmental impact of wars, focusing on key dimensions such as water, air, soil, and biodiversity. The study further explores various methods as well as sustainable-oriented solutions aimed at mitigating these effects on the environment. Furthermore, it discusses the immediate and long-term challenges Ukraine faces in its recovery efforts, emphasizing the need for environmentally conscious approaches to address the many environmental problems caused by the war issues. In the end, the paper presents findings from a workshop involving 15 Ukrainian experts from three different Ukrainian universities, which aimed to understand the broader implications of environmental damages to human health. This interdisciplinary approach offers valuable insights into the intersection of environmental degradation and public health, proposing operational strategies for recovery and sustainability in post-conflict settings.

    Keywords: Environmental Impacts, Military drivers, Russian-Ukrainian war, Nature-Friendly solutions, Human health

    Received: 25 Apr 2024; Accepted: 27 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Leal, Pires Eustachio, Fedoruk and Lisovska. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mariia Fedoruk, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.