War Russia-Ukraine
(IANS)
Concerns of a Russian invasion in Ukraine have been growing for more than a year. Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two Ukrainian regions that were held by Russian-backed separatists on Monday and sent troops to them. The dramatic escalation of tensions this week could lead to war, according to world leaders.
The events have already had an impact on the world’s economy and have begun to take innocent lives. If Russia, the West, and separatist groups in Ukraine declare war, it will have severe consequences for the environment of the region and the biodiversity of the region.
Even though Ukraine occupies only 6%, it has all the resources of a small country. 35% of Africa’s biodiversity. Nature and the atmosphere are not bound by country borders! The impact of war will affect ecosystems in Russia and northern Europe if it goes beyond borders.
Ukraine after war
Representational image
(IANS)
Since the fall of umpteen year, relations between Russia and Ukraine have been strained. They have already demonstrated how war can compound environmental problems. According to the Ukrainian government, the infrastructure for wastewater treatment and trash removal was destroyed by the previous war. Even today, household and industrial waste water continue to flow into the surface waters untreated, increasing pollution and causing a rise in coliform levels in the Donetsk River.
The ministry identified 35 mines in 2016 where groundwater pumping had stopped, and the mines were flooded. Floodwaters like these can dissolve heavy metals such as mercury, lead, arsenic and contaminate the groundwater. Ostap Selmerak, Ukraine’s minister for ecology, warned in 2018 of a “possible” “second Chernobyl”!
The Chernobyl catastrophe in Ukraine left a lasting scar on the country’s environment. It happened in 1986. One-tenth the land area of Ukraine was affected by radiation. Even today, Ukraine releases polluted waters, heavy metals, organic compound, and oil-related pollution into the Black Sea.
Probable environmental consequences of war
Militarias require large areas of land or sea to establish bases, test equipment, or train their troops. These areas are often ecologically important. Any kind of war will disrupt landscapesterrestrial and marine habitatsand create chemical, air, soil and noise pollution from the use of weapons, aircraft and vehicles.
The environment is not only at risk from the use of nuclear weapons or explosives. Even though conventional weapons cause enough damage, they can also be used to inflict serious injury, especially if they are openly burned or detonated. The weapons that survive the war are more likely to end up in the wrong hands and be used for hunting or poaching wild animals.
High-intensity conflict also requires and consumes large quantities of fuel, which can lead to huge CO2 emissions and contribute to climate change.
Sometimes, areas where people are displaced may be under pressure. For example, herders moving their livestock through fragile ecosystems could cause this. Large-scale refugee movements may also cause transboundary environmental effects when neighbouring nations struggle to deal with the influx of people and basic needs.
Large-scale nuclear incidents, whether unintended or intentional, have always had transboundary and inter-related impacts. No matter what the outcome, the ecological collapse that follows a war should occur and is not in either side’s best interests.
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