Item 0c, presentation by UNEP on Assessments of the environmental damage resulting from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine during the Special session on Ukraine at the GREEN Action Task Force Annual Meeting 2023.

1. Addressing the Environmental
Consequences of the Ukraine Conflict
- UNEP’s Ongoing & Planned Work
Mahir Aliyev
Regional Coordinator
.

2. Background: UNEP – Ukraine collaboration
before the conflict
• Collaboration on UN Common Country Analysis and UN Sustainable Development
Cooperation frameworks
• Conserving, Enhancing and Managing Carbon Stocks and Biodiversity in the Chernobyl
Exclusion Zone UNEP/GEF Chernobyl project
• Supporting countries to implement the Pan-European Strategic Framework for Greening the
Economy - EU partnership
• Carpathian convention for the protection and sustainable development of the Carpathians
• Informing Policy through strengthening national, regional and global data and indicator
frameworks and integrated analysis on the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda
and the SDGs

3. Ukraine conflict: requests and UNEP’s mandate
Official request form the Government of Ukraine to UNEP to support its efforts to
monitor, assess, mitigate and remediate the environmental damage resulting
from the conflict.
Provision of such support is core to the services offered by UNEP under its
mandate, the agreed Medium-Term Strategy and Programme of Work.
Ministerial declaration invitation to UNECE, UNEP and OECD to prioritize
assessing the most urgent environmental needs in Ukraine based upon the EPR
methodology, and to make recommendations to advance a sustainable recovery
of the country. (October 2022)
Ministerial Declaration of the Carpathian Convention on the impact of war on the
environment in Ukraine and the need for cooperation and assistance (November
2022)

4. Preliminary Environmental Review of Ukraine Conflict
• Help inform a comprehensive environmental assessment of
Ukraine conflict – anticipated impacts and priority areas
• Initial snapshot of damages sustained from Feb to June 30,
2022) and the potential environmental and public health
impacts.
October 2022
Six key risks:
1: Chemicals risks in highly urbanized areas
2: Damage to fuel, associated infrastructure
3: Overwhelmed waste management systems
4: Destruction in urban centres & critical infrastructure
5: Food insecurity because of disruption to agriculture
6: Nature under threat

5.  Timeline: from 24 February 2022 – Present
 Geographic scope: national level
 Approach: broad and systematic registry of all incidents (archive system)
 Thematic areas:
 Hazardous facilities (toxic chemicals, oil fuels) – 1,000+ incidents in 600+
facilities
 Urban settlements – 30,000 incidents
 Ecosystems: forests, protected areas
 Methodology:
Industry/cities: review of mass and social media, government sources
Forests/protected areas (Global Fire Monitoring Centre/Kyiv; frontline GIS
analysis)
Remote Environmental Monitoring – Level I – initial scoping

6. Cumulative
risk 
Damage and disruptions to industry and critical infrastructure:
Damage and disruptions to settlements:
ECODOZOR –
Online information system (Feb 2022 – Present)

7. Training and capacity building
SPIEZ LABORATORY
Contaminated site assessment
training programme
1. Scientific risk-based assessment approach
2. Focus on:
i) sampling strategies and sample collection
procedures (‘weakest link’)
ii) supporting the development of
remediation action plans
3. Target audience: scientists from State
Environment Inspectorate, national
academies and institutes, civil society
organisations (~25 participants)
4. Next steps: reconnaissance site visits to
trial methodology under current Ukraine
conditions

8. Developments in Q1 of 2023
• UNEP Executive Director Visit to Kyiv (14-15 March)
• Deployment of Senior Programme Officer in Kyiv – since March
• Co-lead the Environment Chapter of the RDNA2
• Work on Ukraine presented at the HNPW in Geneva
• Meeting of the Environment Working Group for Ukraine
• Coordination with various stakeholders and donors and finalization of updated UNEP
offer

9. Priorities to be addressed
Output 1: Environmental monitoring, assessment and site investigation informs recovery and
remediation interventions
i. Remote monitoring of high-risk facilities (conventional and social media monitoring, government
sources, satellite remote sensing);
ii. Preliminary screening of sites based on category type and risk scenario review;
iii. Reconnaissance inspections in cooperation with national partners based on established protocols;
iv. Detailed site investigations (SI) including sampling and laboratory analysis; and
v. Remediation design and planning including emergency containment measures.
Output 2: Enhanced National and Regional Capacity to effectively support green recovery and
reconstruction
i. Identification of Capacity Gaps
ii. Capacity building to support effective environmental impact assessments
iii.Capacity development to meet national and international environment management obligations

10. Priorities to be addressed
Output 3: Enhanced Policy and Regulatory Framework to support effective recovery
i. Gap analysis for existing regulations to meet and support green recovery and awareness raising
ii. Drafting of appropriate laws and policies to support green recovery
iii. Mainstreaming of environmental considerations into recovery and reconstruction plans
Output 4: Remediation Action for Green Response and Recovery
i. Promotion of circular economy as part of response and recovery efforts
ii. Management and safe disposal of hazardous waste
iii. Rehabilitation and Restoration of Damaged Forestry and Protected Areas

11. Debris and Asbestos
Debris as of 17/03/2023 totalled
43434.7 tons and 164482.4 cubic
meters.
Odesa region - 1.5 tons and 868
cubic meters
Vinnytsia region - 2 tons
Donetsk region - 19277.41 cubic
meters
Dnipropetrovska oblast - 150.662
tons
Zhytomyr region - 1185 cubic
meters and 4350 tons
Ivano-Frankivsk region - 360 cubic
meters and 0.525 tons
Kyiv - 985.60 tons
Kyiv region- 99875 cubic meters
and 19315 tons
Rivne region - 51.11 tons
Sumy region - 3277.2 tons
Ternopil region - 878 tons
Kharkiv region - 15185 cubic
meters and 7980.4 tons
Kherson region - 26,000 cubic
meters and 129,496 tons
Khmelnytsky region - 39 tons
Cherkasy region - 135.77 tons
Chernivtsi region - 2600 cubic
meters and 276 tons
Chernihiv region - 5834 tons
Kirovohrad region - 29.9 tons

12. Asbestos
Ukraine consumed 1.4 million tons of
raw asbestos since 1980placing the
country as one of the highest consumer
countries in recent years.
It has been estimated that up to 60% of
roofs are in asbestos-reinforced slate 9;
75-85% is in cement production (e.g.
corrugated or flat slatespipes), 10-15%
is in technical production (e.g. brake
pads, linings, cardboard, cloth) and
<5% heat insulating materials

13. Industrial sites

14. Industrial sites – tailing dams

15. Damage to protected areas
Almost half of Ukraine’s total protected area has at some point in time been occupied; about 40% has been
within 20 km distance from the front line, indicating high potential damage (shelling, mining, munitions,
fortifications).

16. Forest Fires
Damage in the forestry sector is estimated at over US$1.5
billion, and losses are estimated at US$523 million.
The fire damage covers 183,181 ha, mostly in the oblasts
of Donetska, Kharkivska, and Luhanska.
An estimated 1.8 million ha, or 20 percent of the forest, is
now inaccessible due to mine laying

17.  Senior advisor in process of deployment with UN Resident
Coordinator Office in Kyiv (March 2023)
 UNEP is fully integrated in the UN’s strategic response to Ukraine
crisis under Transitional Framework (2022-2023)
 Co-led with World Bank the environment chapter of Ukraine Rapid
Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA2, March 2023)
 Informal inter-agency coordination group ​on environmental
assessments for Ukraine (UNECE, UNEP, OECD, WB, OSCE) -
Nicosia Declaration, the 9th Environment for Europe Ministerial
Conference, Oct. 2022
 Facilitating sectoral coordination and information exchange
through Environment Working Group (UNEP Chairing)
 Carpathian Convention and its Secretariat in Vienna
Coordination with ongoing initiatives

18. Thank you
Mahir Aliyev
Regional Coordinator
UNEP Europe Office
mahir.aliyev@un.org