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Abandoned landscapes as a result of the war in Ukraine

Vortrag

Teil der Sitzung

[FS-439] Landscapes of abandonment (4/4): Post-abandoned landscapes, multiple, multifunctional landscapes

Sitzungstermin

Donnerstag (21. September 2023), 18:15–19:45

Sitzungsraum

SH 2.107

Autor*innen

Kateryna Polianska (Environment-People-Law)

Kurzbeschreibung

The study presents the formation of abandoned landscapes in the zone of military operations and in de-occupied territories in Ukraine. A typology of such abandoned landscapes is proposed, based on the results of field research. Possible variants of future states of these landscapes are considered.

Schlagwörter

abandoned landscapes, war, ruins, pollution, environment, waste from destruction

Abstract

As a result of military operations, abandoned landscapes began to form on the territory of Ukraine. Their characteristics depend on the location, proximity to the front line and places where battles are taking place, the type of contamination and the way they have been emptied.

Field and remote methods were used for this research: field trips to de-occupied territories and territories near the front line affected by shelling, communication with local residents, studying satellite imagery, social media and further sources of information available. This information was collected as part of work in an environmental organization and humanitarian work.

Abandoned landscapes of war can be divided into the following types.

Abandoned settlements due to the danger of hostilities. Local residents were forced to evacuate due to the passage of the front line through the territory of their settlements. For example, the cities of Bakhmut, Soledar, Chasiv Yar.
Abandoned settlements due to the occupation regime. Local residents were forced to leave their homes in the occupied territories and move to the controlled territory of Ukraine.
Settlements destroyed as a result of military operations. There are villages, particularly in the Donetsk region, in which up to 90% of all buildings were destroyed.
Territories contaminated with explosive objects (parts of settlements, agricultural lands, forests, steppes, rivers, lakes and their coasts). According to official information of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, 30% of the territory of Ukraine is contaminated with explosive objects. Also, this type includes territories damaged by craters from explosions. Soils in and around the craters have varying degrees of heavy metal and shrapnel contamination.
Territories contaminated with toxic substances - fuel and lubricants, oil, rocket fuel. They are unsuitable for economic activity and require special reclamation measures.

The duration of the abandonment of these landscapes depends on the duration of hostilities, the possibility of restoring the territories, the speed of their cleaning from explosive and polluting substances, the economic situation in the regions, provision of clean water, electricity and other necessary resources, infrastructure restoration, the desire of local residents to return to their destroyed homes, and also it will depend on whether the people who once lived on this land are still alive.

Ukrainian government agencies and NGOs have already begun to actively develop and discuss community recovery strategies and national reconstruction plans Defense strategies are also being developed, including the creation of a 2-kilometer zone along the border with Belarus and Russia.

What will be the future of abandoned landscapes? Will they become “red zones” as in France at the site of hostilities since the First World War, or will they be restored for previous conditions using green technologies, or will they be turned into wilderness areas?