On February 11, 2022, the Ministry of Environment of Ukraine announced the beginning of the development of the state policy concept and draft law in the field of preservation and restoration of ecosystem services https://mepr.gov.ua/news/38928.html . After the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine on February 24 and the conduct of active hostilities in part of the territory of Ukraine, it is not only the destruction of industrial facilities and environmental pollution, but also the disruption of natural ecosystems, and therefore the loss of some ecosystem services.
Today, there are various approaches in the world to the definition of types of ecosystems and groups of ecosystem services, as well as to their valuation in monetary terms. All of them are difficult to implement in Ukraine primarily due to the lack of up-to-date databases and the lack of a system for monitoring the state of the environment, a number of climate indicators (for example, carbon deposition in forests) and biodiversity. Some groups of ecosystem services require various sociological studies, assumptions, and proxy assessments to be assessed.
To assess the damage caused to nature as a result of russian aggression, it is possible to apply a direct monetary assessment of lost ecosystem services based on existing financial statistics and the market. For this purpose, it is necessary to develop and test, on the example of pilot natural ecosystems (intact in Zakarpattia Oblast and disturbed in Mykolaiv Oblast), a methodology for mapping typical ecosystems (except for marine ones), determining the main services of ecosystems and their direct monetary assessment.
The NGO “Ekosphera” together with the National Ecological Center of Ukraine (NECU) already has experience in this topic within the framework of the international projects “Ecosystem approach to hydropower: promoting the implementation of European requirements for the development of hydropower in the countries of Eastern Europe” and “Ecosystem services and hydropower: pilot application of European instruments in the river basins of the Eastern Partnership countries” . The results of these projects are reflected in joint publications Ecosystem services of rivers Ukrainian Carpathians , Ecosystem services and hydropower: pilot application of European tools in the river basins of the Eastern Partnership countries.
A simple and clear method of direct assessment of the main ecosystem services will allow it to be used in the assessment of damage caused to Ukraine as a result of the war, as well as in the future to include it in a mandatory procedure when assessing the impact on the environment by enterprises during the planning of the relevant economic activity.
Territory of activity: Zakarpattia and Mykolaiv oblasts
Objective: to create prerequisites for improving the management of natural ecosystems through the development and testing of the methodology of direct monetary evaluation of the main services of typical ecosystems of Ukraine.
Target audience of the project: the public, managers in the field of natural resources, entrepreneurs, employees of state environmental control bodies, specialists.
Short-term results:
- The method of direct monetary evaluation of the main services of typical ecosystems of Ukraine has been developed and tested, presented in the methodological manual
- A discussion on approaches to the monetary valuation of ecosystem services was activated at a video conference based on the results of the project with the involvement of all stakeholders with a broadcast via FB
- An information campaign was conducted to increase the level of awareness of the public, business representatives, and government institutions regarding the essence of ecosystem services
- A promotional video about ecosystem services has been created.
Long-term results:
- The prerequisites have been created for lobbying the Ministry of the Environment for the methodology of ecosystem services assessment as a mandatory procedure for environmental impact assessment and taken into account in the development of state policy on the assessment and conservation of ecosystem services
- Public opinion has been formed regarding the importance of ecosystem services for every person and their quality of life, as well as the need to implement financial instruments for the preservation of natural ecosystems at the state level.
Partners: USAID, ICO ‘Ecology-Law-Human’, National Ecological Center of Ukraine (NECU)
