In Frozen Negotiations over the Donbas, Environment Is Everything
Apr 15, 2020
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Gabriella Gricius
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Despite the many issues plaguing negotiations to bring ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine to an end, one aspect that positively contributes to mutual cooperation and goodwill between Ukraine and Russia that is often overlooked is that of environmental cooperation. Both the LPR and DPR are experiencing many significant negative externalities as a result of climate change due to the conflict. These externalities are notable as they are shared problems between Ukraine, the LPR & DPR as well as Russia, including: 1) environmental pollution resulting from disruptions and incidents from large-scale factories, 2) the flooding of mines – particularly the case of Yunyi-Komunar mine where groundwater might be radioactive, 3) pollution of groundwater with iron, chlorides, sulfates, and other heavy metals, 4) disruption of water supply to civilians, 5) destruction of forests and other natural protected areas, amongst other issues.
While these issues are currently localized in the LPR and DPR, they have the potential to spread into other parts of Ukraine and possibly into Russia as well. These shared problems offer opportunities for both Kyiv and Moscow and may serve as cornerstones upon which to establish an atmosphere of mutual respect, cooperation, and goodwill. Because these issues focus primarily on areas of cooperation to resolve environmental issues — as opposed to those of statehood, special status, or other divisive subjects that are sensitive for Ukraine, Russia, and the LPR and DPR — the negotiating parties may be less truculent and more open to compromise. For example, the parties could work towards systemizing all data on environmental hazards and the situation at large in an open and transparent forum between scientists, rather than politicians. This kind of trust-building is a small step, but could help to develop a more productive parallel dialogue and cooperative atmosphere, if effective. Further, putting scientists in touch with one another on both sides of the conflict would allow for citizens to decrease their fear of ‘the other’ and see one another as people — particularly if done so in a manner that celebrated successes as joint projects between all parties. Once addressed, both sides could then move towards enabling international environmental monitoring and creating partnerships with, for example, Ukrainian scientific institutions, to mitigate some of the more salient hazards.