International Activity “Environmental Consequences of War: Monitoring and Overcoming”, that will take place from  26th – 30th of August 2025 in Western Ukraine*.

(Please note that the arrival date for the participants is 25th of August and departure date is 31th of August. For Prep-Team is 23th of August)

The event is supported by the European Youth Foundation of Council of Europe as the part of Special call for help young people in Ukraine.

With this activity, we aim to empower and mobilize 25 young people for cross-border cooperation in spreading the awareness of the environmental consequences of Russian aggression on Ukraine, and its cross-border effects on youth, democracy and human rights by providing them with space, theoretical knowledge and skills necessary to advocate for their rights related to the environment on the local, national and European level. The Objectives of this activity are:

1. Enhancing the understanding of 25 young people about the environmental consequences of war in Ukraine, the environmental protection during the times of war, and its connections with the energy sector, democracy and human rights.

2. Providing 25 young people with the knowledge and skills related to campaigning and awareness raising of the Russian aggression of Ukraine and its impact on young people and environment.

3. Providing 25 young people with the skills necessary to participate in the political process regarding environment protection, energy transition and resilience at the local, national and international levels.

4. Strengthening the cross-border and international cooperation of young people in dissemination of the knowledge about them among their peers.

*Volyn or Lviv regions. Detailed information will be provided to participants after confirmation.

• Why it is important?

  The project tackles the issue of low social awareness of environmental damage caused by Russian aggression of Ukraine and the low level of youth knowledge skills to advocate for the protection of the environment caused by war and its consequences in the whole of Europe.

  As of April 2024, over 2000 cases of potential environmental damage were recorded since the beginning of the war by the Center for Environmental Initiatives Ecoaction. Only in 2024, 35 cases of severe environmental damage were documented. Moreover, additional greenhouse gas emissions caused by warfare, reconstruction, damage to environment and infrastructure in three years of war reached 230 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, about 8% of EU-27 emissions in 2024. The environment is thus the silent victim of the war.

  Youth are most affected by environmental damage as they will bear the long-term consequences of polluted ecosystems that will threaten their health, livelihoods, and future opportunities even after achieving sustainable peace. Moreover, the problem is for youth in the whole of Europe: the environmental consequences of the war are often cross-border and need to be tackled at the European level. These are direct consequences, as pollution in the Danube and the Black Sea, to less and more indirect, as neighbouring countries withdrawing from the Ottawa convention, potentially mining the naturally valuable border areas.

  With this activity, a 5-days international seminar, the youth activists will learn to mainstream and spread the knowledge about environmental consequences of war and need to counteract them, and to participate in the political process regarding the protection and resilience of environment.

Here you can find the draft agenda for the event: