<p>Natural ecosystems face significant pressure from climate change, biodiversity loss, and increasing socio-economic and political stressors—all of which are exacerbated by military conflict. This paper focuses on Ukraine and examines the root causes of disturbances in the country’s forest socio-ecological systems (SES), as well as the impacts of the ongoing war, to identify recovery pathways. Using a multi-method approach, we assess factors affecting Ukraine’s forest SES and identify three key recovery pathways: (1) an economic focus through forest use for low-carbon recovery, including timber for reconstruction and small-scale energy production; (2) a “close-to-nature and close-to-people” approach, leveraging digital tools and innovations for climate-resilient recovery; and (3) anticipatory governance and socio-ecological innovation. Relying on a single pathway risks long-term vulnerability. We highlight that integrating recovery pathways creates synergies. Coordinated actions within Ukraine and from international actors are essential to enable a recovery aligned with “build back better” principles. Our findings offer valuable insights for Ukraine and other conflict-affected regions.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>

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Pathways for Ukraine’s post-war nature recovery: Focus on forest socio-ecological systems

  • Mariana Melnykovych,
  • Maria Nijnik,
  • Oleksandr Soshenskyi,
  • Sergiy Zibtsev,
  • Ganna Lobchenko,
  • Simo Sarkki,
  • Natalia Voloshyna,
  • Ihor Soloviy,
  • Pavlo Kravets,
  • Yevhenii Khan,
  • Roman Yaroshchuk,
  • William S. Keeton,
  • Christian Rosset,
  • Bernhard Pauli,
  • Claude A. Garcia,
  • Patrick O. Waeber

摘要

Natural ecosystems face significant pressure from climate change, biodiversity loss, and increasing socio-economic and political stressors—all of which are exacerbated by military conflict. This paper focuses on Ukraine and examines the root causes of disturbances in the country’s forest socio-ecological systems (SES), as well as the impacts of the ongoing war, to identify recovery pathways. Using a multi-method approach, we assess factors affecting Ukraine’s forest SES and identify three key recovery pathways: (1) an economic focus through forest use for low-carbon recovery, including timber for reconstruction and small-scale energy production; (2) a “close-to-nature and close-to-people” approach, leveraging digital tools and innovations for climate-resilient recovery; and (3) anticipatory governance and socio-ecological innovation. Relying on a single pathway risks long-term vulnerability. We highlight that integrating recovery pathways creates synergies. Coordinated actions within Ukraine and from international actors are essential to enable a recovery aligned with “build back better” principles. Our findings offer valuable insights for Ukraine and other conflict-affected regions.

Graphical abstract