Ukrainian forests are among the ecosystems directly affected by the war. Fires, landmines, pollution, and climate change present new challenges for their recovery. How can these changes be assessed, and what should the restoration of forest ecosystems look like? These are the questions addressed by an international course that has launched at Sumy National Agrarian University.
“Module No. 1: Ukraine’s Forests Amidst the War: Monitoring and Assessing the Impact of Hostilities on Ecosystems” is being implemented as part of the “foRestore: Restoring Ukraine’s Forests – From Assessing War Impacts to Sustainable Development” project. The initiative is facilitated by the Swiss environmental network “ZOЇ,” the Regional Eastern European Fire Monitoring Center, and Sumy National Agrarian University, with support from the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation.
Participants from across Ukraine—including scientists, forestry professionals, government officials, military personnel, and members of the public—have joined the training. The course is being conducted online via Zoom webinars.
The lead instructor for the first week is Brian Milakovsky, an American ecologist, forestry researcher, and practitioner who has spent over seven years studying the forests of the Luhansk region.
On September 8, during a lecture titled “The Impact of War, Climate Change, and Land-Use History on Forest Loss in the Siverskyi Donets Basin,” participants analyzed how the region’s forest ecosystems have changed.
The war has significantly accelerated processes that were already posing risks to forests: climate change, droughts, fires, and issues associated with the widespread cultivation of pine monocultures. Using the Siverskyi Donets basin as a case study, Brian Milakovsky traced the dynamics of forest degradation—ranging from the fires of 2014–2020 to the massive blazes in the Kreminna forests following 2022. Particular attention was paid to the war’s impact on Scots pine monocultures.
The lecture was moderated by Andrii Bilous, a professor in the Department of Landscape Gardening and Forestry at SNAU. Joining the discussion were Sergiy Zibtsev, Director of the Eastern European Fire Monitoring Center, and Andrii Melnyk, Head of the Department of Landscape Gardening and Forestry at SNAU.
On September 10, during a practical session titled “Challenges of Forest Restoration in War-Contaminated Landscapes,” participants analyzed real-world cases from the de-occupied territories of the Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions.
The discussion centered on issues critical to forest restoration: the condition of damaged ecosystems, the choice of restoration scenarios, considerations regarding landmines and demining operations, existing legislative constraints, and the genetic resources available for future plantings.
Researchers and forestry practitioners actively participated in the discussion. Combining academic research with practical experience in affected areas allows for a restoration strategy grounded in concrete solutions and the actual conditions under which they must be implemented.
Post-war forest restoration is about more than just planting new trees. First and foremost, it requires understanding what has happened to the ecosystem, identifying the factors that continue to affect it, and determining which restoration scenario will ensure long-term resilience. For areas contaminated by the war, security, legal, and practical issues compound the environmental challenges. Therefore, Ukraine needs not only research into the war’s impact on forests but also specialists capable of working with the resulting data and applying it during the restoration process.
The first week of the course marked the beginning of this work. Moving forward, participants will continue to develop approaches for monitoring, assessing the war’s impact, and restoring Ukraine’s forest ecosystems.
Follow the foRestore project’s updates on SNAU’s information channels to learn about research findings, practical solutions, and the next stages of restoring Ukraine’s forests.
