Pathways for Ukraine’s post-war nature recovery: Focus on forest socio-ecological systems
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.
Authors
- William S. Keeton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1208-470X)
- Yevhenii Khan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1195-7794)
- Ihor Soloviy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5885-6264)
- Ganna Lobchenko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9281-1107)
- Simo Sarkki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7790-0600)
- Christian Rosset (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6284-5135)
- Bernhard Pauli
- Maria Nijnik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0280-9543)
- Sergiy Zibtsev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0684-9024)
- Claude García (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7351-0226)
- Patrick O. Waeber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3229-0124)
- Mariana Melnykovych (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0481-2842)
- Oleksandr Soshenskyi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3028-0723)
- Pavlo Kravets (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5282-9609)
- Roman Yaroshchuk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2591-5592)
- Natalia Voloshyna
Institutions
- University of Vermont (US)
- Bern University of Applied Sciences (CH)
- James Hutton Institute (GB)
- Sumy National Agrarian University (UA)
- University of Erfurt (DE)
- Ukrainian National Forestry University (UA)
- National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (UA)
- Government of Ukraine (UA)
- Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training SFUVET (CH)
- Kyiv City Clinical Oncology Center (UA)
- Schneeberger (Switzerland) (CH)
- FORZA, Agency For Sustainable Development of The Carpathian Region (UA)
- Oldham Council (GB)
- University of Oulu (FI)
Publication Details
- Journal
- AMBIO
- Published
- 2025-10-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-025-02263-0
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Environmental and Biological Research in Conflict Zones
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.42
Funders
- UK Research and Innovation
- European Commission
- Berner Fachhochschule
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
- Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation