Rewilding as a strategy for post-war ecosystem recovery in Ukraine

Abstract

It has been established that the concept of rewilding is an effective, strategically sound, and economically viable tool for ecosystem restoration in Ukraine during the post-war period. The environmental impact of military operations has been assessed: as of late 2024, damages exceeded €60 billion, affecting over 20 % of fertile lands and resulting in the loss of more than 1 million hectares of forest resources. It is determined that traditional reclamation and artificial afforestation methods are often ineffective and resource-intensive under conditions of large-scale landmine contamination, toxic soil pollution, and limited financial resources. The potential of nature-based solutions has been substantiated, with rewilding ensuring self-regulating ecosystem regeneration with minimal anthropogenic intervention and the restoration of natural successional processes. The phenomenon of "war-wilding" has been characterized as the spontaneous return of wildlife in areas where economic activity ceased due to hostilities. Using the Velykyi Luh case study, it is demonstrated that following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, floodplain ecosystems and young forest communities began forming over an area of approximately 1,000 km². These ecosystems are estimated to sequester up to 120 million tons of CO₂ in the long term, partially offsetting climate-related losses. A comparison of traditional and innovative approaches shows that rewilding offers lower costs, long-term ecological benefits, and additional socio-economic advantages, including the development of ecotourism, nature-based enterprises, and carbon farming. The practical significance of these findings for shaping national environmental recovery policy is identified, involving the introduction of "rewilding territory" status, financial incentives for natural reforestation, and their integration into the national ecological network. Examples such as the Tarutynskyi Steppe, the Danube Delta, and the "Beremytske" Nature Park demonstrate that rewilding performs both ecological and socio-rehabilitative functions, contributing to the psychological recovery of veterans and internally displaced persons. It is established that a rewilding strategy enables Ukraine to transition toward resilient future ecosystems in alignment with the European Green Deal and post-war environmental transformation goals.