“War is hell” usually applies to war zones, but the Ukraine-Russian war’s protracted battles can take a toll on biodiversity as far away as the United States or Brazil.
The complexities of global markets can mean a war that feels far away can still pose environmental harm. A study in Nature Sustainability examines how restricting food exports from Ukraine and Russia can spur farmers in other countries to expand their croplands to meet shifting demand, which can decimate forests or other natural habitats.
“Effective interventions should be taken to avert farmers in biodiversity hotspots such as Brazil's Cerrado, and Southeast Asia from blindly and rapidly expanding their agricultural land driven by inflated prices due to the war,” the authors said. “Informed policy can stop the rapid expansion of cropland.”
In addition to Liu, the paper “ Telecoupled impacts of Russia-Ukraine war on global cropland expansion and biodiversity ” is authored by an international team of scholars including lead author Li Chai, who received his PhD from Michigan State University and is currently a professor at China Agricultural University. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and Michigan AgBioResearch.
Nature Sustainability
Telecoupled impacts of Russia-Ukraine war on global cropland expansion and biodiversity
1-Mar-2024