BRT Senior Researcher, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yelizaveta Chernysh participated in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) 2024 Annual Forum.
The 15th EUSBSR Annual Forum, organized in Visby, Sweden, on 30-31 October, invited participants to engage, co-create, and network to reinforce and further develop cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region and beyond. All in all, the forum attracted 650 registered participants from 20 countries.
Policy Areas Nutri, PA Bioeconomy, Hazards and Ship jointly organised a workshop about empowering sustainable rebuilding of Ukraine at the EUSBSR Annual Forum. In the opening speech Torfi Johannesson from PA Bioeconomy set the stage for a workshop focused on the sustainable rebuilding of Ukraine. He emphasized the importance of project development and networking to support Ukraine’s future. Afterwards, several Ukrainian speakers emphasized how Ukraine is active in seeking democratisation of organisations and alignment with EU regulations in the environmental field and society as a whole. The speakers also brought up several needs for further cooperation and called for new partners to projects.
Yelizaveta Chernysh addressed the severe environmental challenges Ukraine faces, both pre-war and especially currently during conflict. Pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss have all impacted ecosystems and water systems. Lack of energy has exacerbated these issues, making water purification and wastewater management difficult. Chernysh emphasized that environmental problems cross borders and affect neighbouring countries in addition to only Ukraine. Loss of ecosystem services leads to the decline of living standards, issues related to food security, energy security and biodiversity. She called for comprehensive data collection to assess the current status of these services and emphasized the importance of international cooperation to complete this goal.
On stage throughout presentations, and outside during networking opportunities, participants of the EUSBSR Annual Forum incorporated Ukraine as a talking point of many conversations. Overall, key stakeholders have sought out ways to support Ukraine and to build connections. Cooperation and support on Ukrainian soil is a priority, but the invasion also has an impact on the Baltic Sea Region, starting from energy and transport investments and questions regarding balancing foreign trade and self-sufficiency.
Furthermore, Yelizaveta Chernysh acknowledges the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-PF) with funding from the European Union under the MSCA4Ukraine framework.
Additional information from the event: HERE.
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