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Environment and Rights Magazine
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Environment and Rights Magazine
The Environment and Rights magazine has been published by the environmetal organization Bellona since 2002.
The idea of the magazine came from scientists, lawyers, human rights activists, journalists, and environmental leaders in Russia and was published quarterly by the Environmental Rights Center Bellona in St.Petersburg until 2022. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022 Bellona suspended its work in Russia, closed its offices in St.Petersburg and Murmansk, relocated employees to Lithuania and continued its work. Publishing of the Environment and Rights magazine re-started in the end of 2022 with an issue dedicated to environmental consequences of the war in Ukraine and was published in two languages Russian and English.
Main purpose of the magazine is to promote free public access to fact- and sciencebased, independent, and timely environmental information in Russia.
The magazine gives an opportunity to local environmental activists and young journalists to write about topics of their concern with editorial help of the team. Since 2002 hundrends of journalists and activists contributed to the magazine.
Environmental Crimes
Environmental crimes encompass a wide range of offenses, including environmental disasters, industrial pollution, high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and the destruction of various species of plants and animals – this is just a partial list. These violations harm not only the environment, ecosystems, and biodiversity but
also human health and the health of the planet as a whole.
In this issue, we explore environmental crimes worldwide, the state of environmental lawsuits in Russia, international climate lawsuits, including one from Russia, and some of the most significant environmental crimes of recent years. We also examine the responses to these crimes – ranging from public outcries to judicial actions. Importantly, many reactions to major environmental violations, accidents, and disasters have not only led to changes in legislation, law enforcement, and governance practices at the state and corporate levels but have also significantly impacted civil society as a whole.
Two articles focus on the environmental damage caused by the war in Ukraine. One article discusses organizations, initiatives, and institutions documenting the environmental consequences of the war, while another analyzes the prospects for legal actions, in particular for holding Russia accountable for ecocide in Ukraine in the International Criminal Court.
Arctic
This issue focuses on the Arctic, a region experiencing the fastest climate change on the planet. It is surrounded by countries with complex political relations, particularly in light of Russia’s invasion to Ukraine. This region is where various factors, such as foreign policy, economics, and the environment, intersect.
Our authors, some of whom still publish under pseudonyms for security reasons, delve into topics such as how international cooperation in the Arctic has evolved since the onset of the war, Russia’s plans for further development in the region, ongoing and planned infrastructure projects in the Russian Arctic, and the issue of the Arctic’s nuclear legacy amidst ceased international cooperation. We also explore the development of the Northern Sea Route, including concerns regarding industrial pollution and environmental risks in the region.
Climate change, both observed and predicted, remains a crucial issue for the Arctic. Our contributors have studied the latest scientific publications, analyzed existing adaptation plans for Arctic regions, as well as the strategies and actions of federal and local authorities, public organizations and initiatives. Some of these organizations have recently been labeled as “foreign agents” or “undesirable organizations” due to their active work in Arctic regions.
Download the PDF version of the magazine here
Energy Security
We put this issue together of Environment and Rights under unusual circumstances — Bellona was declared by Russian officials to be an “undesirable” organization. You will find a statement by Bellona and the position of its employees on the following page, along with a list of safety recommendations for our readers.
We on the editorial staff have had to take additional measures to protect our colleagues and authors. At the same time, we believe that the issues and problems that we and our authors cover in the magazine continue to be extremely relevant. It is important to write about them, to discuss and analyze them, and offer real solutions. We do not think that critical discussion and collective problem-solving can be classified as a “harmful” or “undesirable” activity.
The topic of this issue is changes in the global energy sector caused by the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, and other global and regional trends.
The authors of our latest issue attempt to answer a number of questions, such as: was there really a crisis on the world energy market in 2022, and what did countries do to resolve it? How did renewable and hydrogen energy develop? What took place in the nuclear power sector? How did Ukraine resist the destruction of its energy sector, and how did Ukrainians survive the winter, and overcome the electricity deficit by mid-February? What is happening to Russia’s energy resources, which can no longer be sold to many countries’ markets because of war related sanctions? What does energy security mean now for the world as a whole — and how can it be strengthened? What new technologies can help to transform the world energy market and end the dependence on hydrocarbons?
Download the PDF version of the magazine here
War and the Environment
This is the first issue or our quarterly magazine Environment & Rights published since Russia invaded Ukraine. In it, several of our authors, writing from Ukraine, Russia and the United States take stock of what nine months of bombardment has wrought on the landscape of one of Europe’s biggest nations.
The article cover topics ranging from the direct environmental consequences of hostilities on the ecosystems of Ukraine (written by Ukrainian ecologists); the threats arising from military operations near nuclear power plants, and the indirect consequences of war for the environment and climate of the world, the global energy sector, and food market. Our authors also describe other goings-on in Russia in the field of climate and forest policy, as well and what has come of Russia’s grassroots environmental movement and protests.
