Samarbeid og solidaritet med ukrainske miljøvernere
Naturvernforbundet samarbeider med den ukrainske miljøvernorganisasjonen Ecoaction, som ikke lar seg hindre av krigen.
Samarbeid over grenser, å lære av hverandre, og å bidra til å støtte og styrke miljøbevegelsen der det er ekstra nødvendig, det er i kjernen av miljøvernarbeidet. Derfor samarbeider Naturvernforbundet med ukrainske Ecoaction, som jobber for miljøvern og energiomstilling. Miljøvern er viktig også i krig, og miljøtiltak bedrer situasjonen i Ukraina nå, og bidrar til en grønnere gjenoppbygging.
Naturvernforbundet har hatt samarbeidsprosjekter i Ukraina siden 2003. Først med en liten organisasjon som i hovedsak drev med miljøinformasjon og miljøundervisning, deretter også med National Ecological Centre of Ukraine (NECU). Miljøvernorganisasjonen Ecoaction (Екодія på ukrainsk) har vært Naturvernforbundets hovedpartner i Ukraina siden 2017, da de gikk fra å være en kampanje innenfor NECU til å bli en selvstendig organisasjon.
Naturvernforbundet og Ecoaction får støtte fra norske myndigheter, over den norske atomhandlingsplanen, for å jobbe for atomsikkerhet og økt medvirkning fra sivilsamfunnet. Du kan lese mer om dette arbeidet her.
Miljøarbeid i krigssonen
Russlands fullskala invasjon av Ukraina gjorde at Ecoaction måtte endre arbeidet sitt, og særlig hvordan de kommuniserer. Det er vanskeligere å få gehør for klimakrisen, men folk er svært interessert i å installere solenergi så de kan klare seg bedre under strømstans.
For å forstå omfanget av krigens miljøpåvirkninger, har Ecoaction siden 24. februar 2022 overvåket tilfeller av potensiell miljøskade forårsaket av russisk aggresjon. Fire år etter at initiativet startet, har Ecoactions frivillige team dokumentert over 2500 tilfeller av potensiell skade. Dette tallet fortsetter å vokse hver dag. Les mer om overvåkningen og de forskjellige miljøpåvirkningene her.
Artem Kolesnyk, Energy Policy Expert (Nuclear Energy) in Ecoaction:
We are deeply grateful for the support we receive through our cooperation with Naturvernforbundet. Of course, financial support is an essential part of this partnership, as it enables us to carry out our work in a consistent and meaningful way. But for us, this cooperation is much more than funding.
What is also extremely important is the personal support we feel from our colleagues at Naturvernforbundet. It is difficult to put into words how valuable this sense of solidarity is in the circumstances in which we are working in Ukraine. Sometimes even work-related communication with colleagues brings a real feeling of encouragement and inspiration. In many ways, this human connection has become a kind of lifeline for our mental resilience.
Our colleagues who recently returned from Norway were truly inspired by the visit. They were deeply impressed by the warmth, openness, and generosity with which they were welcomed. Even more importantly, we were given the opportunity to speak for ourselves. Naturvernforbundet helped organize a number of important meetings where we could present our work, share our perspective, and explain why environmental and nuclear safety issues in Ukraine matter not only for us, but also for Europe as a whole.
Nuclear energy safety is an especially sensitive and urgent issue for Ecoaction, given both the legacy of Chornobyl and the nuclear risks created by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In this field, Ecoaction carries out quite unique work in Ukraine. We are among the few civil society organizations that work systematically on nuclear energy issues, representing the part of Ukrainian society that is concerned about nuclear safety, transparency, public participation, radioactive waste, decommissioning, and the future of energy policy.
This is why our cooperation with Naturvernforbundet is so important. It creates opportunities for us to continue this work, to raise critical questions, and to bring a civil society perspective into discussions that are often dominated by the nuclear industry and government institutions. With Naturvernforbundet’s support, we can act as a constructive counterbalance and a source of healthy criticism in the nuclear energy debate in Ukraine.
For us, this partnership is about trust, solidarity, and shared responsibility. It helps us not only to keep working under extremely difficult conditions, but also to make our voice stronger and more visible in Ukraine, in Norway, and internationally.
Bli bedre kjent med Ecoaction
Vi lever i ulike virkeligheter, men Ecoaction og Naturvernforbundet likner samtidig på hverandre. Vi opplever at vi kan lære mye av hverandre og at vi står sterkere sammen. I juni 2026 kom en delegasjon fra Ecoaction på besøk til Oslo, og bildene i denne artikkelen er fra dette besøket.
Vil du vite mer om Ecoaction? Du kan høre deres egne ord i podcasten Erik M #35 Miljøvern i krig: Spotify eller Apple eller lese mer i artiklene nedenfor.
Olexi Pasyuk, Executive director in Ecoaction:
Ecoaction team has been cooperating with Naturvernforbundet from long before Ecoaction was formally registered.
We have been cooperating before any formal projects have been signed, as our organisations have common goals in the field of energy and environment, as well as approach in achieving those goals. We had common activities aimed to impact international development aid, so it is more grounded on the interests of communities and environmental considerations. Thanks to Naturvernforbundet, we could reach decision makers in Norway and international organisations, to bring information on the impact of the investments from the ground.
Our cooperation with Naturvernforbundet has showed us available technical and policy solutions to improve energy efficiency, which were already tested in Norway and where new for Ukraine. It helped to have better strategies for energy sector transformation that we promote in Ukraine on the national and municipal levels.
