Ukraine - Grid IP

Overview

The Ukraine project supports the integration of biodiversity and climate considerations into upstream planning, design, and policy frameworks for transportation infrastructure. Implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with WWF-Ukraine and national ministries, the project focuses on the Kyiv–Chop (M06) international highway, Ukraine’s primary westward connection to the European Union. By embedding nature-positive approaches into reconstruction planning, the project aims to safeguard key terrestrial ecosystems while enabling sustainable, inclusive recovery.

Challenge

Ukraine’s transport network is both a strategic asset and a growing source of ecological risk. Even prior to the conflict, roads fragmented habitats, disrupted wildlife migration, and increased vehicle–wildlife collisions. Since 2022, military actions have intensified pressure on remaining corridors, particularly the M06 highway, due to redirected cargo flows, humanitarian transport, and increased nighttime traffic.

As reconstruction accelerates, there is a high risk that rapid rebuilding could lock in long-term biodiversity loss. Forests, wetlands, steppe landscapes, and critical ecological corridors, especially in the Carpathian Mountains and Polissia region, face threats from habitat fragmentation, deforestation, pollution, and climate stress. Without integrated planning, post-conflict recovery could undermine the very ecosystems that support climate resilience, livelihoods, and regional stability.

Ukraine’s transport network is both a strategic asset and a growing source of ecological risk. Even prior to the conflict, roads fragmented habitats, disrupted wildlife migration, and increased vehicle–wildlife collisions. Since 2022, military actions have intensified pressure on remaining corridors, particularly the M06 highway, due to redirected cargo flows, humanitarian transport, and increased nighttime traffic.

As reconstruction accelerates, there is a high risk that rapid rebuilding could lock in long-term biodiversity loss. Forests, wetlands, steppe landscapes, and critical ecological corridors, especially in the Carpathian Mountains and Polissia region, face threats from habitat fragmentation, deforestation, pollution, and climate stress. Without integrated planning, post-conflict recovery could undermine the very ecosystems that support climate resilience, livelihoods, and regional stability.

Opportunity

Reconstruction presents a rare opportunity to rethink how infrastructure is planned and delivered. Ukraine’s alignment with EU standards, participation in regional environmental frameworks, and strong engagement with international partners create favorable conditions for systemic change.

By intervening upstream—before routes, designs, and procurement decisions are finalized—this project can help ensure that transportation investments enhance ecological connectivity. The M06 corridor offers a high-leverage demonstration site to show how biodiversity-sensitive design can coexist with strategic mobility and economic recovery.

Approach

This project aims to advance nature-positive transportation infrastructure through three mutually reinforcing pillars:

• Enabling conditions: strengthening policy, regulatory, and legal frameworks to integrate biodiversity and climate resilience into transport strategies, guidelines, and procurement processes.

• Integrated planning and design: demonstrating biodiversity-sensitive planning along the M06 highway through ecological mapping, identification of wildlife corridors, and incorporation of nature-based solutions into road design.

• Knowledge and capacity building: equipping planners, engineers, and decision-makers with tools, data, and best practices to mainstream biodiversity considerations across sectors and scales.

Nature-based solutions, such as green corridors, forest verges, and natural drainage systems, are paired with strategic avoidance and planning measures to reduce impacts before construction begins.

Results & Impact

Through integrated planning and demonstration along approximately 80 km of the M06 highway, this project is expected to deliver:

• Improved management and ecological connectivity across approximately 80,000 hectares of forests, wetlands, and associated landscapes.

• Avoidance of an estimated 1.7 million tons of CO₂ emissions by reducing forest degradation and wildfire risk.

• Direct benefits to more than 1,000 practitioners and community members, with a commitment to gender-balanced participation.

Beyond site-level outcomes, the project aims to embed biodiversity considerations into national transport systems, supporting replication across Ukraine as reconstruction progresses.

Partners & Local Team

The Ukraine project is implemented by UNEP in partnership with WWF-Ukraine, the Ministry for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, and regional and local authorities.