While the war in Ukraine disrupts lives immediately and violently, damage is also happening to the soil, air and water that make up the places Ukrainians call home.

These effects can be difficult to quantify while the war is ongoing, and some of the alterations can be long-lasting, says Erika Weinthal, professor of environmental and public policy in Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

Weinthal’s research examines global environmental politics, including conflict and peacebuilding. She wrote a book on shared water resources following the collapse of the Soviet Union, “State Making and Environmental Cooperation: Linking Domestic Politics and International Politics in Central Asia,” and she recently appeared on WBUR’s Here & Now to discuss the environmental toll of the Russia invasion into Ukraine.

Here, Weinthal answers questions about the ecological harm caused by the ongoing war.