Environmental Impact of Militarization in Gotland

GOTLAND, SWEDEN - AUGUST 03: The photo shows the empty area of one of the thirteen missing houses that where demolished by the Swedish army nearby the Tofta military base in Gotland Island, Sweden on August 03, 2022. Local residents point out half of the human settlement on one side of the road nearby the military base disappeared due the military expansion in the recent years. The presence of military troops in Gotland Island increased in recent years in the frame of the Russian military operations against Ukraine, starting with the annexation of Crimea back in March 2014. Since then, the Swedish military is taking steps to strengthen its presence in the island with a large acceptance of the local population, yet triggering the concern of the environmental groups who observe the deployment of the army personnel and military exercises across the island as a negative impact in the life ecosystem at both: in the human and the wild spheres.