Position of the Ukrainian civil society was presented at a sitting of the Panel on the Environment and Climate Change within the framework of the Eastern Partnership Initiative
Creation of the Panel on the Environment and Climate Change within the framework of Platform 2 “Economic Integration and Convergence with EU Policies” of the Eastern Partnership Initiative is an important event for the development of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in terms of reforming the country’s environmental policy. Environmental policy of neighboring countries and of Ukraine is considered for the first time in the official EU documents as a cross-cutting policy, as the one that concerns all sectors of the economy. Such an approach corresponds to legislation and practices of the European Union.
The following representatives and organizations participated in the sitting of the Panel: representatives of partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) and of countries-EU members, as well as representatives of European institutions and, what is important, representatives of the civil society (Irene Lutsios, Co-coordinator of the Working Group of the Civil Society Forum (CSF) 3 on Energy and the Environment, Wildlife Fund, and Hanna Holubovska-Onisimova, a member of this Working Group, All-Ukrainian Environmental NGO “MAMA-86”).
The participants of the meeting considered issues of environmental policy for green economy, policy on climate change after Copenhagen and further activity of the Panel for the period of 2010-2011. Also, the Environmental Flagship Project was officially launched. The aim of this project is to enhance environmental management and development of regional Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS) for the purpose of improvement of collection, storage and monitoring of reliable data.
CSF representatives participated as guests in the sitting of the Panel on the Environment and Climate Change and had an opportunity to make speeches and ask questions. They expressed a position that had been earlier discussed by members from environmental public organizations of the Working Group of the CSF on Energy and the Environment. The position concerned the following points: a necessity to provide constant participation of civil society organizations in the work of the Panel on the Environment and Climate Change and in its activities, while each of these organizations would have a status of an equal partner and would be provided with access to all documents of the Panel; the soonest commencement (not in the year of 2012, but rather in 2011) of operation of the second stage of the Flagship Project on ecological management in terms of implementation of the Convention of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe regarding assessment of impact on the environment in cross-border context; access to information and participation of the public in the decision-making process and access to justice in terms of issues that concern the environment and access to protocols, related with those issues.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe noted that it was considering a possibility to address to members of multilateral Platform 2 “Economic Integration and Convergence with EU Policies” of the Eastern Partnership Initiative in order to consider the issue of providing civil society representatives with full membership in the Platform, as equal partners of the Eastern Partnership Initiative. Until this issue is resolved, CSF representatives will be invited to all events of the Panel.
Participation of the Ukrainian representative became possible thanks to the support of the European Program of the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework of a project called “Enhancement of participation of Ukraine’s environmental NGOs in development of relations between Ukraine and the EU”. The project is a part of one of the priority directions of activity of the European Program, aimed at facilitation of integration of the civil societies of Ukraine and the EU (more details at http://www.irf.ua/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9679:euro-desc&catid=104:pro-euro&Itemid=166).
The project will be implemented during the period of March-December 2010 to enhance impact of Ukraine’s environmental NGOs on shaping and improvement of the EU instruments concerning reforms in Ukraine’s environmental policy (convergence of Ukraine with the EU in the environmental area), within the framework of implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership Initiative and also within the framework of fulfillment of the EU-Ukraine Association Agenda.
* The Panel on the Environment and Climate Change was created to facilitate the exchange of information and experience in development and implementation of policy on the environment protection and climate change in light of assistance in convergence with the EU legislation in relevant areas and assistance in development of the Environmental Flagship Project of the Eastern Partnership Initiative by providing recommendations regarding its implementation. The conclusions of the panel also have to be taken into account in the process of preparation of programs of partner countries for financing within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy Instrument.
Contact persons:
Hanna Holubovska-Onisimova, President of All-Ukrainian Environmental NGO “MAMA-86”, Coordinator of the Project “Enhancement of participation of Ukraine’s environmental NGOs in development of relations between Ukraine and the EU” , anna@mama-86.org.ua
Daryna Nakonechna, Project Coordinator of the European Program of the IRF, nakonechna@irf.kiev.ua
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All-Ukrainian Environmental NGO “MAMA-86” has been operating since 1990 for the purpose of ‘ecologization’ of policy and practices in Ukraine for transition to sustainable development. Web site: www.mama-86.org.ua
