Ukraine third best Eastern Partnership country in implementing environmental reforms
An Expert Toloka (or expert help seminar) entitled “Assessment of Environmental Performance According to the Priorities of the Eastern Partnership Flagship Initiative on Environmental Governance” took place in Kyiv on March 15. The discussion was organized by the Mama-86 NGO and the Civic Expert Council, with the support of the European Program of the International Renaissance Foundation within the National Initiatives to Enhance Reforms Project (UNITER), which is being carried out by Pact in Ukraine, with the support of United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
A report on an environmental governance assessment of the six Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries was presented during the Expert Toloka. According to the report, Ukraine was in third place in terms of the implementation of reforms on good environmental governance among the six EaP countries. Armenia topped the ranking, while Georgia got the lowest assessment grades.
“Ensuring public access to significant environmental information remains the most important task of environmental democracy in the EaP countries,” said Anna Golubovska-Onisimova, the head of the Mama-86 board. “The public should participate in designing, and the governments should approve, relevant procedures, which should be supported by the necessary institutional and financial resources as well as an enforcement mechanism. It is an informed public who should serve as an effective partner of the government, facilitating the decision-making process and [ensuring there is] effective environmental governance,” she added.
The experts taking part in the event said they believe that it is impossible to overcome the current catastrophic situation in the EaP countries without prioritizing environmental objectives, and without ensuring the governments have the required political will not only at the level of the ministries for environmental protection, but at that of prime ministers and presidents as well. Environmental policy should be integrated in all spheres of economic and social life. Discussing environmental issues at the highest level of relations among EaP countries can also support the effective implementation of the necessary reforms to improve environment, the experts said.
Yaroslav Bekish from the Green Alliance NGO (Minsk) remarked that all of the countries have the shared and urgent problem of having a low level of implementation of the legislation, programs, plans, and international agreements on the environment and sustainable development. “The legislative regulations are often appropriate, but they’re not being implemented properly, or not followed,” expert said. “So within the framework of the EaP, we should direct our attention to the practical application on the current national environmental legislation, plans, programs, and international legislative acts, along with [creating] the mechanisms [to ensure] compliance with their requirements,” he added.
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The essential role of the European Program lies in promotion of Ukraine’s European integration, combining external pressure of the EU with the domestic one of the Ukrainian civil society, and thus contributing to promotion of open society values in Ukraine.
