Ukraine’s environmental NGOs expressed their concern regarding the process of elaboration of the National Environmental Policy Strategy
NGOs leaders are concerned that the draft of the Law of Ukraine “On approval of the National Environmental Policy Strategy”, thoroughly prepared with participation of the public, scientists and people’s deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, was withdrawn from the latter state body due to the change of the government and the additional work on the draft is being done in an extremely closed and non-transparent manner.
The essence of the Strategy’s implementation is about creating the country’s up-to-date system for environment protection that would be similar to the European system. This will allow to stop deterioration of Ukraine’s environment. At the same time, approval of Ukraine’s National Environmental Policy Strategy and its Implementation Plan was included into the list of urgent key reforms, mentioned in the Cooperation Matrix that was recently passed by European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle to the Ukrainian government. Elaboration and adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On approval of the National Environmental Policy Strategy” by the end of 2010 is the main condition for Ukraine to get sectoral budget support from the European Union in the amount of 35 million Euro and also 10 million Euro from the Swedish government.
“Non-transparency, phasing out of the public’s participation in the process of elaboration of the most significant document for the country’s strategic development in the environmental area is not only a severe violation of the national legislation, in particular, the requirements of the Aarhus Convention, but also a clear indicator of the future fate of millions of Hryvnias of budget support”, says the open letter.
In particular, the authors of the letter remind that the initiative for elaboration of the National Environmental Policy Strategy and the National Action Plan for Environment Protection as documents of the European level, which are to meet the current requirements and difficult challenges of protection and reproduction of Ukraine’s environment, was raised by the very environmental NGOs that during two years (2005 – 2007) conducted the national campaign “For Prioritization of the Environmental Policy”.
The open letter was signed by the All-Ukrainian Environmental NGO “MAMA-86”, All-Ukrainian Environmental League, Ukrainian Society for Environment Protection, International Charitable Organization “Environment-People-Law” , Ukrainian Environmental Association “Zelenyi Svit” (Green World), All-Ukrainian NGO “Chysta Khvylya” (Clean Wave) and National Environmental Center of Ukraine.
The environmental NGOs’ address regarding Ukraine’s National Environmental Policy Strategy is a component of the public monitoring of Ukraine’s fulfillment of its obligations to the European Union in the area of environmental policy. That is being carried out, among other things, within the framework of the project “Enhancing participation of Ukrainian Environmental NGOs in developing EU-Ukraine relationships” under the support of the European Program of the International Renaissance Foundation. The project is carried out during March – December of 2010 for the purpose to enhance impact of Ukraine’s environmental NGOs on shaping and improvement of the EU instruments regarding reforming the environmental policy in Ukraine (bringing Ukraine closer to the EU in terms of the environmental sphere) within the framework of implementation of the European Neighborliness Policy and the Eastern Partnership Policy and also the fulfillment of the EU-Ukraine Association Agenda.
Contact persons: Hanna Holubovska-Onisimova, President of All-Ukrainian Environmental NGO “MAMA-86”, Coordinator of the project “Enhancing participation of Ukrainian Environmental NGOs in developing EU-Ukraine relationships”, anna@mama-86.org.ua
Daryna Nakonechna, Project Coordinator of the European Program of the IRF, nakonechna@irf.kiev.ua
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The All-Ukrainian Environmental NGO “MAMA-86” has been working 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
