P.O. 316, Lviv, 79000

+380 32 225 76 82

office@epl.org.ua

EPL: Events and Announcements

30 November 2023 Implementation of environmental reforms on the way to the EU: civil society position

In light of the news regarding the launch of the negotiation process on Ukraine’s accession to the EU and approval by the European Commission of the “Ukraine 2023 Report”, representatives of Ukrainian civil society are convinced that further reforms should not only be carried out, but also implemented fully in accordance with the recommendations of…

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23 November 2023 The Ministry of Environment came to protect the Carpathian forests

On November 10, 2023, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources refused the Mokryany Forestry Enterprise to issue a conclusion regarding clearcutting and clearcut sanitary logging. The notification on the planned activity regarding the use of forest resources appeared in the Unified Register of Environmental Impact Assessment as early as June 30, 2023. On…

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18 November 2023 The start of the negotiation process and the “environmental” component

Recently, we all celebrated the EC’s recommendation to start the negotiation process for Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Such a decision went together with the Report on Ukraine 2023 that assessed Ukraine’s progress in fulfilling European integration tasks, including those in the area of environmental protection. The Minister Ruslan Strilets wrote the following about this…

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4 November 2023 With a motor grader through the green heart of the Carpathians or how “green” energy destroys the national treasure – the Borzhava mountain meadow

To: the President of Ukraine Minister for Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine With a motor grader through the green heart of the Carpathians or how “green” energy destroys the national treasure – the Borzhava mountain meadow The appeal for protection of the Carpathian ridge with an international…

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27 October 2023 ECOCIDE: FROM THEORY – TO PRACTICE, FROM PRACTICE – TO PUNISHMENT

  October 27, 2023 Afterword to the international seminar The international seminar “Legal qualification of crimes against the environment: joining efforts at the national and international levels” became the forum for discussing issues related to the fight against environmental criminal offenses and the problems faced by the country and the international community. Just to remind,…

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27 October 2023 Punishment for crimes against the environment: searching for optimal standards

  Today, on October 26, the international seminar “Legal qualification of crimes against the environment: joining forces at the national and international levels” began at the Prosecutor’s Training Center of Ukraine involving national and international experts, scientists and practitioners in the field of law. Opening the event, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources…

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Ecoanalytics

im01122023_1
Implementation of environmental reforms on the way to the EU: civil society position

In light of the news regarding the launch of the negotiation process on Ukraine’s accession to the EU and approval by the European Commission of the “Ukraine 2023 Report”, representatives of Ukrainian civil society are convinced that further reforms should not only be carried out, but also implemented fully in accordance with the recommendations of…

Read
im31102023_1
Policy brief on reforming of waste management

During last decades Ukraine is overloaded with waste, in particular due to obsolete legislation and absence of state control over the business entities handling waste, and also tiny fines for violation of waste laws. As a result, near every settlement one can find illegal wastedumps, at the working waste sites accidents are common, for instance,…

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About us

EPL is a public interest environmental law organization which since 1994 has been protecting environmental rights, supporting, restoring and improving the environment and providing legal help in protecting other human rights, especially those which overlap with environmental rights.

We care about environment in Ukraine and abroad and are concerned about all the risks, threats and dangers which may lead to deterioration of the environment.

At present environmental protection is the hottest problem of the humankind. There is a growing threat not only for human health and well-being but for existence of life on our planet in general.

Work of the organization is directed towards transformation of safe though often extremely polluted environment into favorable for life and health environment, preservation of biodiversity, protection of flora and fauna, stoppage of uncontrolled emissions and dumps of harmful substances into environment and elimination of other negative factors, fight with non-activity as for global environmental issues in general and climate change issues in particular.

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EPL is a member of:

Updated documents at the EPL website

11 December 2023 Application of the European Convention on Human Rights for Protection of Environmental Rights and the Environment

The manual constitutes the first Ukrainian edition of the analytical review of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in cases relating to the environment. The authors analyze court judgments under specific articles of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the content of which was creatively expanded by…

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5 August 2023 Bays of the Kakhov reservoir after the disaster. The silent death of thousands of living beings

Consequences of blowing up the Kakhovskaya HPP for the ecosystems of southern Ukraine Walking along the bottom of the former reservoir, we saw thousands of shells from dead molluscs. They were scattered everywhere, among them lay the dried skeletons of crayfish, and sometimes there were remains of fish. Frogs croaked in the remaining lakes, surely,…

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21 July 2023 Appeal of the Environmental Impact Assessment Conclusion for Polisske VES

  Case: Appeal of the Environmental Impact Assessment Conclusion for Polisske VES Region: Ukraine Case Overview: The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure for Polisske VES was conducted with significant violations of environmental legislation both by the business entity and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources (referred to as the Ministry of Ecology as of…

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2 June 2023 CONSERVATION OF NATURA-2000 AREAs: Polish EXPERIENCE

  May 4, 2023 On April 28, EPL representatives had a meeting with experts of a Polish NGO Frank Bold Foundation1. Polish lawyers spoke about the system of managing the system and legal framework of NATURA-2000 sites, as well as various geoinformation databases. The website of the General Directorate for Environmental Protection has a special…

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EPL (formerly Ecopravo-lviv) is a nongovernmental international organization, created in 1994 in order to provide assistance to individuals and legal persons in the protection of environmental rights, to promote the development of the environment protection, environmental education, science and culture.

History of organization

  • 1994 y.
    March 24 – established Charitable foundation “Ecopravo – Lviv.”
    clinic5
  • 1994 y.
    October 14 – created the “Center for Public Environmental Advocacy” with ABA / CEELI.
  • 1994 y.
    1994

    – Еstablished the environmental legal library of the CF “Ecopravo-Lviv”

    – Оrganized the conference of the Association of Environmental Law of the EECCA countries

    – Оrganized the conference of the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide

  • 1995 y.

    – June – founded Environmental Advocacy Journal

    – The CF “Ecopravo- Lviv” became the Headquarters of Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide

  • 1998 y.
    1998

    EPL participated in the negotiations of the Aarhus Convention under the auspices of the UNECE, in the process of signature, ratification and implementation in the European project “Doors to Democracy.”

  • 2001 y.
    EPL became the headquarters of the Guta Association.
  • 2002 y.
    2002

    – Established Ukraine’s first environmental law clinical program for training legal practitioners;
    – EPL’s President elected the Vice Chairman of the Compliance Committee of the Convention of access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters
    – Started implementation of the Aarhus Convention in Ukraine.

  • 2003 y.
    2003

    – Symposium for Judges in Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

    – Organization of the meeting of the Steering Committee of the IUCN.Environmental Commission

    – EPL realized the project “Promotion of adaptation of environmental law of the EU in Ukraine”

  • 2003 y.

    – International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recognized EPL as the center of legal excellency

    – Established cooperation with the Secretariat of the Espoo Convention, Ramsar, Danube and Bonn Conventions and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change with the aim to preserve biodiversity

  • 2004 y.
    2004

    – The project “Development of the Center of Environmental Advocacy”

    – The project “Analysis of possibilities to realize the program of evaluation of environmental activity and release of information”

  • 2004 y.
    2004

    – DOEN Foundation started support of the environmental public advocacy center

    – Launched the institutional support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

  • 2005 y.
    2005

    – 25 November – renaming Charitable fund “Ecopravo – Lviv” to International charitable organization “Environment-People-Law” (EPL).

    – The project “Enforcement of access to environmental information”

  • 2006 y.
    2006

    EPL representative was awarded the most prestigious award in the sphere of environmental protection – Goldman Prize – for strategic case of the organization “The Danube-Black Sea”.

  • 2007 y.
    2007

    – The Project “Sanitary protective zones, nuclear safety and climate change» funded by Sigrid Rausing Trust

    – The Project “Access to environmental information in Ukraine: the experience of NGOs and public authorities.”

  • 2007 y.
    2007

    – The Project “Strengthening public participation in environmental matters through strategic litigation.”

    – The Project ““Improvement of access to justice in environmental matters through public monitoring of courts”

  • 2008 y.
    2008

    – Establishment of the journal “Environment. People .Law. ” .

    – The Project ” Utilization of toxic pesticides in the territory of Lviv oblast in the basin of transboundary rivers Syan and Western Buh”

  • 2009 y.
    2009

    – The Project “Public monitoring of the cases relating to environmental rights of people in Lviv and Ternopil regions.”

    – The Project “New legal tools for effective control of pollution emissions”

  • 2009 y.
    2009

    – The Project “Stimulation of realization of the right to access to information owned by the state”

    – The Open Society Institute (Budapest) started institutional support of EPL.

  • 2010 y.
    2010

    – The Project “Improvement of access to environmental information through stimulation of openness of relevant public authorities”

    – The Project “Stimulating the Ukrainian public to participation in the realization of the European strategy of the Danube region”

  • 2010 y.
    2010

    – Winning the lawsuit at the European Court of Human Rights

    – The Project “Legal protection of environmental rights of citizens.”

    – EPL became a member of the Working group “Envint”, a member of WG3 of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

  • 2011 y.
    2011

    – The Project “Information and activation of public participation in developing the National Action Plan for the EU Strategy for the Danube Region”

    – The Project “Improvement of legal preconditions and activation of the public for protection of environmental rights of citizens»

  • 2011 y.
    2011

    – The Project “Developing preconditions for effective application of the Law of Ukraine “On Access to Public Information in the Sphere of Environmental Protection”

    – The Project Public participation and transparency in nuclear safety issues”

  • 2011 y.
    2011

    – EPL became a member the Climate Action Network (CAN)

    – EPL became a member of ANPED.

    – EPL became a member of The Access Initiative (TAI).

  • 2012 y.
    2012

    EPL coordinated the process of drafting Annual report “Public assessment of national environmental policy” in 2003-2012

  • 2013 y.
    2013

    – EPL became a member of the Academy of Environmental Law of the International Union for Conservation of Nature

    – The Project ” Enforcing European standards of environmental impact assessment in Ukraine”

  • 2013 y.
    2013

    – The Project “Improvement of regulation of environmental component in regional programs in Lviv region”

    – EPL signed an agreement with Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) for realization of the project on building capacity of EPL and providing institutional support for the organization.

  • 2013 y.
    2013

    – The Project to develop strategic litigation in Ukraine.

    – The establishment of Ecolitigation National Platform

    – The Project “Strengthening participatory democracy for effective protection of the environment.”

    – Creation of the network of pro bono legal aid in Ukraine.

  • 2014 y.
    2014

    – The opening of the office in Kyiv.

    – International Symposium “Human Rights and the Environment in the new Ukraine, in honor of Professor Svitlana Kravchenko.”

    – Launching the clinical program for students-environmentalists.

  • 2014 y.
    2014

    – Development of the first version of the electronic analytical system of environmental information.

    – EPL became a member of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).

  • 2015 y.
    2015

    – Start of the projects funded by FOSI, TTF, USAID.

    – Revival of the Guta Association of environmental lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus

  • 2015 y.
    2015

    – Development of the course for judges “Human rights and the environment”

    – Creation of on-line environmental law library.

    – Co-authorship of the draft law of Ukraine “On Environmental Impact Assessment”.

  • 2016 y.
    Development of the on-line course on international environmental law.
  • 2017 y.
    Creation of the Ukrainian Center of Environmental Policy and Action