On April 4, there was held an online discussion of the policy paper “Reform of the Biodiversity Conservation System: Ukraine on the Way to the EU”. Participants of the event included representatives of EPL, BEI, UNCG, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
The policy paper that we have developed aims to propose a roadmap for reforming the state system of managing the processes of biodiversity conservation. This is Ukraine’s obligation within different European integration documents. During the discussion, analysts of EPL, BEI, UNCG, Dmytro Skrylnikov, Anastasia Drapalyuk, Olena Kravchenko, Solomiia Baran, Kateryna Polyanska, Yelyzaveta Aleksyeyeva and Yulia Frantishkevych spoke about the current state of affairs in this area, which is far from being satisfactory, as well as about the steps that Ukraine can take on the path of the reform.
In addition, we proposed 4 basic possible scenarios for how to effectively implement the reform of the biodiversity conservation system. It all depends on the position of the Ministry of Environment that will implement the state policy on reforming the biodiversity conservation system. Briefly, these options can be described as follows:
1. Adoption of a new law on habitat conservation and amendments to existing legislative acts in the context of protecting wild flora and fauna + creation of a separate biodiversity conservation agency.
2. Adoption of a new law on habitat conservation and amendments to existing legislative acts in the context of protecting wild flora and fauna + strengthening of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
3. Integration of the habitat approach and requirements in the area of wildlife protection into the current legislative acts of Ukraine + creation of a separate biodiversity conservation agency.
4. Integration of the habitat approach and requirements in the area of wildlife protection into the current legislative acts of Ukraine + strengthening of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Viktoriya Kireyeva demonstrated interest in the document. She expressed support for the idea of creating a separate agency that would oversee management of the sphere of biodiversity protection and development. According to her, there are already some developments in this direction.
Participants of the online meeting agreed to involve representatives of other government agencies in further discussions and to continue communicating with all stakeholders.about the most optimal ways of implementing the reform
The event was funded by the European Union
