Title of the project: Ukrainian civil society for European-style waste management
Duration of the project: 3 years (July 2016 – July 2019)
Project implementers: International charitable organization “Environment-People-Law” (EPL), non-governmental organization “Environmental initiatives”
The overall objective of the action is to increase effectiveness of waste management system in Ukraine with the aim to decrease negative impact of waste on the environment. We believe that systematic changes can be achieved through actions on all levels and we plan to influence the process of legislation and policy development, regional regulation of waste management, activation of civil society. Therefore, specific objectives are to strengthen the role and capacity of civil society to influence decision-making processes; strengthen the capacity of environmental authorities to perform effective control over waste management; increase competence of self-governance authorities regarding their obligations in the field of waste management; increase transparency and effectiveness of the system of waste management in Ukraine through adoption of the best European practices; promote Ukraine’s ratification and implementation of Minamata Convention; improve legislative regulation of waste management in Ukraine in compliance with European standards; raise awareness of Ukrainian citizens of efficient and environmentally friendly practices of waste management and make social pressure to promote reforms in the field of waste management.
Activities within the project:
Within the project the following activities will be implemented: seminars and trainings for institutes of civil society, local self-governance, environmental authorities, analysis of regional programs of waste management and development of the report on the analysis results, comparative analysis of the national and European legislation in the field of waste management, assessment of the amount of mercury-bearing waste in Ukraine and holding the International conference on mercury-bearing waste management, development of proposals for national legislation on waste management, publication of the guide for local self-governance bodies, information campaign.
Target groups are representatives of civil society, in particular the network of legal and human rights protecting NGOs launched by EPL that find waste management one of the most problematic environmental issues in Ukraine. The network of legal and human rights protecting NGOs launched by EPL currently includes 25 organizations and they need more information on ways of getting involved into environmental policy building and making pressure on authorities to promote the reform of waste management system in Ukraine. It is important to raise their capacity to participate in decision-making process, policy and legislation drafting because these are groups that represent wide constituency and can be the channels of disseminating these skills and knowledge. Ukrainian citizens are the target audience of the information campaign as we believe reforms in the sphere of waste management can be substantially accelerated if they get wide support from the whole society. If wide strata of population realize the impact of waste on their health and life, the public opinion will form pressure on the government to speed up the reform of waste management system in Ukraine. Citizens of Ukraine are also final beneficiaries of the project as they will benefit from more effective systems of waste management that will ensure safe and healthy environment for their life.
Long-term results:
The project will contribute to promoting democratic reforms and inclusive socio-economic development of Ukraine as it is aimed at raising capacity of civil society to participate in decision-making in the field of waste management and serve as a linkage between relevant Ukrainian environmental authorities, self-governance bodies, European agencies and experts eager to share their experience in the field of waste management. The project is aimed at promotion of the concept of sustainable development, which is a balanced development of three key components: social, economic and environmental. Expected long term results will strengthen the basis for participatory democracy for environmental protection in Ukraine and the system of waste management in Ukraine approximated to European models.
Short-term results: 1) Improved knowledge of civil society representatives about impact of waste on the environment and human health and mechanisms of influencing central and regional authorities with the aim to improve waste management; 2) Increased competence of environmental authorities regarding best practices of waste management and their application in Ukraine; 3) Improved knowledge and practical application of duties of self-governance authorities in the sphere of waste management; 4) Improved regional regulation of waste management and its compliance with European standards; 5) Created conditions of Ukraine’s ratification and implementation of Minamata Convention; 6) Developed legislative proposals for increasing effectiveness of waste management in Ukraine and bringing it into compliance with European standards; 7) Improved knowledge of Ukrainian citizens of effective ways of waste management and efficient waste utilization practices.