Today, EPL together with representatives of the Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group presented the policy paper “Reform of the Biodiversity Conservation System: Ukraine on the Path to the EU” to generate wider discussion of the document. The full text of this document can be found at the following link:https://surl.li/umulgf.
This is our view on the possible vectors of the state’s movement towards building a system of mechanisms to ensure conservation of wild flora and fauna, natural habitats, and development of mechanisms for managing the Emerald Network sites and in future Natura 2000 sites based on transposition of the EU Bird and Habitats Directives into Ukrainian legislation.
It should be noted that the representatives of the authorities who participated in the discussion understand the urgency of the problem and have quite clear vision of what needs to be done.
The Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Policy, Oleh Bondarenko, expressed hope for establishment of a separate state agency that would deal with issues of biodiversity conservation.
Another representative of the Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Policy, Yulia Ovchynnykova, expressed hope that cooperation between all parties involved will allow for the implementation of a high-quality pro-European reform of protected areas in Ukraine. According to her, taking into account military operations and destruction, such a reform may become one of the most difficult and important in Ukraine.
Victoria Kyreeva, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, agrees that a separate body is needed to manage the Emerald Network sites, since as of today, the relevant department of the Ministry of Environment has 17 people working, which is critically insufficient to perform the necessary functions for biodiversity conservation. She noted that in the near future, if there is a compromise on this issue between all stakeholders, a corresponding draft law will be prepared by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and submitted to the Parliament of Ukraine.
The policy paper and its various sections were presented by Yelyzaveta Aleksyeyeva, Solomiia Baran, Kateryna Polyanska, Yulia Frantsishkevych, Olena Kravchenko (all – EPL), Dmytro Skrylnikov (BEI) and Anastasia Drapalyuk (UNCG).
Over 100 people registered to participate in the online event. These were representatives of a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives of business, hunting, forestry and agricultural sectors, subsoil users, researchers, environmental organizations, and other stakeholders. The event participants were highly active during the discussion, actively expressing their comments, observations, and suggestions on the proposed areas of reforming the biodiversity conservation system in Ukraine.
The discussion was organized by EPL, UNCG and the Ministry of Environment of Ukraine.
Thank you to everyone who joined the discussion and expressed opinions!
Co-funded by the European Union
