For more than six months now, there has been no separate institution responsible for environmental protection issues. Its functions have now been transferred to the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine. After the merger, its head, Oleksiy Sobolev, announced the optimization of staff and processes in the department. This transitional stage is now over. What is the result?
Today, EcoPolitic will tell you how many departments in the Ministry of Economy are currently dealing with environmental protection and use issues, how many officials work in them, and what salaries they receive from our taxes.
In response to a request from EcoPolitics journalists, the ministry replied that as of February 4, the 2025 staffing table is in effect with two changes: in August and December, one deputy minister was added to it.
Key figures:
- Total number of staff positions in the ministry – 1,251.
- Issues of environment and natural resources are handled by 126 officials. Among them, there are 6 deputy ministers specializing in this area (according to information from the Ministry of Economy's response, but in fact, there are currently 7).
- Share of officials working in the environmental field – only 10%.
- Number of environmental units – 15.
We understand that expecting an even distribution of shares – at 33% each – among the directions of economy, environment, and agriculture would be naive and not entirely logical, since there are also auxiliary departments and divisions serving the ministry as a separate institution. But 10%, Carl! Is that not too “optimized”?
126 people – that is about the same staff size as a large supermarket such as “Silpo.” Is such a team sufficient to efficiently and promptly handle current work and simultaneously prepare for accession to the EU? In our opinion, this is highly doubtful.
Deputy ministers
The environmental direction within Minister Oleksii Sobolev’s team is implemented by 7 deputy ministers:
The official salary rate for each of them is 105,570 UAH. Here, and further on, only the “base” salary is specified, without taking into account the various allowances and bonuses which officials are often eager to reward themselves with.
The Minister's salary is not much higher than that of his deputies, at 117,300 UAH.
For more details on Oleksii Sobolev’s deputies, read our article.
Departments
Now, let’s look at which departments within the Ministry of Economy handle issues related to environmental protection and the management of natural resources. In total, we have counted 15 of them.
The largest is the Department of Protected Areas and Biodiversity, with 21 staff positions.
Next are the Department of Environmental Assessment (17 positions), the Waste Management Office, and the Office for Environmental Protection, Prevention, and Control of Industrial Pollution-each with 15 positions.
The full names of the divisions shown in the infographic are as follows:
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Department of International Cooperation in the Field of Environment and Natural Resources.
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Department of Regulatory Activity and Legal Expertise in Environmental Protection.
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Department of Planning and Financing of Budget Programs for Environmental Protection and Natural Resources.
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Office of Natural Resources and Subsoil Use.
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Waste Management Office.
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Department of Environmental and Chemical Safety, and Management of Chemical Products.
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Department of Policy Development and Protection of Forest Resources.
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Department of Protected Areas and Biodiversity.
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Office for Environmental Protection, Prevention, and Control of Industrial Pollution.
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Office of External Coordination and Development in Environmental Protection.
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Climate Change Office.
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Department of Environmental Assessment.
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Office of Phytosanitary Measures and State Registration of Pesticides and Agrochemicals.
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Department for Protection and Restoration of Water Resources and Marine Ecosystems.
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Sector for Coordination of the Implementation of the National Energy and Climate Plan.
What about salaries
The salaries of officials in the Ministry of Economy are as follows:
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head of office – from 49,321 to 70,689 UAH (depending on the office led);
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department director – from 51,787 to 70,689 UAH (mostly 70,689 UAH);
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head of department – from 37,939 to 67,508 UAH;
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chief specialist – from 22,449 to 37,939 UAH.
Optimization or emasculation?
The average Ukrainian does not like officials and is happy when their number decreases. We are not supporters of bloated staff either, but there must be a reasonable limit to downsizing, because in the pursuit of optimization, there is a risk of losing the ability to perform assigned tasks effectively.
There were 214 specialists in the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources who directly dealt with environmental issues. Even then, Minister Hrynchuk constantly emphasized that their workload was immense.
Now the same amount of work must be done by 120 people. Do you feel the difference?
It is telling that even the internal optimization of work processes at the Ministry of Economy involves more people than the protection of the country’s entire forest resources.
In a situation where hundreds of European legislative acts need to be implemented, where the waste management reform exists only on paper and risks causing a disaster, and where the eco-modernization of industry according to European standards has only just begun and requires tremendous attention, perhaps it would be better to involve more specialists instead of cutting expenditures and staff to the point of losing all functionality?
