The Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Ruslan Strilets, said that the reform of the State Environmental Inspection is one of the priorities for 2024.
In the future, the State Environmental Inspection should become a body with a two-level system of control of industry and pollutants, as well as the preservation of living nature, reports Government Portal.
"Our track on the calculation of environmental damage is of global importance – there is no time to delay the reform of state environmental control. We must not delay and take real steps in reforming. It is time for concrete goals and timelines," said Strilets at the final meeting of the SEI in Khmelnytskyi.
Among the main tasks of the reform, he named:
- elimination of duplication of functions of state control by other bodies, their concentration within the limits of SEI and redistribution of funding of duplicative bodies thanks to the creation of a single central body of executive power;
- strengthening the reputation of the environmental inspector;
"There is already a vision that we need 8,000 specialists selected through transparent competitions and an updated training system," Strilets noted.
- salary increase. In 2024, the SEI budget has already been increased by 58%, in particular to raise wages and improve working conditions;
- creation of at least 10 modern laboratories throughout the country;
- make the "EcoZagroza" application the main tool of the eco-inspector.
According to the minister, it is fundamental for Ukraine that the damage to the environment of Crimea should be taken into account in the total account of eco-damages. In 2023, SEI began the corresponding fixation with the help of satellite images.
He added that environmental damage calculations are necessary for Russia to pay reparations. In addition, they are necessary for the development of unique practices at the international level, in particular to:
- show the ecological price of war;
- transform future wars;
- stop a potential aggressor.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in October professionals from the Association of Environmental Professionals (PAEW) and more than 200 experts discussed the failure of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources to fix the crisis of environmental control as part of reforming its system.
Previously, EcoPolitic analyzed how the State Ecoinspection reform unfolded and why it is being "hidden" now.
