The Ukrainian government has approved a strategy for reforming state environmental control until 2029.
This was announced by Svitlana Grynychuk, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, on Facebook.
She said that for the reform to be fully launched, a number of acts of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine will need to be approved. Pilot projects for its implementation will also be launched in three territorial districts of the environmental inspection: Polissya, South-Western, and Central.
According to the minister, the reform will be based on a transition from a “punitive” model of environmental control to a “preventive” one. It is expected to focus on preventing environmental damage, introducing modern technologies, and increasing responsibility for environmental damage.
The ministry also plans to introduce a risk-based approach to planning inspections, which will be in line with European approaches to identifying and preventing risks. It should be recalled that in October 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers already introduced a risk-based approach to conducting inspections in the field of environmental protection.
We will see how successful the Ministry of Environmental Protection will be in implementing these plans in practice. There are reasonable concerns that this reform may become another fiasco after the failed “garbage” and forest reforms.
What the strategy entails
- Elimination of duplicate functions of state environmental supervision in various government agencies. All functions will be performed by a single integrated state environmental control body.
- Introduction of the principles of proportionality and irreversible responsibility for damage to the environment: violators will not only pay a fine but will also be obliged to remedy the damage caused to the environment.
- Transformation of the existing bodies of the State Environmental Inspection of Ukraine according to ecological-resource and ecological-technogenic principles.
- Strengthening the material base of the industry, in particular by creating modern measuring laboratories. They will operate according to European standards with a significantly wider range of research and will ensure the collection and proper storage of evidence.
- A 24/7 rapid response service will be introduced in environmental control bodies. This tool will be tested in pilot projects.
The Ministry of Environment also promises to significantly improve conditions for environmental inspectors:
- competitive salaries;
- transparent competitions for positions;
- life and disability insurance for inspectors;
- a system of professional development and continuous training for inspectors;
- special attention will be paid to the employment of war veterans.
It should be noted that the last time information about the progress of state environmental control reform appeared in the public domain was almost a year ago, in July 2024. At that time, representatives of the Ministry of Environment, together with industry experts, presented to their colleagues from the EU Delegation to Ukraine and the European Commission directorates the draft law No. 3091 “On State Environmental Control,” which was prepared for the second reading. After that, there was silence.
