Panel discussion on environmental governance in Ukraine
National seminar “World – Europe – Kyiv-2003”

Panel discussion on environmental governance in Ukraine was held on May 16 in the frame of National seminar "World — Europe — Kyiv-2003".

Aim. Based on "Kyiv-2003" project experience and discussion of the results, it's clear that many of the environmental problems in Ukraine and other countries are seen as the result of failures in the environmental governance system.

Aims of Panel Discussion:

• Increase awareness about environmental governance issue, about the state and problems of all the levels of environmental governance in Ukraine;
• To attract NGO and civil society attention and launch the broad discussion of environmental governance issue in Ukraine.

Participants. More than 150 participants took part in the discussion. They were representatives of environmental NGOs, local and national authorities, institutes and universities from all the regions of Ukraine.

Experts. Taking into account the aim of discussion, the organizers invited experts from all levels of environmental governance framework in Ukraine — national, regional, public and also manufacturing sector.

Presentations

• State environmental governance towards sustainable development in Ukraine – potential for improving, Sergiy Kurykin, ex-minister of Environment and Natural Recourses of Ukraine.
• Use of integrated poverty indicators in environmental governance, Olexiy Poznyak, Lyudmyla Cherenko, Council for productive forces study, National Academy of Science of Ukraine.
• Responsiveness of opinion of NGOs and other stakeholders in effective planning and realization of environmental governance. Olexandr Mykytyuk, LEAD program manager, ISAR.
• Improving environmental governance at a local level. Volodymyr Sozinov, City administration of environment and natural resources of Odessa.
• Information, Public Participation and Access to justice in environmental governance – The Access Initiative. Yumiko Fugii, ЕМLA, Hungary.
• Environmental governance in private sector. Vitaliy Potapov, expert.
• Environmental education as a factor in the formation of effective environmental governance. Yuriy Skyba, National Pedagogical University.

Experts' presentation stimulated a lot of question concerning models of environmental governance in other countries, personal responsibility in this system, cooperation between different agencies that carry out environmental governance etc. There was consensus that the environmental governance system in Ukraine can be improved.

Recommendations:

• Improving the model of cooperation between government authorities, particularly those whose decisions impact the environment;
• Establishment of clear structure of governing system in the field of environment protection and natural resources;
• Avoiding duplication of work by different agencies, and separating economic and control functions;
• Strengthening the role of private enterprise within the system of environmental governance;
• Inclusion of the social and economic aspects in development environmental governance mechanisms;
• Use of economic incentives;
• Inclusion and close cooperation with NGOs, scientists and stakeholders at all levels of environmental governance.

As the result of the panel discussion the theme of governance has been brought to the attention of many people at a national level seminar. Members of the panel discussion have also been commissioned to carry out detailed research as part of the wide project activities.