On October 29, 2020 at 12:30, a roundtable «Risks and Protection: Legislation and Practice» was held at Ukrinform.

Discussion was organized by the Right to Protection Charitable Foundation within the framework of the European Union-funded Disaster Risk Reduction project in Eastern Ukraine and implemented by the #3P Consortium.

The roundtable was attended by governmental representatives and members of parliament, military-civil administrations, employees of state enterprises* . Legal Analyst at Right to Protection CF Anastasia Bondarenko was a moderator at the event.

A number of important issues were discussed during the four-hour conference, including:

• Increasing the population’s readiness for risks with the help of legal instruments;
• The role of local self-government in preparing the population for emergencies;
• Challenges in the processes of increasing the readiness of the population in the context of decentralization reform;
• Environmental and man-made risk management in Donbas Region.

In addition to the thematic discussion, the White Paper was presented – an analytical document developed by experts from the 3P Consortium, which offers practical recommendations for public authorities for refinements and additions to the Unified State Civil Protection System of Ukraine.

Click the links below to download electronic versions of all the above-mentioned documents:

WHITE BOOK (IN UKRAINIAN AND ENGLISH)

• БІЛА КНИГА. Управління ризиками надзвичайних ситуацій та системи цивільного захисту в контексті пріоритетів Сендайської рамкової програми зменшення ризиків надзвичайних ситуацій

• WHITE BOOK. Disaster Risk Management and Civil Protection Systems in the Context of Priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

ANALYTICAL REPORTS (IN UKRAINIAN AND ENGLISH)

• АНАЛІТИЧНИЙ ЗВІТ. «Стан чинного законодавства України, що регулює питання цивільного захисту, в контексті пріоритетів Сендайської Рамкової Програми зменшення ризиків надзвичайних ситуацій»

• ANALYTICAL REPORT. On the state of Ukrainian legal framework regulating civil protection in the context of priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

• АНАЛІТИЧНИЙ ЗВІТ. «Стан українського законодавства, що регулює екологічні та техногенні ризики, в контексті пріоритетів Сендайської Рамкової Програми зменшення ризиків надзвичайних ситуацій»

• ANALYTICAL REPORT On the state of Ukrainian legislative framework regulating environmental and industrial risks in the context of priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

During the discussion of the Lesya Vasylenko, Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Climate Change and Atmospheric Air Protection of the Verkhovna Rada noted about the serious problems with mines in the occupied territories, namely that facilities pose a real threat and can cause a humanitarian catastrophe due to their uncontrolled flooding.

«We need to consistently collect information about the quality of soil, air and water. This should be done not just once in a few years, or when international funding is received, but systematically, on a regular basis. … In order to make environmental projects work we need to ensure the existence of special site, where topics on ecological safety of whole Donbas region will be discussed»

– Ms. Vasylenko said.

Deputy also invited all those who were present at the event to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management hearings, which will be on November 10, 2020 in Zoom video conference format..

Taras Polishchuk, Head of the Technological Safety Department of the Department for Emergency Prevention, pointed on the importance of promoting the idea of mandatory insurance for all the enterprises, which pose technological risks.

«Ukrainian insurance sector just does not work when it comes to the safety of facilities. For example, in European countries all such facilities have obligations to insure for emergency cases, so they are afraid to do anything that can potentially yield any harm to ecology»

– said Mr. Polishchuk.

Recording of the whole discussion is available on YouTube

* Complete list of participants of the round table: 

Lesya Vasylenko – Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Climate Change and Atmospheric Air Protection of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management; 

Anastasia Bondarenko – legal analyst of the Right to Protection Charitable Foundation, moderator; 

Anna Cherkasova – Chief Ecologist of the MCA in Toretsk; 

Oleksandr Ashchaulov – Deputy General Director for Labor Protection of Toretskvugillya State Enterprise; 

Taras Polishchuk – Head of Technogenic Safety Department, Department of Emergency Prevention; 

Oleksandr Leshchenko – Deputy Director of the Department – Head of the Department for Protection of Population and Territories, Department for the Organization of Civil Protection Measures; 

Bohdan Danyliuk – Deputy Head of the Operational Duty Service and Preparedness of Control Points, Emergency Response Department; 

Maksym Ivanov – Deputy Head of the Civil Protection Department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Luhansk Oblast; 

Serhiy Andriychuk – Chief Specialist for Defense Work, Civil Defense and Law Enforcement Interaction, Popasna Regional State Administration; 

Oleksiy Babchenko – Head of the Military-Civil Administration of Zolote and Katerynivka village in Popasna district, Luhansk region; representative of the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine.