The Ministry of Environmental Protection hosted an interagency meeting on water resources management with the participation of Minister of Environmental Protection Svitlana Hrynchuk, Head of the State Agency of Ukraine for Water Resources Ihor Hopchak, heads of basin councils, EU representatives and key stakeholders in the sector. This was the first event of its kind to bring together all basin councils, heads of departments and representatives of various levels of government for a comprehensive discussion of pressing issues and strategic development of the water sector.
During the event, the updated River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs), which were developed in accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive, were presented. It is important that the basin councils, which have been operating since 2018, have already become full-fledged participants in the state policy in the field of water management, but their institutional capacity needs to be strengthened. One of the key issues raised at the meeting was the need to improve coordination between the Ministry, the State Agency of Ukraine for Water Resources and basin councils, particularly in terms of funding, access to data and attracting international assistance.
Particular attention was paid to infrastructure issues: most of the protective structures on the balance sheet of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy have been in operation for more than 60 years, and due to the war, work on the reconstruction of dams and hydraulic structures was effectively suspended. It is critical to find mechanisms to attract investment and international technical assistance to modernise this infrastructure.
‘We presented updated River Basin Management Plans, discussed international cooperation and identified critical issues in the water sector. Particular attention was paid to the challenges on the Danube, and I hope that these issues will remain in the focus of both the Ministry and the State Agency of Water Resources. There is a lot of work ahead. But it is important that we move forward, building a systematic water management policy that will meet modern challenges and European standards,’ said Yuriy Maslov, President of the Association “EU Strategy for the Danube Region”.
As a result of the meeting, the parties agreed to closer coordination between the Ministry of Ecology, the State Agency of Ukraine for Water Resources and basin councils, strengthening international cooperation and creating a centralised platform for environmental data collection.
