Environmental Public Monitoring (UA0066)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Ukraine Third National Action Plan 2016-2018
Action Plan Cycle: 2016
Status: Inactive
Institutions
Lead Institution: Ministry of the Environment, State Agency for Administration of the Exclusion Zone, Regional and Kyiv Municipal State administrations.
Support Institution(s): Civil society institutions and international organisations (by consent).
Policy Areas
Environment and Climate, Open DataIRM Review
IRM Report: Ukraine End-of-Term Report 2016-2018, Ukraine Mid-Term Report 2016-2018
Starred: No
Early Results: Did Not Change
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Access to Information Technology
Implementation i
Description
Event: Introduction of public monitoring of the state of the environment.; Implementation timeframe: 2016-2018; Entities responsible: Ministry of the Environment, State Agency for Administration of the Exclusion Zone, Regional and Kyiv Municipal State administrations; Partners: Civil society institutions and international organisations (by consent).; Expected results: Ensuring the: Creation of an open list of the largest polluters in the regions as part of the development of a national automated environmental data system. Creation of an electronic system for monitoring radiation safety and environmental threats.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
10. Introduce public monitoring of the state of the environment
Commitment Text:
Introduction of public monitoring of the state of the environment.
Expected results: Creation of an open list of the largest polluters in the regions as part of the development of a national automated environmental data system. Creation of an electronic system for monitoring radiation safety and environmental threats.
Responsible institutions: Ministry of the Environment, State Agency for Administration of the Exclusion Zone, Regional and Kyiv Municipal State administrations.
Supporting institutions: Civil society institutions and international organizations (by consent).
Start date: December 2016.. End date: August 2018
Commitment Aim:
This commitment aims to introduce a public monitoring system of the state of the environment in Ukraine. It would provide a transparent mechanism to monitor the enviornment and keep residents informed about enivronment issues and dangers in their regions. This commitment seeks to create an open list of the largest polluters in the regions as part of the development of a national automated environmental data system. It would also create an electronic system for monitoring radiation safety and environmental threats.
Status
Midterm: Limited
By the end of the first year of the action plan, the government delivered the first expected result. On 4 July 2017, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources published a list of the top 100 national polluters on its website. [178] The list identified polluters based on one of three categories of pollution: water, air, and industrial waste. Experts from environmental civil society groups criticized the methodology used to acquire the data, as well as the quality and timeliness of the data. Authorities agreed that the information on ecological pollution remained incomplete. The data portal and monitoring system were at the stage of the basic conceptual design. The three published, publicly accessible environmental datasets [179], [180], [181] present the above-mentioned list in an open data (.xls and .csv) format. However, the government has not integrated the datasets into a single, automatic system. For more information, please see the 2016–2018 IRM midterm report. [182]
End of term: Limited
Although the ministry announced that it updates the datasets annually, [183] as of the end of September 2018, the latest available data was from July 2017. Relatedly, the ministry noted insufficient information and communication technology infrastructure, the lack of institutional capacity, and inefficient coordination of activities related to collecting and structuring ecological information, especially in digital format. The ministry admitted that its methodology was imperfect, as each regional authority submitted the top five polluters in their regions. However, some regions contain more dangerous enterprises than others. The ministry recognized that, instead, the top 100 polluters should be identified nationwide. [184] Considering this, in 2018, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources (MENR) developed a new methodology for the evaluation of ecological threats. It also developed an integral indicator of negative effect on environment. This indicator includes (1) a potential ecological threat of a facility; (2) a facility’s actual negative impact on environment (in the form of emissions, discharges, waste generation, and waste management); and (3) the current pollution rate of territories (including soils, water surface and underground objects, and the level of damage to the local biosystem). [185] To apply this methodology, in 2018, MENR delegated the monitoring of polluters to a research institution implementing a research project for public funds. [186]
On 28 March 2018 the Cabinet of Ministers adopted decree #244-p. This decree constituted the government’s action plan for 2018. [187] It included the development of a nationwide automated system, Open Environment. The government action plan entails drafting and adopting the relevant concept paper, action plan, and terms of reference for Open Environment. It also calls for a trial operation of several modules of Open Environment by the end of 2018. The government planned for Open Environment to form a digital geo-information infrastructure for the protection of environment and a centralized electronic system for managing ecological information. MENR informed the IRM researcher that it has developed the concept paper on the automated system Open Environment. On 23 July 2018 it received legal approval from the Ministry of Justice, and on 7 September 2018 it submitted the paper to the Cabinet of Ministers for review and adoption. [188] An expert on ecological transparency from civil society confirmed that the government developed the concept paper and that it conforms to European Union regulations. [189]
Various agencies and volunteer projects conduct the monitoring. For instance, on 6 July 2018 the State Agency of Water Resources presented a jointly developed interactive map of river pollution in Ukraine. [190] The ministry envisions this tool as becoming part of the future Open Environment system. This Clear Water map visualizes the pollution of the six biggest rivers in Ukraine to a high precision. [191] An ecologist and civic activist explained that the map demonstrates water pollution by 16 parameters, according to data from 445 locations. [192] The State Agency for Administration of the Exclusion Zone conducts air pollution monitoring exclusively in the contaminated zone. [193]
Did It Open Government?
Access to Information: Did Not Change
At the beginning of the action plan, despite the efforts of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, there existed no transparent mechanism for monitoring the environment in Ukraine. The available information was limited or outdated. For example, publicly accessible pollution data was significantly out of date. Therefore, the government took on the commitment to introduce public monitoring mechanisms. Specifically, it sought to publish an online, open list of the largest polluting industries by region and to develop a national, automated data system to track environmental indicators. The government designed this system to be paired with an electronic system to monitor spikes in unsafe radiation, as well as other environmental threats. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources published the top 100 polluters (up top five polluters in each monitored oblast) and drafted a concept paper of the automated system Open Environment. However, the government has published the lists of top 100 polluters in previous years, [194], [195], [196] and the concept paper has not been adopted by the government yet. Thus, there has been no significant change in government policy on the issue.
Carried Forward?
Given the relevance of this topic in Ukraine, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources should develop and launch the automated system Open Environment. It should present detailed, disaggregated information on air, water, and industrial waste pollution, and radiation contamination in an open data format, with visualization.
[178] “Information about Objects, Which Are the Biggest Atmosphere Polluters,” Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, https://menr.gov.ua/files/docs/news/TOP_100.pdf.
[179] “The List of the Biggest Environmental Polluters in Ukraine—Considering Air Pollution,” Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, 13 July 2017, https://menr.gov.ua/news/31570.html.
[180] “The List of the Biggest Environmental Polluters in Ukraine—Considering Water Pollution,” Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, 14 July 2017, https://menr.gov.ua/news/31574.html.
[181] “The List of the Biggest Environmental Polluters in Ukraine—Considering Industrial Waste,” Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, 14 July 2017, https://menr.gov.ua/news/31575.html.
[182] “Ukraine Mid-Term Report 2016–2018,” Open Government Partnership, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/ukraine-mid-term-report-2016-2018-year-1/.
[183] “Information about Objects, Which Are the Biggest Atmosphere Polluters,” Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, http://data.gov.ua/passport/b348d687-40d6-4039-b346-171096fc6101.
[184] Dmytro Bulyka (Ministry of Ecology of Ukraine), email exchange with IRM researcher, 14 September 2018.
[185] Ibid.
[186] Ibid.
[187] “Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The Decree on 28 March 2018 #244-p, The Government Portal,” Unified Web-Portal of Executive Authorities of Ukraine, https://www.kmu.gov.ua/ua/npas/pro-zatverdzhennya-planu-prioritetnih-dij-uryadu-na-2018-rik.
[188] Dmytro Bulyka (Ministry of Ecology of Ukraine), email exchange with IRM researcher, 14 September 2018.
[189] Antonina Yerysheva (Civic Energy), interview with IRM researcher, 16 August 2018.
[190] “‘Clear Water’: The Online Map of River Pollution in Ukraine Was Presented,” the Government Portal, Unified Web-Portal of Executive Authorities of Ukraine, https://www.kmu.gov.ua/ua/news/chista-voda-prezentovano-onlajn-kartu-zabrudnenosti-richok-v-ukrayini.
[191] Clear Water, http://texty.org.ua/water/.
[192] Antonina Yerysheva (Civic Energy), interview with IRM researcher, 16 August 2018.
[193] Ibid.
[194] “Top Environmental Polluters in Ukraine Have Been Announced,” Ukrainian Pravda, 21 July 2006, https://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2006/07/21/3133304/.
[195] “Top Environmental Polluters in Dnipropetrovsk Region in 2007,” Ukrrudprom, 15 February 2008, http://www.ukrrudprom.com/digest/dfdsaqw150208.html.
[196] “Top Environmental Polluters Need to Be Known,” Sivershchyna, 7 February 2011, https://siver.com.ua/news/najbilshi_nashi_zabrudnjuvachi_jikh_varto_znati/2011-02-07-7066.
Commitments
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Infrastructure Data Portal
UA0070, 2018, E-Government
-
Open Standard for e-System
UA0071, 2018, E-Government
-
Ensuring Openness and Transparency of Selling Public Assets and Property
UA0072, 2018, E-Government
-
Transparency in Public Procurement (Prozorro)
UA0073, 2018, E-Government
-
Awarenss Raising About Social and Economic Development
UA0074, 2018, Aid
-
e-Calls for Proposals to Support CSOs
UA0075, 2018, Civic Space
-
Beneficial Ownership Registry
UA0076, 2018, Beneficial Ownership
-
Anti-Corruption Training
UA0077, 2018, Anti-Corruption Institutions
-
Publishing Environmental Information
UA0078, 2018, E-Government
-
Database of Natural Resources
UA0079, 2018, E-Government
-
Interactive Map of Mines
UA0080, 2018, E-Government
-
Priority Electronic Services
UA0081, 2018, Citizenship and Immigration
-
Online Platform for Executive Bodies and CSOs
UA0082, 2018, Civic Space
-
EITI Online Data
UA0083, 2018, E-Government
-
Electronic Resources for Education
UA0084, 2018, E-Government
-
Online Verification of Education Certificates
UA0085, 2018, E-Government
-
Free Access to National Repository for Academic Texts
UA0086, 2018, E-Government
-
Administrative Service Decentrilisation and Improvement
UA0057, 2016, Capacity Building
-
United State Portal Extension; Electronic Government Information Services Unification; Modern Tools for Electronic Identification
UA0058, 2016, Capacity Building
-
System for Entities Performing Government Functions
UA0059, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Free Urban Planning Documentation
UA0060, 2016, E-Government
-
Beneficial Ownership Verification System
UA0061, 2016, Beneficial Ownership
-
CoST Beneficial Ownership Standards
UA0062, 2016, E-Government
-
Transpartent Budget System
UA0063, 2016,
-
Open Public Procurement
UA0064, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
UA0065, 2016, Extractive Industries
-
Environmental Public Monitoring
UA0066, 2016, Environment and Climate
-
Community Policing System
UA0067, 2016, Education
-
Draft Law on Public Consultations
UA0068, 2016, Legislation & Regulation
-
Development of E-Democracy.
UA0069, 2016, Money in Politics
-
Improve Government Rules on CSO Involvement
UA0031, 2014, E-Government
-
Financing of Charities
UA0032, 2014, Civic Space
-
Not-For-Profit Status for CSOs
UA0033, 2014, Civic Space
-
Public Participation Law
UA0034, 2014, E-Government
-
Establishing Rules on Processing Official Information
UA0035, 2014, E-Government
-
Access to Urban Planning Documents
UA0036, 2014, E-Government
-
Access to Communist-Era Archives
UA0037, 2014, Legislation & Regulation
-
Draft Law on Open Data
UA0038, 2014, Legislation & Regulation
-
Supervisory Mechanism for the Right to Information
UA0039, 2014, Legislation & Regulation
-
Compliance with EITI
UA0040, 2014, Extractive Industries
-
Monitoring of Infrastructure Projects
UA0041, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions
-
Adopt Regional Anti-Corruption Programmes
UA0042, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions
-
Corruption Risk Assessment Methodology
UA0043, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions
-
Asset Disclosure on a Single Web Portal
UA0044, 2014, Asset Disclosure
-
Law on Administrative Procedure
UA0045, 2014, Legislation & Regulation
-
Law on Streamlining Payment of Administrative Fees
UA0046, 2014, E-Government
-
Administrative Services Portal
UA0047, 2014, E-Government
-
Draft Law on Decentralisation of Administrative Services
UA0048, 2014, Legislation & Regulation
-
Draft Law on Social Services
UA0049, 2014, E-Government
-
e-Government Laws
UA0050, 2014, E-Government
-
Electronic Readiness Assessment
UA0051, 2014, E-Government
-
Government Regulations on Open Data
UA0052, 2014, E-Government
-
Electronic Democracy Development Roadmap
UA0053, 2014, E-Government
-
Open Budget Initiatives
UA0054, 2014, E-Government
-
e-Petitions
UA0055, 2014, E-Government
-
e-Governance Training for Local Government
UA0056, 2014, Capacity Building
-
Laws on Public Participation
UA0001, 2012, Civic Space
-
Amendments to the Law on Community Associations
UA0002, 2012, Civic Space
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Amendments to Resolutions on Collaboration with Civil Society
UA0003, 2012, E-Government
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Training for Public Servants on Consultations
UA0004, 2012, Capacity Building
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Harmonisation of Access to Information Laws
UA0005, 2012, E-Government
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By-Laws on Access to Information
UA0006, 2012, Legislation & Regulation
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Guidelines for Classifying Data
UA0007, 2012, Public Participation
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Public Information Recording Systems
UA0008, 2012, Records Management
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Law on Public Broadcasting
UA0009, 2012, Civic Space
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Public Access to Information in State Registers
UA0010, 2012, E-Government
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Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
UA0011, 2012, E-Government
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Law for Controlling Declarations of Public Servants
UA0012, 2012, Asset Disclosure
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Public Declarations of Officials’ Assets
UA0013, 2012, Asset Disclosure
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Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest
UA0014, 2012, Conflicts of Interest
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Updated Anti-Corruption Laws
UA0015, 2012, E-Government
-
Regional Anti-Corruption Programmes
UA0016, 2012, E-Government
-
Law on Competitive e-Government Procurement
UA0017, 2012, E-Government
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Administrative Services Reforms
UA0018, 2012, E-Government
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Electronic Access to Administrative Services
UA0019, 2012, E-Government
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Governmental Web Portal of Administrative Services
UA0020, 2012, E-Government
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Administrative Services in a Digital Format
UA0021, 2012,
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Regional Administrative Service Centres
UA0022, 2012, Public Service Delivery
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Programme for Promotion of e-Government
UA0023, 2012, E-Government
-
Electronic Collaboration Between Executive Agencies
UA0024, 2012,
-
Web-Based Petitions System
UA0025, 2012,
-
One Stop Shop for e-Reporting
UA0026, 2012, E-Government
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e-Region Pilot Project
UA0027, 2012, E-Government
-
Network of e-Government Practitioners
UA0028, 2012, Public Participation
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Public Libraries as Bridges Towards e-Governance
UA0029, 2012, E-Government
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e-Government Knowledge Management Portal
UA0030, 2012,