Yesterday, the Environmental Policy and Nature Management Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) reviewed the government’s Draft Law No. 13554 on Deregulation.
This bill proposes to cancel several dozen environmental permits and approvals. Among these are crucial authorizations for:
- The construction of dams and other water retention structures on rivers.
- The leasing of water bodies (e.g., lakes or reservoirs).
- The construction of land reclamation systems (melioratsiini systemy—typically drainage works).
- Economic activity within the Chornobyl Biosphere Reserve.
In addition, the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” and the State Forest Resources Agency (Derzhlisahientstvo) proposed further amendments to cancel approvals for forest management plans (lisovporiadkuvannia) and the calculation of allowable cut volumes (rozkalkulatsiini lisosiky). If passed, this would allow foresters alone to decide what, where, and how much timber to harvest.
Ignoring Environmental Mandates
Such initiatives are not new. However, the bill was presented and fully supported yesterday by representatives of the Ministry of Economy. It appears they have forgotten that they are now officially the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agricultural Policy. Their mandate requires them to care not only about deregulation but also about environmental conservation.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Economy representatives present were reportedly indignant that other state bodies – such as the State Agency of Water Resources of Ukraine (Derzhvodahientstvo) – expressed their disagreement with the proposed changes.
Fortunately, the Environmental Committee referred the bill back for revision. However, this serves as another serious warning sign that environmental conservation is far from being a priority for the Ministry of Economy. This suggests that without the restoration of a separate, dedicated environment ministry, our environment could face catastrophic consequences.
You can watch our video on the UNCG YouTube channel about why thoughtless deregulation harms not only nature but also businesses, and often simply amounts to the legalization of corrupt schemes, Link to the YouTube video – here.
