We demand the restoration of the Ministry for Environmental Protection as an independent institution – statement

Information about the possible merger of three ministries into one in the summer of 2025 caused a significant outcry in civil society and among experts. A number of civil society organisations appealed to Members of Parliament demanding that the Ministry of Environment not be liquidated. The statement was initiated by the human rights organisation “Environment–People–Law” and was supported by almost one hundred NGOs. Nevertheless, Members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ignored this and merged three institutions into one ministry.

In light of the fact that it has now become known about the anti-corruption operation “Midas” and what was recorded on tape in the context of the merger of the ministries, we believe it is necessary not only to renew the staff of the Government by removing from the executive branch all those implicated in this case, but also to urgently restore the work of the Ministry for Environmental Protection as an independent institution.

The Ministry for Environmental Protection is not a “resource agency”. It is a key state body that must be independent in shaping environmental policy to ensure healthy lives in a clean environment. Integrating this ministry into a structure that is simultaneously responsible for the economy, agricultural policy and environmental protection means erasing environmental priorities and creating a constant conflict of interest at the very centre of decision-making, as well as posing a very serious risk of new corruption schemes. In almost six months of the existence of the new ministry, it has demonstrated its ineffectiveness.

Since the creation of the new ministry, not a single key reform has been carried out. This is despite the fact that, in the environmental field, Ukraine has obligations to transpose more than 200 EU directives and regulations. The merged ministry does not even manage to put out fires around scandals related to construction in the Carpathians, illegal landfills, unlawfully issued permits for handling hazardous waste, illegal logging, or the systematic and proper collection of data on the environmental impacts of the war.

The European Commission, in its report, draws attention to the current challenges Ukraine faces in environmental protection, including significant corruption risks related to the use of subsoil and land, and illegal logging.

In addition, the European Parliament has stated that the so-called “law of Ihor Mazepa” (draft law No. 12089) is essentially the legalisation of stolen property (forests, coastlines), and the European Commission has noted that this law not only has a negative impact on the environment, but also entails significant corruption risks.

We draw your attention to the fact that when the Ministry of Environment existed as a separate institution, it submitted its own proposal to veto this harmful draft law and thus acted as a safeguard. The liquidation of such an institution is support for crimes against the environment that slow down Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

In view of the above arguments, we demand that Members of Parliament restore the work of a separate Ministry for Environmental Protection as soon as possible and appoint as its head a candidate who will strengthen public trust in the Government of Ukraine.

Signatories:

1. Civic initiative “Holka”, Iryna Fedoriv

2. International Charitable Organization “Environment–People–Law”, Olena Kravchenko

3. NGO “Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group”, Oleksii Vasyliuk

4. NGO “Save Dnipro”, Iryna Chernysh

5. NGO “Mariupol Zero Waste”, Nataliia Haietska

6. NGO “Zero Waste Society”, Anastasiia Martynenko

7. NGO “Zero Waste Lutsk”, Kateryna Raban

8. Civic initiative group “Free Svydovets”, Iris Del Sol

9. NGO “Greenpeace Ukraine”, Nataliia Hozak

10. NGO “Ecoclub”, Andrii Martyniuk

11. NGO “Ecosphere”, Oksana Stankevych-Volosianchuk

12. NGO “National Ecological Centre of Ukraine”, Ruslan Havryliuk

13. NGO “Forest Initiatives and Society” (ForestCom), Dmytro Karabchuk

14. NGO “Code 21”, Olena Mudra

15. NGO “Network for the Protection of National Interests ANTS”, Hanna Hopko

16. NGO “Danube-Carpathian Programme”, Bohdan Prots

17. NGO “Zaporizhzhia Without Waste”, Iryna Shchetinina

18. NGO “All-Ukrainian Environmental League”, Tetiana Tymochko

19. NGO “Centre for Environmental Initiatives ‘Ecoaction’”, Oleksii Pasiuk

20. NGO “Donetsk Regional Organisation of the All-Ukrainian Environmental League”, Oleksii Burkovskyi

21. NGO “Nadbistrytska Hutsulshchyna”, Liliia Syniak

22. Public Union “Permaculture in Ukraine”

23. International Charitable Organisation “Green Dossier Information Centre”, Tamara Malkova

24. NGO “Chysto.De”, Olena Zhuk

25. NGO “Nature Fund of Ukraine”, Anastasiia Drapaliuk

26. NGO “Save Pikui”, Nataliia Vyshnevska

27. Olesia Pynzenyk, Member of Kyiv City Council

28. NGO “Amadoka”, Mykhailo Mulenko

29. NGO “EcoTEKA”, Tetiana Melnychenko

30. NGO “Nature Conservation Geographic Information Systems of Ukraine”, Olena Sinna

31. Anna Pohrebniak, eco-activist

32. Olena Kovtun, PhD in Law, Associate Professor at the Department of Criminal and Administrative Law, Academy of Advocacy of Ukraine

33. NGO “Law of Nature”, Odesa

34. NGO “Network of Eco-Stations of Ukraine”, Bohdan Popov

35. NGO “Environmental Organisation ‘Mizhrichynska Puscha’”, Andrii Sahaidak

36. NGO “All-Ukrainian Youth Association ‘National Alliance’”, Yuliia Babii

37. Mariiana Teslovych, ecologist, PhD in Natural Sciences

38. Oleksandra Mashtaler, PhD in Biology, Associate Professor at the Department of Botany and Ecology, Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University

39. Poliskyi Nature Reserve, “Ecology” sector

40. Committee on Agrarian, Land and Environmental Law of the National Bar Association of Ukraine, Sofiia Shutiak

41. NGO “Centre for Economic and Legal Analysis”, Danylo Vankovych

42. NGO “Grassroots Institute Ukraine”, Olha Donets

43. Wood Museum in Lviv, Vasyl Zaiachuk

44. Department of Law and Information Activities, Ukrainian National Forestry University, Liubov Sheptytska

45. NGO “Revival of Natural Heritage”, Ivan Rusev, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor

46. Myroslava Mylenka, Director of the International Educational and Scientific Centre “Observatory” of Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University

47. NGO “Environmental News”, Olha Mashkova

48. NGO “Kyiv for People”, Chair of the Board Maryna Antoshchuk

49. Nature Reserve “Roztochchia”, Ihor Skolskyi

50. Inna Heria

51. NGO “U-Kyiv”, Anastasiia Hlushchenko

52. NGO “Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds” (BirdLife International partner), Volodymyr Zinchuk

53. NGO “Assistance to Rural Development”, Serhii Shcherbatiuk

54. Oksana Chipizhna

55. NGO “Veteran UA”, Ivan Chyhyryn

56. Institute of Industrial Ecology, Oleksandr Sihal

57. Department of Ecology and Geography, Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University

58. National Nature Park “Tuzlivski Lymany”, Iryna Vykhrystiuk

59. NGO “Bureau of Environmental Investigations”, Dmytro Skrylnikov

60. Tetiana Chorna, lecturer at Odesa Educational and Scientific Centre “Afalina”

61. NGO “Rewilding Ukraine”, Oleh Diakov

62. NGO “Kyiv for People”, Maryna Antoshchuk

63. Tetiana Churylova, PhD in Law, Associate Professor at the Department of International, European Law and Comparative Law

64. Olena Staroverova, conservationist, National Nature Park “Tuzlivski Lymany”

65. Mykhailo Kliuiko

66. Anna Kuzemko, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Ukrainian Botanical Society; President of the Ukrainian Botanical Society, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Yakiv DidukhEnvironmental NGO “Green World”, Oleksandr Stepanenko

67. Student organisation “EcoClub Zelenа Khvylia” (“Green Wave”)

68. Civic Environmental Association “Nature of Roztochchia”, Halyna Striamets

69. Youth NGO “Ukrainian Union of Young Geographers”

70. Viktoriia Khrutba, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection Technologies,National Transport University, Kyiv

71. Volodymyr Radzii, PhD in Geography, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University

72. NGO “Green Leaf”, Vladyslav Balinskyi
    Oleksandr Khodosovtsev, Professor, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

73. NGO “Club of Ukrainian Patriots”, Mykhailo Berchuk

74. Yuliia Veselova, Head of the Environmental Education Department, National Nature Park “Tuzlivski Lymany”

75. Oleksandr Bronskov, Head of the Research Department, National Nature Park “Meotyda”

76. NGO “EcoTava”

77. All-Ukrainian NGO “Ukrainian Herpetological Society”, Nataliia Suriadna

78. Lidiia Hryniv, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv

79. NGO “Ukrainian Herpetological Society”, Oleksandr Hryniv

80. Charitable Organisation “Charitable Foundation ‘Biodiversity Space’”, Kateryna Kolosiuk

81. Olena Bronskova, Research Fellow, National Nature Park “Meotyda”

82. Iryna Pavlova, conservationist, National Nature Park “Tuzlivski Lymany”

83. Hanna Mykhailova, Recreation Improvement Engineer, National Nature Park “Tuzlivski Lymany”

84. Vitalii Kolomiichuk, Deputy Director of the O.V. Fomin Botanical Garden, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Doctor of

85. Biological Sciences, Associate Professor

86. Viktor Shapoval, Director of the Biosphere Reserve “Askania-Nova”

87. LLC “Research and Design Centre for Geourbanistics and Planning”, Mariia Yarish

88. Danube Biosphere Reserve, Maksym Yakovliev, researcher

89. Iryna Liashuk, Junior Research Fellow, National Nature Park “Kremenets Mountains”

90. Viktor Klid, Head of the Department of Forest and Agrarian Management, Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University, PhD in Biology

91. Nataliia Ivanova, PhD in Geography, Research Fellow at the Institute of Hydrobiology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

92. Iryna Kravchenko, eco-activist, Kharkiv

93. NGO “Khvist”, Anastasyeva

94. Volodymyr Mokryi, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor at the Department of Environmental Safety and Environmental Activities, Lviv Polytechnic National University

95. Zvenyslava Mamchur, Head of the Department of Ecology, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv

96. Yuliia Vasheniak, PhD in Biology, Associate Professor at the Department of Ecology, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy

97. Taras Kharachko, PhD in Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor, Ukrainian National Forestry University

98. NGO “Creative Space Kredents”, Svitlana Dzhunzhyk

99. Nataliia Kendziora, Master of Ecology, PhD in Agricultural Sciences, Director of the Botanical Garden of the Ukrainian National Forestry University

100. Anastasiia Durakova, Second-Class Specialist, National Nature Park “Tuzlivski Lymany”

101. Valeriia Konaikova, PhD, Junior Research Fellow at the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany

102. Serhii Nahaiev, citizen

103. Serhii Panchenko, Doctor of Biological Sciences

104. Tetiana Derevenko, PhD in Biology, Director of the Botanical Garden of Yurii Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University

105. Nataliia Ursatii, volunteer with NGO “Ecoaction”

106. NGO “Seed Treasury”, Tetiana Sytnyk

107. Nadiia Skobel, PhD student at the Department of Botany, Kherson State University

108. Olena Vlasenko, NGO “Tatarbunar Source. Prosveita”

109. National Nature Park “Hetmanskyi”, Mykola Bashtovyi

110. Yurii Bengus, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Botany, H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Kharkiv

111. Serhii Skoryk, National Nature Park “Kamianska Sich”

112. Olha Chusova, PhD in Biology, Research Fellow at the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany

113. Volodymyr Timoshenkov, Research Fellow, National Nature Park “Homilshanski Forests”

114. Ivan Moisiienko, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Botany, Kherson State University

115. NGO “Centre for Regional Studies”, Ihor Studennykov

116. NGO “Institute for Lawmaking and Information Technologies”, Holyna Serova

117. Youth Environmental NGO “Our Home – Manyava”, Mykhailo Skydaniuk

118. Oleksandr Savytskyi, Research Department, Nyzhniosulskyi National Nature Park

119. NGO “Kinburn”, Mykola Hruby

120. NGO “Eco-Park Osokorky”, Olha Parzhytska

121. Youth Club “Joint Actions”, Antonina Halkina

122. Roman Abramovskyi, serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, former Minister for Environmental Protection

123. Public Union “Ukrainian Association of Animal Defenders”, Mariia Trunova

124. NGO “ECOALLIANCE”, Oleksandr Fil

125. NGO “Desnianski Zori”, Serhii Kubrakov

126. Myroslava Yerhunova, Deputy Director, Chief Naturalist, National Nature Park “Pivnichne Podillia”

     If you would like to sign this statement, please email ngo.holka@gmail.com