OSCE holds second roundtable on water management in Ukraine

KYIV, 26 November 2002 - Developing sustainable water management policies brought together experts in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv for a second time yesterday.

The one-day seminar on the "Introduction of the European Union Water Framework Directive", organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, focused on presenting a comparative analysis of the Directive and relevant Ukrainian legislation.

In addition to some 40 representatives of various Ukrainian governmental and non-governmental institutions, representatives of Moldova, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan also participated in the roundtable. They were invited to Kyiv by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the Office of the OSCE Co-ordinator on Economic and Environmental Activities in Vienna.

"The Water Framework Directive is a very useful tool for developing a sustainable water policy in Ukraine. We will harmonize our legislation according to it," said Ruslan Marutovskij, member of the Verkhovna Rada and the Committee on Ecological Policy in Ukraine.

Representatives from Moldova's Ministry of Environment expressed their wish to do a project on the "Implementation of the European Union Water Framework Directive in Moldova" as this would be very helpful in designing a new water policy in the country.

Participants from Central Asia confirmed that such events were essential tools in order to exchange expert information and experience.

A handbook on "Ukraine and the EU Water Framework Directive" has already been published as part of the project and was disseminated to the participants.

The seminar was held in close co-operation with the State Committee of Water Management in Ukraine, the Committee on Ecological Policy of the Supreme Council of Ukraine and the River Basin Management of the river Dnieper. The project has been entirely funded by the German Government.