FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY - Article 19

ARTICLE 19GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR FREE EXPRESSIONrepresentative in Donetsk stressed that the problem was not so much obstacles faced by civil society inaccessing the media, but rather journalists’ lack of professionalism in covering environmental issues inthe oblast, resulting in a lack of relevant environmental information reaching the public. 318:,4 % 6:,4,* -.%% 6#A respondent from the State Department of the Environment in Kyiv maintained that, in his view, thepublic should not take part in the development of environmental policies as this is the responsibility ofthe State. Another official interviewed, also from Kyiv, described public involvement in Kyiv as the‘mock participation of the public in the development of environmental policies’. He mentioned as anexample ‘ceremonial’ roundtable discussions with local authorities, with the ensuingrecommendations simply being filed in the environmental authorities’ archives.Public involvement in decision-making is a requirement for the Regional EnvironmentalProtection Programmes for Donetsk. Public officials have established public councils with Donetsk’Statel Department of the Environment to facilitate this. However, environmentalists in this oblast werenot able to participate in the drafting of a local environmental policy.Interviewees emphasised that public officials tend to underrate the need to co-operate with thepublic and the need to provide environmental information to communities. An expert from an NGOstated ‘[Local public officials] fail to grasp who the public is, don’t want to work with it, and don’tknow how to, and can’t properly understand their role in such communication’.People in Donetsk stated that they would like to be informed of construction works or otherinitiatives that occur in their neighbourhoods, and claimed that such activities usually take placewithout prior consultation or without people in the area even being informed.:,4,& % 0 .A public official from Kyiv noted that public hearings are often an ‘imitation’ of a proper process anddo not provide substantive information that can be beneficial to people. Hearings usually last no longerthan 40 minutes, during which public officials provide only superficial information, mostly justreassuring the public by stating that environmental issues will be taken into consideration in newprojects. 319318 Interview with Victoria Grankina, see note 291.319 Interview with Oleg Listopad, see note 82.For Internal Use Only. Is Post-Chornobyl Ukraine Ready for Access to Environmental Information?ARTICLE 19, London, 2007)