This Policy Dialogue was initiated by State Committee of Ukraine in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environmental Protection of Ukraine and supported by the UN European Economic Commission in 2008 and is one of two policy dialogues in the water sector, which are held under the EU Water Initiative, a component for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA).

The meeting was attended by 58 representatives of various ministries and agencies, international organizations and stakeholders: including 31 representatives of central and local government bodies: Ministry of the Environmental Protection of Ukraine, Ministry of Emergencies of Ukraine, Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Central and regional Sanitary Epidemiological Service, State Committee for Water Management of Ukraine, State Hydrometeorological Service of Ukraine, Central Hydrometeo Observatory, 8 representatives from international organizations and international experts (the UNECE, OSCE, EU Delegation to Ukraine, the Centre for Water Assessment (IWAC), Mott MacDonald); 13 representatives of scientific institutions and 6 — from NGOs.

The meeting was chaired by Mikhail Yatsyuk — First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Water Management.

Issues that were discussed during the National Policy Dialogue:

• The current situation with the implementation of the IWRM principles, including adaptation to climate change and flood protection.
• Information about the projects on IWRM in Ukraine.
• Sustainable water management, safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.
• Future activities of the NPD IWRM in Ukraine.

List of presentations:

1. The state of implementation of the policy package developed within the NPD IWRM in 2009 “Adaptation of the water sector to climate change in the Dniester River Basin” —   Ms. Larysa Lysuyk, Head of the Department of complex water resources  usage and monitoring of the State Committee of Ukraine for Water Management
2. Information on the start of a pilot project developed based on the NPD IWRM policy package “Reducing vulnerability to extreme floods and climate change in the Dniester river basin” – Ms. Sonja Köppel, UNECE Water Convention Secretariat
3. The concept of balanced ecologically safe usage, protection, restoration and management of water resources in Ukraine — Anatolii Yatsyk, Director of Ukrainian Water and Ecological Problems Institute
4. Results of public hearing of the preliminary targets on Protocol on water and Health — Ms. Ganna Tsvietkova, Co-ordinator of the Water and Sanitation Program of “MAMA-86”
5. Outcomes of the target setting under the Protocol on Water and Health in Moldova — Mr. Rainer Enderlein, UNECE Consultant
6. Implementation of the Protocol on water and health in Dniester river region: experience of Odessa oblast — Mr. Andrey Mokienko Ukrainian Institute of Medicine of Transport
7. Climate change and predicted impacts on hydrological regime and water resources in Ukraine — Mr.  Viacheslav Manukalo, Deputy Chairman, State Hydrometeorological Service, Ukraine
8. Proposals for a new policy package to develop in 2010–2012 “Concept of a national policy of Ukraine on the water sector adaptation to climate change” — Mr. Michael Yatsyuk, First Deputy Head of State Committee of Ukraine for Water Management
9. Planning of the future implementation of the NPD IWRM in Ukraine, including organization of the next Steering Committee meeting in cooperation with the International Water Assessment Centre — IWAC — Gulnara Roll, UNEC, and Boris Minarik, IWAC, Slovakia

Summary and recommendations of the Fourth Meeting of the Steering Committee of the National Political Dialogue on IWRM were processed on November 11, 2010 during Coordination group meeting.

Photos from the event please see in our gallery