Review of Some Recent Environmental Legal Acts

OFFICIAL

Law of Ukraine No. 186/98-VR "On changes in the Law of Ukraine "On protection of natural environment"". In its new wording, the law requires that the charges for use of natural resources and for environmental pollution be transferred to the budget of the municipalities and oblasts and the national budget in the proportion of 20% to 50% to 30%. This means drastic cuts in the funds available to towns and cities where the environmental problems are the most acute.

Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 393 of 30 March 1998 "On issues of control over export and import of ozone-depleting substances and products containing same" will affect companies involved in export and import of some chemicals as well as vacuum pumps, refrigerators and air conditioners, sprayers and fire extinguishers. The decree followed Ukraine's accession to Montreal Protocol.

Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 999 of 2 July 1998 "On approval of Procedures for performing control of export shipments of ferrous and nonferrous scrap by divisions of the State Environmental Inspection under the Ministry for Natural Environment Protection and Nuclear Safety" will affect exporters of scrap and defines the relevant procedures of environmental control.

Instructions of the State Committee for Statistics of Ukraine No. 230 of 30 September 1997 "On filling out Form 2-TP" were developed in keeping with Article 25 of the Water Code of Ukraine and are mandatory for all enterprises that use water.

Decree of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine No. 1888/98-VR of 5 March 1998 "The major lines of Ukraine's national policy in the areas of environmental protection, natural resources management and environmental security." The text contains official statistics of environmental condition and has the following contents:

Section I "Current environmental situation" presents basic trends and statistics in the fields of 1) industry, 2) energy and nuclear engineering, 3) agriculture, 4) transportation, 5) housing and public utilities, 6) industrial wastes, 7) military activities and conversion of the military-industrial complex, 8) water resources and ecosystems, 9) land resources, 10) mineral resources, 11) atmospheric air, 12) plant life and forest resources, 13) nature reserve management and preservation of biodiversity, 14) wildlife, game shooting and fish resources, 15) economic mechanism of nature management, and 16) regional environmental policy.

Section II lists the major priorities in natural environment protection and rational utilization of natural resources.

Section III "Strategy and tactics of harmonious development of potential of production and natural resources" has subsections on 17) industry, 18) environmental safety in power and nuclear engineering, 19) agriculture, 20) transportation, 21) housing and public utilities, 22) industrial wastes, 23) military activities and conversion of the military-industrial complex, 24) national system of environmental monitoring, and 25) unified national system for preventing accidents, disasters and contingencies and reacting to same.

Section IV "Major steps toward balanced utilization and renewal of natural resources" deals with 26) land resources, 27) rational utilization and renewal of water resources and ecosystems, 28) mineral resources, 29) atmospheric air, 30) resources of plant life, 31) natural reserve management and preservation of biodiversity, and 32) recreational resources.

Section V is titled "Major steps in pursuing the major lines of Ukraine's national policy in the areas of environmental protection, natural resources management and environmental security.

Section VI "Mechanism of implementation of the major lines of Ukraine's national policy in the area of environmental protection, natural resources management and environmental security" has subsection 33) institutional framework for environmental protection and rational utilization of natural resources, 34) system of environmental legislation, 35) economic mechanism of nature management and financial basics for attainment of the goal, and 36) regional environmental policy.

There are also Section VII "Environmental inspection" and Section VII "International cooperation" that deals with 37) international treaties.

The original text in Ukrainian was received from Verkhovna Rada Internet Team <webmaster@alpha.rada.kiev.ua>.