UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen expects her team to be present in Ukraine for at least four years to help the Ukrainian government overcome the negative consequences of the war.
“So far, UNEP has not been present in Ukraine. But now we are. What we have done so far has been to support from afar, whereas now we will work closely with the Ministry of Environment to help them get the skills they need to deal with a catastrophic situation. From an environmental point of view,” Andersen said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to her, UNEP expects to “stay here for at least four years and be able to provide all the technical support the Ukrainian government needs to ensure a solid and sustainable recovery.
The director also said it is important that reconstruction and construction take place in a cleaner and greener way, because this can ensure that the pollution that existed before the war will be reduced and disappear afterwards.
“So there is a lot of work to be done. And this is an area that we will definitely support,” she said.
For now, Andersen said, the first priority is to train inspectors across the country to assess environmental damage.
“In October, we sent the first group of 25 people to Switzerland to be trained. And now the team is already coming here to continue the training,” UNEP said.
“Hundreds of inspectors are expected to work across the country.”
Andersen also stressed that before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine played an active role in Europe on environmental issues and signed most of the important environmental agreements.
“But that’s not a priority now, the priority is people and people’s health and well-being, of course,” Andersen added.
The full text of the interview with the executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) will be published on the Interfax-Ukraine website.
