On May 14, 2024, the NGO "Primavera", the Institute of Water Problems and Land Reclamation of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, and the NGO "Women Water Partnership UA" held a working meeting on the establishment of the Public Water Initiative (PWI).
The main goal of this meeting was to discuss the draft Declaration, which will serve as the basis for uniting the efforts of the expert public and creating the Public Water Initiative to support the Government in shaping and implementing Ukraine's intersectoral water policy for the restoration and development of water management.
The event program included several presentations by members of the initiative group, as well as discussions on the provisions of the Declaration and further actions to establish the PWI. In particular, the director of the NGO Primavera, Olga Zhovtonog, presented on "Public Water Initiative: Principles of Unity, Purpose, and Tasks." The director of the Institute of Water Problems and Land Reclamation, Mykhailo Yatsiuk, delivered a report on the current threats and challenges in the water sector of Ukraine and the role of water governance in overcoming them. The director of the NGO "Women Water Partnership-Ukraine," Anna Tsvetkova, addressed issues related to the experience of engaging stakeholders in shaping and implementing Water Policy, as well as the activities of the PWI in 2024.
The discussion of the draft Declaration was organized in the form of responses from participants to specific questions prepared in advance by the organizers of the working meeting.
After finalizing the Declaration text, it will be posted on the websites of the participating organizations, on other available electronic media, and distributed at the national and international levels.
Overall, around 40 water management experts from scientific and educational institutions, non-governmental organizations, business representatives, local government, and water user organizations participated in the working meeting in online and offline formats.
