Information and Involvement

Description of the Information and Involvement Component.

Activities of this component.

The following activities and outputs will be developed y the Working Team.

1. Strategy on Public Information

To produce a short strategy for the State Agency of Ecology and Natural Resources on the provision of Information and Involving the Public in environmental decision making.

2. Courses on Public participation

To develop a course on Public Information and participation for employees of the State Agency and Local Government Administration. This will be a short course and will be delivered by Institute of Qualification (A. Panasenko).

To develop a short course on Public Information and Participation for Industry (business), NGOs and the media.

It is expected that 2 and 3 will be designed by the Working Group and will have a flexible structure to meet the needs of the target groups. For example, the course for Industry could be a number of one day or even half day modules delivered over a period of three months with some homework tasks as well.

All these courses should be certificated by the Instituted as short courses.

3. State of the Environment Report

• To undertake a baseline research on the state of the environment to get data for the State of the Environment Report. It is planned that this research will mainly involve getting date from the State Agency and not first hand research;
• Research of people attitude towards the environment and environmental problems. It is planned that this task will be done by the Donetsk Information and Analytical Centre;
• To prepare a State of the Environment Leaflet for the General Public and ensure that this is disseminated in an innovative way;
• To prepare a State of the Environment Leaflet for other target Groups - Business and the Media, and ensure that this is disseminated in an innovative way;
• To make every effort to get the State of the Environment Reports published in local newspapers in an appropriate format.

The Working Team should also organise possibilities for public feedback on the Report - also in innovative way. To produce the first State of the Environment Report during year One of the Project and to use the feedback on this to improve the second Report in Year 2. The second report should say how the environment has improved over the year.

4. Public Consultations Case Studies

To identify two case study issues where businesses are planning some new development (for example, building a new factory, expanding a road). The issues should have an environmental impact.

To work with the business and develop processes for involving the general public in the decision making process for the development. This should build on the Strategy developed in 1.

The process used to consult the public should be integrated into the training courses provided and if possible adopted by the Local Administration as an accepted way of dealing with all new development.

5. Action Plan.

To prepare action plans for the State Agency to ensure that it continues to produce State of the Environment Reports each year for the general public.