Ukraine and Finland expand partnership on water monitoring
Ukraine and Finland are strengthening cooperation on water quality monitoring, environmental damage assessment and the development of modern environmental monitoring tools.
The arrangements are set out in a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine, the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) and the State Agency of Water Resources of Ukraine on implementing the Ukraine Finland Environmental Monitoring (UFEM).
The UFEM project is being implemented from 2024 to 2028 with support from Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Its main objective is to strengthen Ukraine’s capacity to collect, process and use reliable data on surface water quality and terrestrial biodiversity in line with EU approaches and requirements for environmental governance, protection and restoration.
A separate area of work focuses on expanding the use of Earth observation and remote sensing as additional tools for environmental monitoring. This will improve the identification and prioritisation of environmental damage hotspots, as well as the monitoring of water and terrestrial biodiversity.
“For Ukraine, developing a modern environmental monitoring system is not simply a matter of meeting European requirements. It is essential for understanding the scale of the environmental damage caused by the war, setting recovery priorities and making decisions based on reliable data,” said Deputy Minister of Economy and Environment of Ukraine Iryna Ovcharenko.
The project also provides for the involvement of international and Ukrainian experts and the procurement of laboratory equipment, goods and services. Plans include training Ukrainian specialists, conducting research and pilot projects, modernising monitoring tools and developing methodologies in line with EU requirements.
The project will strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of Ukrainian bodies responsible for environmental monitoring, particularly their ability to collect, process and use reliable data on surface waters and terrestrial biodiversity. It will improve the quality and effectiveness of environmental monitoring, including the identification and documentation of environmental damage caused by the armed aggression against Ukraine.