Law No. 2818-VI “On Basic Principles (Strategy) of the State Environmental Policy of Ukraine for the Period up to 2020.”

Basic Principles (Strategy) of the State Environmental Policy of Ukraine for the Period up to 2020 is a nationwide cross-sectoral policy document aimed at reduction of anthropogenic and technogenic (man-made) environmental impact, reduction of natural disasters and emergency situations, and reduction of pollution level with a view of preservation of quality of atmospheric air and natural environment.
The goal of national environmental policy is to stabilize and improve the situation of the natural environment of Ukraine through the integration of ecological policies for the socio-economic development of Ukraine to ensure ecologically safe natural environment for life and health of the population, introduction of an ecologically balanced system of nature management and conservation of natural ecosystems. The main principles of national environmental policy are: (a) strengthening the role of environmental management in the public administration system of Ukraine in order to achieve equality of the three components of development (economic, environmental, social), which determines the focus on the priorities of sustainable development; (b) consideration of the environmental consequences during adoption of management decisions, when developing documents that contain political and/or program principles of state, branch (sectoral), regional and local development; (c) intersectoral partnership and stakeholder involvement; (d) prevention of emergencies of natural and man-made nature that provides analysis and forecasting of environmental risks based on the results of strategic environmental assessment, state environmental review, as well as state monitoring of the natural environment; (e) ensuring environmental security and maintaining ecological balance on the territory of Ukraine, overcoming the consequences of the Chornobyl catastrophe; (f) responsibility of the current generation to preserve the environment for the future generations; (g) participation of the public and business entities in the formation and implementation of environmental policy, as well as taking into account their suggestions for improvement of environmental legislation; (h) inevitability of liability for violations of environmental security legislation; (i) priority requirement "environmental polluter pays”; (j) responsibility of executive bodies for accessibility, timeliness and reliability of ecological information; (k) availability, reliability and timeliness of environmental information; and (l) state support and incentives for domestic businesses, which carry out modernization of production aimed at reduction of negative environmental impact.
In order to achieve the goals of the Strategy, it will be carried out in two stages: (a) by 2015 it is planned to ensure the stabilization of the environmental situation, slowing down the growth rate of anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment, creating conditions for raising the level of environmental security, initiating the transition to environmental standards of the European Union, development of relevant regulations, increasing public activity in the field of environmental protection; and (b) during 2016 - 2020 it is planned to make a gradual demarcation of functions for environmental protection and economic activities related to the use of natural resources, the implementation of European environmental norms and standards, ecosystem conservation, implementation of basic economic mechanisms to stimulate environmentally oriented structural transformations, achieving a balance between social economic needs and challenges in the field of environmental protection, in order to ensure the development of environmentally efficient partnerships between the state, business entities and the public, widespread dissemination of environmental knowledge.