February 25 saw the celebration of the 145th anniversary of Lesia Ukrainka, author of the immortal Forest Song, which lauded the beauty of Volyn. A photo from past year’s Den’s Photo Contest also depicts the Volynian landscape – with the consequences of amber extraction. The photo is called “The Forest Song. Requiem.” And this Wednesday, Mykola Tomenko, MP and Chairman of the Committee on Environmental Policy, had a meeting at the National University of Water Management and Natural Resources in Rivne oblast. He commented on the situation in regard of the delay in passing the law about extraction and sale of amber: “The key debate, which is now being held in Presidential Administration and in the Prime Minister’s office – is not how to eliminate the amber mafia, but about who will assume the leadership within it.”
“Destroyed people are destroying everything around them” – this is a saying by Larysa Ivshyna, Den’s editor-in-chief. Sofia Shutiak, legal adviser of the Environment-People-Law international charitable organization shares a similar opinion. “The situation with amber is not new. An entire generation has grown up on this illegal extraction: their parents went to the forest and came home rich. There are people who have grown up learning that one can do nothing in their life, just go to the forest – and then buy a SUV, or a bus, or whatever they want,” says Sofia. The first presidential decree regarding the unacceptable situation with the amber extraction in northern Ukraine was issued in 1992. So, the illegal mining operations have been there constantly, but they were not as widespread as in recent years.
“This is a situation messed up on every level,” continues Shutiak. Her summary is as follows: “The president has a duty to ensure our national security. And this includes our environmental safety. The president’s leverage is the National Security Council, whose decisions are binding on all, and the National Institute for Strategic Studies. The president may appeal to Verkhovna Rada and to the Cabinet of Ministers with a proposal; additionally, he may issue his own decrees. I have not seen one from Poroshenko.”
“Verkhovna Rada has a Committee on Environmental Policy, the head of which is currently Mykola Tomenko. This committee should not only analyze and assess proposed bills, but also follow the changing situation and inquire on any potential problems; it should write its own bills and engage experts to this process. The committee is not doing anything like that. Recent changes in legislation (dated 2014 and 2015) have lifted the requirement of licensing such activities.”
“From the Cabinet, there are two ministries: Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economic Development, who influence the list of goods that are subject to export toll; these ministries also set the rules for licensing businesses. They did not intervene in the situation. The Interior Ministry failed to do anything as well.”
“We have even addressed the Prosecutor General’s Office with a statement of offense regarding the inaction on part of the State Service for Geology and Mineral Resources of Ukraine. The office says that there are no sufficient grounds to start a legal action. However, the code of laws on mineral resources has not been made void yet, and any activities on the extraction of mineral resources of national importance – and amber is still listed as one of such – requires permission,” the lawyer is outraged. “This means that whoever wants to extract amber, should apply, just like anyone else, to the State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources and get a permit. The Service keeps the register of available mineral reserves. And according to this register the government should calculate and decide on the most optimal use of these minerals for the maximum benefit of the people – we have the state precisely for this!”
As for the bill, announced by Mykola Tomenko, Shutiak says: “I read the bill in question. Our position is that it would just legitimize the existing scheme. But it would not solve the main issue: what the government wants to do with amber in general? Amber would not be brought back to the export toll list; the desired amount of how much Ukraine could sell at most in a year would not be set.”
It appears that everyone washes their hands of it, says Shutiak. “The biggest problem we have now is the criminal inactivity of people who occupy relevant positions of authority,” she says. “Everything is done without a second thought. For example, in 1996 Ukraine sold 50 kg of amber in the entire year, and now it is said that more than 200 tons per month is sold abroad. Can it be that in a year we will just run out of amber? For 25 years we have been extracting it uncontrollably.” The government does not truly adhere to state-building principles, and the society has no culture of consumption, concludes the expert. “We must deal with education, we must talk more about this issue – particularly in the media,” concludes the legal adviser of Ecology-People-Law.
“Culture permeates everything” – the words of Den’s editor-in-chief are confirmed once again. And the fact that Den should not be alone in the development of civil society to really make a difference in the country is confirmed also.
