In the conditions of the war, Ukrainian municipalities prioritise the safety of their residents. The U-LEAD with Europe Programme continues to provide them with comprehensive advisory support. Earlier our experts held two info sessions on the organisation of the Commissions on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Response.
“For the past two months, we have been regularly holding events on safety. During this time, we went over the procedure for creating shelters and points of invincibility in municipalities, talked about coordinating the work of voluntary civil defence formations and other issues. Commissions on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Response are essential for ensuring the appropriate level of safety and civil protection in municipalities. Given that in wartime, the work of these Commissions is vital, municipalities should be aware of the steps of their creation and their main powers as well as understand the funding mechanism to ensure their smooth operation,” said Oleh Yaremenko, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Kirovohrad Oblast and moderator of the event.
Oleh Ilnytskyi, Head of the Regional Office in the Mykolaiv Oblast, spoke about the system of organising civil defence in Ukraine:
“Within this system, we create a territorial subsystem, which covers the regional level and additionally includes municipal sub-units. Each municipality should establish and fine-tune a civil defence system, which will cover all cities, towns and villages.”
Oleh Ilnytskyi emphasised the powers of local self-government bodies in the field of safety, which include ensuring local civil defence, creating emergency and rescue services, formations and specialised civil defence services, fire and rescue brigades and other formations.
“Establishing Commissions on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Response falls within the purview of local self-government in order to ensure adequate civil defence. These Commissions are permanent bodies established by the executive body of a city, settlement or village council to coordinate the activities of companies, institutions and organisations related to ensuring technogenic and ecological safety, mitigating the effects of emergencies on the people and environment, as well as the emergency prevention and response,” said the expert.
Commissions on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Response are mainly focused on coordinating the activities of all companies, institutions and organisations regarding the implementation of civil defence and technogenic and environmental safety measures, as well as the development and implementation of target programmes.
“Depending on the safety situation and the level of threat, the Commission will ensure the operational readiness of all services and monitor the environment and the situation at industrial facilities and their adjacent territories. In some cases, it will form an emergency response task force and ensure the proper conditions for its operation,” said Oleh Ilnytskyi.
Oleh Yaremenko analysed the legal framework for organising the work of Commissions on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Response. The expert cited the key articles of the Civil Defence Code of Ukraine dated 2 October 2012 and focused in detail on Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 409 dated 17 June 2015 “On Approval of the Model Regulation on the Regional Commission on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Response”.
“At the first stage of the creation of the Commission, the issues are prepared for consideration at the meeting of the local council, followed by the meeting and voting for the relevant project decisions. The third and final stage is the approval of the regulations on the Commission as well as its officials and employees by the executive committee of the council,” he explained.
The expert emphasised that the Regulation on the Commission on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Response should provide regulatory support for its activities and define its main tasks.
The participants of the info session also learned about the financing mechanisms of the measures adopted by the Commission on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Response. According to Serhii Triiuda, Adviser on Municipal Finance and Management at the Regional Office in the Ternopil Oblast, the main tools for financing these activities are local target programmes, existing material assets and reserve fund:
“The Commission coordinates the activities of the executive authorities and local self-government bodies regarding the development and implementation of target programmes and measures in the field of civil defence and technogenic and environmental safety. Thus, the decisions of the Commission must be reflected in the municipal policies and taken into account when developing local target programmes and when implementing and financing measures.”
Finally, the expert talked about the mechanisms of creating a reserve fund and a stock of material assets.