Holistic management planning to restore Irpin river basin Ecosystem and Rural economy ��Showcase Rebuilding project

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Ukraine Nature Seminar, Hamburg, 22 May 2023

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Director NGO Primavera, Prof Dr Olga Zhovtonog

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Irpin basin west of Kyiv

• Representative for orange zone (de-occupied territory)

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Challenges post-war Irpin basin

• During invasion part of the area was flooded to stop the Russian army
• Water pollution threatens the Kyiv drinking water reservoir
• Many economic activities (including agriculture) need to re-start
• Biodiversity is important in the basin
• Stakeholders disagree on the future land use

Holistic approach for rebuilding plans

• Build back better based on multisectoral cooperation and integration
• Proper institutional arrangements
• Adapt to climate change
• Adapt to EU laws and regulations
• EU Green Deal
• River restoration and IWRM
• Biodiversity restoration

War defense mechanisms, disaster for river basin quality: urgent need for future restoration plan

About Primavera

• Primavera is an international Ukrainian professional NGO
• Mission: introduce new (democratic) values and knowledge in Ukraine for sustainable integrated land and water use and rural development
• Established in 2004 by Dutch – Ukrainian partners
• Good track record of projects (18 years); Ukr & Ukr-Nl projects
• Extensive networks in Ukraine

Basic principles Primavera of today:

• Rebuilding post war damage in water, agriculture and environment
• Based on United 24 and National Renovation Plan of Ukraine
• Formulate cooperative projects between Ukrainian and European organizations
• Implementation, with support of research.
• Smart solutions to ‘build back better’
• Not wait until the war is over, but starting now

Irpin project goals

• Post war nature revitalization and socio-economic renovation to address war damages following the Planet, People, Profit principles.
• The first step to achieve this is the current prefeasibility project is to develop the TOR for a more thorough feasibility study.

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Context / Scope

• The Irpin basin (334.000 ha), is located in Kyiv and Zhytomyr Oblasts north and west of Kyiv,
• Mining and inundation was used to prevent Russian army
• Much damage to the water infrastructure, the environment and the economy
• Biodiversity in the area is a much under-valued resource

Picture: Ukrainian Pravda

Landuse within the Irpin basin, %

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Landuse colour: green – forest, grey – settlements, white agriculture

Problems and challenges before the war

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Type of planned actions

• Hydromorphological restoration of the river and its tributaries
• Cleaning of river bed from mud accumulation
• Partially strengthening of river banks, planting buffer stripes
• Anti-flooding measures and anti-erosion measures
• Landuse changes to improve landscape for nature and tourism
• Reconstruction and modernisation of irrigation and drainage systems in the area of 10000 ha
• Design works

Land issues

Conflicts between agriculture and nature, needs for reassessment of drainage systems functioning and ecological sustainability and impacts of drained lands

Constructions and agriculture development don’t take into account requirements of nature protection , for example, establishment of protection zones along the river

Previous experiences: modelling of water quality and water quantity scenarios depending from the land use�changes in the Irpin River basin

Scenario: 15% less cultivated area and 15% more pasture

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The reasons for the decline in N emissions:

• less runoff and erosion during heavy rains,
• more nitrogen loss due to

denitrification on grassy land

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Img 4. Émission annuelle d'azote total (N, kg/ha), en moyenne pour 1990 - 2014 ,

(couleur verte - dégagement d'azote selon le scénario)

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Objectives of the post war reconstruction

• All reconstruction of environmental damages and economical losses will be based on the build back better principle
• Land use in post war agriculture, aquaculture, industry and housing, nature, drinking water and recreation is based on a transparent input of all stakeholders.
• Innovative resource efficient engineering solutions and management technologies will be implemented in the region
• The Irpin approach is exemplary beyond Irpin basin and used as a Showcase study for other basins in North-Eastern Ukraine and beyond.

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Objectives for the prefeasibility phase: �

• A geographical, natural and socio-economic description of the Irpin basin, incl. mapping of war damages.
• Definition and TOR for a more detailed feasibility study with a clear project area boundary, a local project committee with the main stakeholders and the needed budgets
• A process plan/process architecture to engage and commit stakeholders
• Agreement and commitment from the relevant authorities (National Rebuilding Council, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, others) for the proposed feasibility study, and the further planning and implementation
• Identified high-priority, urgent, small, short term, implementation projects parallel to the planning process of the Irpin basin.

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Way to go: project partners

• Primavera is well positioned and capable to develop and implement this prefeasibility phase of the Irpin project.
• Support of Primavera for this project consist of:
• (IWPLR - Institute for Water problems and Land Reclamation,
• WWPU - Women for Water Partnership Ukraine- is strengthened with an
• international consultant firm –Adaelta-
• international specialist consultants and international projects
• The project team will rely heavily on the cooperation of the beneficiaries of the project:

Project beneficiaries

• Irpin River Basin Management Organization
• Ministry of Environment, incl. State Agency for Water Resources SAWR,
• District and Inter-district Water Management Departments of Irpin, Bucha and Fastiv
• Oblast Kyiv,
• Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, incl. State Agency of Melioration and Fishery SAMF,
• Hromada-mayors of Buchanska, Tomashivska, Mironivska, Irpinska,and Bilogorodska
• Large and small farmers’ organizations
• Water User Organizations.

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Budget indications

• The funds needed for the prefeasibility phase are estimated at € 60,000.
• Depending on the outcome of the prefeasibility project the size of a feasibility and integrated planning process will be in the order of magnitude of 2.5 million Euro
• The implementation of the Irpin project, including investments in infrastructure will be in the order of magnitude of 120 – 180 million Euro.
• These numbers are based on the assumption that the complete Irpin catchment area will be included in the project.

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Please join us in our mission to build Ukraine back better

Questions?

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