Instead of incentives – coastal development? UNBA warns of threats

Draft Law No. 12384 of January 8, 2025 «On Stimulating Economic Development in the Fishing Industry», which the Verkhovna Rada adopted as a basis, may open the way for the use of coastal protection zones in a manner that contradicts their environmental protection function.

This was noted by the UNBA Committee on Agrarian, Land and Environmental Law after analyzing the proposed legislative changes.

The advocates referred to the State Program for the Implementation of Import Substitution of Fish Products until 2030, which, taking into account the powers of the Verkhovna Rada defined in paragraph 6 of part 1 of Article 85 of the Constitution, provides for the development of fisheries based on innovation and environmental sustainability. At the same time, the changes proposed in the draft law may jeopardize the achievement of this program's goals.

In view of the requirements for sustainable development, the proposed changes regarding the development of river banks seem somewhat inappropriate. The amendments to the Water and Land Codes clearly indicate the need to use land areas that are part of the coastal protection zone, which performs an environmental function and cannot be used for any purpose other than to prevent harmful effects of water or to ensure the continuity of energy resources or pipeline transport. In particular, these are hydraulic engineering, hydrometric, and linear structures. The draft law does not contain any changes regarding the introduction of additional financial mechanisms that would stimulate the economic development of Ukraine's fishing industry.

The UNBA also called the amendments to Article 123 of the Land Code a gross interference in the powers of local self-government bodies to dispose of land plots. According to the advocates, it calls into question the principle of the rule of law, the coordination of all branches of government, and the guarantee of security. This is because land for a fish and fish oil processing plant at the stage of urban planning (which comes before the land is actually set aside) will go through a strategic environmental assessment, since an environmental impact assessment is required for this kind of activity. As a result, at the stage of strategic environmental assessment, risks of involving coastal protection zones in such activities will be identified due to high security risks. As a result, such activities will be proposed in areas that are not part of the coastal protection zone.

In conclusion, the UNBA emphasizes that draft law No. 12384 not only fails to create real financial incentives, but also potentially destroys the legal and environmental foundations of water resource management. Therefore, the document should be withdrawn from consideration as it cannot be amended due to the inconsistency of its provisions with the Constitution of Ukraine.

The full comments of the UNBA's specialized committee on the draft law can be found at the link.