Beyond Chernobyl – Moving on to Regional Prosperity

On October 31 – November 2, 2005, in Chernihiv an important regional conference took place: the International Conference “Chernobyl-affected regions in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine – from recovery to new developmental approach”. The event was organized by the UNDP Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme (CRDP) in cooperation with the Chernihiv Oblast State Administration, and was opened by Francis M. O’Donnell, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine.

Participating in the conference were: representatives of the Ministry of Emergencies of Ukraine; the heads and representatives of the oblast and rayon state administrations; delegations of the UN Representative Offices in Belarus and Russia; Minamino Daisuke, Embassy of Japan in Ukraine and other representatives of the diplomatic corps in Ukraine; representatives of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus; renowned experts; Ukrainian and Foreign businessmen and representatives of corporations; scientists; journalists; and the UNDP CRDP team.

The objective of the conference was to analyze the actual state and perspectives of cooperation between Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, the United Nations, international organizations and donor countries whose assistance contributes to the mitigation of the Chernobyl Catastrophe consequences and to the recovery of the Chernobyl-affected territories. The conference made a significant contribution to strengthening sub-regional partnerships between governmental bodies, institutions and organizations on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl Catastrophe. “Conference participants discussed the recommendations of the report ‘Strategy for Recovery’ and exchanged experience and successful examples of addressing Chernobyl-related issues involving local communities and applying economic incentives. Those are just the first steps and our major task is to make these models used on a regular basis in our countries”, said Pavlo Zamostyan, Programme Manager of the UNDP Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme.

The Chernobyl Economic Development Forum (ChEDF) in Chernihiv was initiated at the conference, with the goal of contributing to the economic recovery of the Chernobyl-affected territories. The objectives of the ChEDF are to build a platform for elaboration of a coherent sustainable economic development strategy to be implemented in the Chernobyl-affected territories, as well as to increase investments in the region. “I think the importance of the forum was to see that there is a need for change in the approach to the results of the catastrophe. We need to change priorities. So that less attention is given to humanitarian aid, and far more to provide solid foundations for economic recovery. And such foundation could give people a return to their dignity and the feeling that they are the hosts of their future”, said professor Jerzy Osiatynsky, Former Polish Minister, UNDP and World Bank expert. The ChEDF activities will focus on implementation of recent recommendations to the governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine from the International Chernobyl Forum in Vienna. ChEDF particularly focused on economic and social policy and adoption of a new approach to economic development of the affected regions to combat poverty.

As Francis M. O’Donnell, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine emphasized, “Today’s event is basically indicated that we have truly turned the page in the region including Belarus, Russian and Ukraine. Recognized that time has come to get away from depressive dependency. We have clear vision where we have to go with economic development. Signed Memorandum of Understanding and adopted Resolution of Conference are two instruments will guide our future activities.”

The articles on Chernobyl Recovery and Development Program could be found here:

• Newspaper "Den"'(the Day newspaper): "And now on yourown. International organisations advise on solving Chernobyl issues", Author: Oksana Omelchenko
• New Agriculturist on-line: "Post-Chernobyl Recovery in Ukraine's Farming Communities", Author: Mike Davison

For further details, please contact Mykola Movchan: UNDP/CRDP, tel: (380 44) 253 5068; 253 5177; 253 0708; fax: (380 44) 253 7663, e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it