UNEP plans to work in Ukraine for at least 4 years

MOSCOW. March 17 (Interfax) - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen expects her team to be present in Ukraine for at least four years to help the Ukrainian government overcome the adverse impact of the crisis.

"We did not have a presence in Ukraine up until now. Now we do. So what we have done so far has been to support from afar. Now we will work very closely with the Ministry of Environment to help them get the kinds of skills that they need. From an environmental point of view," Andersen said in an interview with Ukrainian media.

The UNEP expects to "be here for at least four years [...]. Then we will expect to be able to provide all of the technical support [...] that the government will need to enable a sound and sustainable recovery," she said.

She also noted the importance of ensuring that reconstruction and construction are being carried out using cleaner and greener methods. "So there's a lot of work also to be done [...]. And that's an area that we will definitely be supporting," she said.

The top priority now is to train inspectors across the country to assess environmental damage, he said.

"In October, we had the first team sent to Switzerland to move through the training. And now the team will come here and continue training," she said.

Hundreds of inspectors are expected to work across the country, she said.