Background

On the basis of national and international scientific evaluations of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident (1986) indicating stabilisation of the radioecological conditions in the Chernobyl exclusion zone (EZ) the Ukrainian Government considered stepwise rehabilitation of selected sites of the Chernobyl EZ as a high priority. Therefore revitalization of the economical activities in and around the Chernobyl EZ aiming at re-establishment of new job opportunities is an essential part of this task.

The practical measures on rehabilitation of contaminated territories involved stimulation of natural
rehabilitation processes, and support for development of economical activities and activity in the social
area, including establishment of territorial communities and creation of new workplaces.

As a general concept or a programme for socio-economic development of the Ivankiv region had not
existed, following the request of the Ukrainian Government, the EC agreed to support a project on
assistance in overcoming the negative consequences of the Chernobyl accident in the field of socialeconomical
development (as part of the Action Programme 2005).

Objectives

The overall objective of the project was to identify possible activities to improve the economic growth
and development of the geographical region around the Chernobyl EZ and to improve the situation of
the population living in this area. The project aimed at development of and support of implementation
of a strategic programme on the socio-economic development in the immediate vicinity of the
Chernobyl EZ – and more precisely, the Ivankiv region.
 

The Ministry of Emergencies and Affairs of Population Protection from the Consequences of the
Chernobyl Catastrophe was the Beneficiary, and the State Department – Administration of the
Exclusion Zone and the Zone of Compulsory Resettlement, the State Administration of Ivankiv region,
Kyiv region and the State Specialised Scientific Industrial Enterprise “Chernobyl Radio-Ecology
Centre” (SSSIE “Ecocentre”) were the End-users of this project.

Results

The project commenced in December 2008 and was implemented in three phases (corresponding to
the three project components) over 18 months period. It was completed in 2010 by Lattanzio e
Associati SpA(Italy) in consortium with Euroconsult Mott MacDonald (The Netherlands) and Rina
Industry SpA (Italy). The selected region was the territory of the immediate vicinity of the Chernobyl
EZ- the Ivankiv Region in the Northern part of Ukraine and, partly some territories inside the EZ (some
areas within the 10-30 km radius). The following activities were carried out:

Phase 1: Generation of a “Strategy/Programme on Socio-economic Development Dedicated to
the Region in the Immediate Vicinity of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone”

In this phase stakeholder identification, mapping (see Fig. 1 in attached file "U4.02-05B Fig 1") and
development of a stakeholders involvement strategy were performed, as well as a territorial analysis;
elaboration of a strategic vision for the region; development of a strategy for the region’s socioeconomic
development; and identification of the ten promising activities for strategy’s implementation.
The main project office was set up in Ivankiv and a supplementary one in Chernobyl. The project was
also accredited in Ukraine by the Ministry of Economy. Meetings and interviews with over 50
organisations and institutions were held in order to organise the necessary stakeholders involvement
followed by workshops and seminars with stakeholder groups (State Owned Enterprises in EZ, social
institutions, and agricultural cooperatives) held. On that basis the strategic goals were formulated,
priorities were defined, and 27 individual measures/projects identified and ranked in order to define 10
case studies.

Phase 2: Cases study - Selection and Justification of the Most Promising Measures for the
Implementation of this Strategy

In this phase the activities mostly focused on the development of case studies for the selected 10
potential activities, which were prepared in a format similar to pre-feasibility studies. The case studies
presented a good starting point for potential investments by private or institutional investors. It should
be noted that due to the Steering Committee’s decision to merge several activities of a similar nature
into individual cases studies, twelve instead of the initially planned ten case studies were prepared, as
not all similar activities could be presented in one case study. In addition to the case studies, a system
for their ranking was developed in order to select three cases for further development into business
plans.

Phase 3: Development of Business Plans and End-user(s) Support for Implementation

Phase 3 focused on development of business plans for the three selected activities, two of which:

• Renewal of Bricks and Tiles Production Based on Local Resources of Clay; and
• Establishment of Rapeseeds Cultivation and Bio-fuel Production;

were focused on business plans development, while the third one:

• Establishment of the Pilot Unit in the Chornobyl NPP Exclusion Zone for Testing Wood Incineration Technology to be Used for Elimination of Dry Forest and for Powering Local District Heating Systems

was a project proposal since this activity dealt mostly with the protection of environment and human
health in the Chernobyl EZ rather than with socio-economic development of the region. Initial support
for implementation of the selected activities was also provided by identifying and sharing relevant
information with potential investors about potential projects in the region. Transfer of adequate
international know-how to local experts was conducted taking into account the local needs and
conditions, in particular, in the field of business management.

In addition, communication activities were also implemented to inform the local business community
and the general public about the socio-economic strategy and the identified investment opportunities.
These included conducting the best business idea contest (although the contest was cancelled due to
poor response from local business community); launching and maintaining a project web-site; and
organizing and holding a conference for interested parties and a press-conference for the mass media.
As part of awareness raising and capacity building activities, training of local businesses and
business-support organisations in the region in the modern methods of business organisation was also
conducted.

The above mentioned project proposal "Establishment of the Pilot Unit in the Chornobyl NPP
Exclusion Zone for Testing Wood Incineration Technology to be Used for Elimination of Dry Forest and
for Powering Local District Heating Systems" led to the inclusion of a sub-project "Design and
Construction of a Pilot Incineration Plant in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone" of the project "Health and Ecological Programmes around the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone", which was included in the INSC Annual Programme of 2011 (AP2011, Part 1).