The project «Water and Food in Ukraine: Practical Solutions for Communities, Agribusiness and Science» is supported within the PSD program of RVO and Office of Sustainable Solutions and Professional Association of Environmentalists of the World (PAEW) (Ukraine)
The training provides participants with the knowledge and skills to address water, agriculture and food security issues in conditions of war and post-war reconstruction in Ukraine, taking into account legal, environmental and social aspects; which are expected to be of practical application in their public or private work.
The project is directly aligned with Ukraine's development strategy and European integration commitments, as it addresses key areas of environmental policy, agricultural sector reform and natural resource management in accordance with EU standards.
Training launch
The event took place on 16 March 2026. After hours of morning drone allarm half a thousand participants gathered off-line and on-line to launch 10 weeks training program. Over 1,100 participants registered for the course and 230 of them have already completed the first module in the first hours
Beeld: © https://ukraine-oss.com/
Jorg Zinken, Deputy Head of Economic Department, Netherlands Embassy in Ukraine
The combination of these two topics Water & Food was chosen not accidentally, it is very much connected to the international Climate adaptation Policy, which the Netherlands are actively supporting and trying to implement on various levels. The interconnectedness of water, biodiversity, and agriculture poses complex challenges that require international cooperation and an integrated approach – the so called NEXUS approach. It is recognized that biodiversity-rich ecosystems deliver essential services that form the foundation of water and food security. It is therefore critical that the Water-Biodiversity-Agriculture Nexus will be further explored, evaluated and implemented on a regional and global scale.
As you can see, the actuality of the subject is also valid for the Netherlands, and that is why our specialists are eager to learn from other countries as well, especially in the several areas of the Nexus, including biodiversity conservation and increasing its drought resilience. The Netherlands is, in turn, is able to contribute to knowledge and strategies regarding water resilience.
Therefore, as the Embassy we actively support and stimulate any knowledge exchange and gladly use the possibility to share the world’s best practices with our partners in Ukraine.
I truly hope that this course will be beneficial for all parties involved and in this way will contribute so solving global challenges.
Liudmyla Tsyganok Founder of the Office of Sustainable Solutions , President of PAEW)
Let me say right away that for the Professional Association of Environmentalists of the World (PAEW) this is not just a course. It is an attempt to start an honest conversation about how water during war ceases to be just a resource. It becomes a condition for life, health, and the ability of a country to survive.
Therefore, the logic of our School of Water Safety is simple and very tough: first — people's survival, then — restoration. Restoration is important, but what is really at stake is the survival of communities, regions, and cities. While we are talking about post-war reconstruction, the country's water system is already changing right now. Landscapes that held water are being destroyed, products of explosions and fires are entering watersheds, and the quality of groundwater is deteriorating. Hydrology does not put war on hold.
That’s why water security is not just about water supply. It’s about protecting drinking water sources, monitoring changes in watersheds, and strategically storing water for a country at war. Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/liudmyla-tsyganok