Access to Drinking Water and Environmental Challenges: Ukrainian Auditors Present Their Work at INTOSAI WGEA Meeting

Issues of access to safe drinking water, the effectiveness of environmental management during wartime, marine pollution, and new areas of audit activities were discussed at the 23rd meeting of the INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (INTOSAI WGEA), held on 1–3 July in the Republic of Malta.

At the meeting Ukraine was represented by Ms. Liliia Prudyvus, Head of the Office for Control of Natural Resource Use and Environmental Protection Department for the Control (Audit) of Energy, Natural Resource Management and Infrastructure Natural Resources Use and Environmental Protection of the Accounting Chamber, and Mr. Dmytro Lykvivskyi, State Auditor.

During the first day, participants focused on topics such as marine pollution, ensuring access for the population to quality drinking water, and the challenges of droughts and desertification. The second day featured parallel sessions on environmental challenges. In particular, Liliia Prudivus presented the results of the national performance audit on implementation of measures aimed at achieving Goal 6 “Ensure Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation for All,” of Ukraine’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This audit was conducted within a coordinated parallel audit with the SAIs of the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Croatia, and Hungary (as a coordinator). The national audit revealed, among other findings, that the Ukrainian population’s access to quality drinking water remains limited: as of the time of the audit, centralized water supply covered only about 65.2% of the population.

During her speech, Liliia Prudyvus also addressed the complex challenges Ukraine is facing under the conditions of the full-scale war.

As part of the topic on access to drinking water, participants also listened to audit findings presented by the SAIs of the Republic of India, the Republic of Slovenia, and the People’s Republic of China. Discussions covered the effectiveness of long-term water resource conservation, compliance with the principles of evidence-based audit and the systems thinking approach, and the preservation of river ecosystems.

Special attention during the meeting was devoted to regional activities and the results of projects under the INTOSAI WGEA Work Plan for 2023–2025. The WGEA Work Plan for 2026–2028 was approved, structured around three main topics: climate, water resources, and environmental pollution.

The meeting concluded with the handover of the leadership of the WGEA from the SAI of the Republic of Finland to the SAI of the Kingdom of Thailand.