Online services in ecology

At the request of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Kitsoft developed the online platform EcoSystem. It includes automatic and convenient services on the environment for manufacturers, gives an opportunity for The Ministry to gather and analyse data, and shows the condition of the environment to the public.

Paper bureaucracy doesn’t safeguard the environment:

• forests are disappearing,
• environment is polluted by rubbish,
• production waste is illegally dumped over borders,
• proof of violations is “lost” in papers.

Thus, the environment needs digital protection.

In 2008, the government prepared a national strategy to protect the environment and launched the first digital platform Open Access, developed by Kitsoft. However the implementation of the system didn’t happen because the administration was changed and the initiative was halted.

The effort that went into Open Access was not in vain. Our team improved the technological core of the platform, which became the foundation for Diia, the portal of government services. Thanks to government support this time the technological potential of the platform was realised. Today Diia is a people-centric and user-friendly digital platform that became the new standard of government services not just in Ukraine, but also in the world.

The ecological sector was the next step in the state's digital transformation. For this, our team developed a new digital platform EcoSystem that took the best experience and technologies of Diia. 

Whereas Diia is a digital platform that provides online services to citizens, EcoSystem provides services for businesses that cooperate with the state on environmental matters.

Previously, the Ministry of Ecology did not have a centralised system and many processes were paper-based. EcoSystem became the foundation for developing the only IT platform for all services in the ecological sector.

The digital platform EcoSystem is based on BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation). Due to it, developers play a minimal role in creating new services. First, they develop the platform and then business analysts create new services on it. 

Business analysts evaluate the service process, streamline, plan automation, and in this a way they expedite processing time, increase the effectiveness, and improve the user experience. Then, this new process is implemented on the platform. 

New services can create several teams of business analytics at the same time without affecting the core system. This approach ensures speed and flexibility of the new online services creation.

A user of EcoSystem has a personal electronic cabinet. Access to the system is obtained with authorization through Diia. EcoSystem has a similar design, corresponding the national strategy of digital transformation. 

The dashboard displays available services, notifications about the results of the application, etc. 

Users can apply easily. Both the monitoring system/the control system and step-by-step tips help to fill in a form correctly. Data is verified and displayed automatically. The application will be sent to the relevant official, who reviews it. 

Results of the service are recorded in ecological registers. The Ministry can analyse the accumulated data and use it to manage resources or plan the safety of the environment more effectively.

Moreover journalists, public organisations or any citizen who is interested in the environment can view and monitor information on the state of the environment in the public portal.

The Ministry of ecology controls business activities, which is in the best interests of each citizen: the amount of taxes paid to the budget, the quality of the air we breathe, water we drink or the soil that we farm.

The process of cooperation between businesses and the government is more complex than the process that serves citizens. It requires much more effort to receive any permit.

Currently, EcoSystem offers 6 convenient online services for business cooperation with the environmental sector:

1. Waste Declaration. Businesses whose activities produce waste must declare it. Now they can do it easily on EcoSystem online. Data is recorded in the register automatically. It doesn't even need officials to process this service.
2. Transborder waste transportation permit. It is required when an organisation wants to import or export waste products.
3. Waste License. This is a permit for the production of dangerous waste that has biological, physical, or chemical characteristics which put the environment and human health at risk. 
4. Logging Permit. Wood is a strategic national resource and is protected by the government. It is required to get permission to cut down trees and produce things that we need. The platform gives opportunities to track the entire supply chain: who, where and how many trees are cut down, what things are produced from them and where they are sold. 
5. QR-statement is an online tool, necessary to verify the validity of any document that contains public information. You would go to the ministry to do it before. Now you can scan a QR-code on a document and the system will verify information in a relevant register confirming the validity of the document.
6. Background emissions certificate contains data about the volume of pollutants in the atmosphere. Data is calculated on EcoSystem, if hydrometeorological services do not measure pollution in the atmosphere at stationary posts. The certificate is generated and recorded in the register automatically.

EcoSystem is ready to develop a diverse range of IT solutions in the ecological sphere. 

The environmental sector in Ukraine has just begun its journey towards digitalization. This is not a fast process and it takes many years to fulfill. Furthermore, all IT solutions need to receive protection at the legislative level. The Ministry of Ecology is actively working on this. 

As a result automation will promote transparent cooperation with the government and decrease corruption among officials. Businesses will be able to receive services they need and submit reports easily.

For reference

Creation of EcoSystem was possible by the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation in Ukraine, projects USAID and UKAID, “Transparency and accountability in administration and services” TAPAS and the Office of Effective Regulation BRDO.