More for pigs than people: experience with Danosha's expansion in Ukraine

In 2013 the EBRD approved a loan of EUR 35 million to Danosha, a Ukrainian industrial pig farming company. Categorised as ‘B’ by the bank, the project didn't require an Environmental Impact Assessment or public participation. Yet experience shows that Danosha’s activities are associated with adverse environmental and social impacts, and the situation has been worsened by the fact that the company does not publish any information about its impacts on the environment, public health and safety at its farms. Local communities and civil society groups have so far been unable to establish good communication with Danosha and resolve these issues. While the EBRD has been informed about these problems before the loan was approved, no active involvement from the EBRD has been forthcoming in facilitating access to environmental information and preventing the negative impacts of Danosha’s operations on the local communities.