Criteria and requirements for the implementation of the sustainable development policy in Ukraine

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УДК 349.6

Brandenburg University of Technology, Germany

CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN UKRAINE

Michael Schmidt

Implementation of sustainable development principles primarily involves stating appropriate criteria and requirements for reformation of the development management. This task was already set by the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio De Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992): “Indicators of sustainable development need to be developed to provide solid bases for decision-making at all levels and to contribute to a self-regulating sustainability of integrated environment and development systems.” [1, para. 40.4].

According to the definition of the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission), “sustainable development” is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs [2, pp. 18-19]. This definition refers to development without exceeding limits of environmental potential, which does not have irreversible impact on environment and does not endanger the future of humanity. Without dwelling on analysis of numerous approaches to concept of sustainable development, we include in it the balanced development of a system - economic and social development while saving natural resources for the sake of high living standards of future generations. economic reform public policy

The existent in Ukraine (as in many other countries) resource saving and nature conservation measures and approaches are being increasingly questioned, as they do not efficiently respond to problems of environmental protection. In some of their previous papers, authors already dwelt on analysis of issues related to a balanced environmental and economic development [3, 4, 5]. The dominating scientific paradigm adheres to several fundamental theses, which are rather controversial.

Firstly, economic activity of any level is perceived as an isolated system. Natural resources are regarded only as one of production factors, as a necessary element of material expenses in a turnover of financial and material flows.

For polluting environment (exceeding maximum allowable concentration norms) subjects of economy have to pay fines. Calculation of financial sanctions is based on estimation of the lost resources and services, which are provided by environment.

In that way, natural resources are not considered to be irreplaceable. It is assumed that man-created capital can replace almost any type of natural resources, i.e. become a substitute of natural capital. There is an absence of understanding or unwillingness to understand and to take into account that environment plays a fundamental role in human economy.

The present administration and management system has caused significant decrease in a number of natural resources. The level of environmental pollution in Ukraine is much higher as compared to internationally accepted norms and standards of environmental well-being. In many regions, irrational and inefficient nature management reached such extent, by which self-protective functions can no longer support environmental balance [6].

It is obvious, that any human activity must be considered as an open subsystem within the bounds of natural environment.

Secondly, the limits of economic growth are not being set. The constant economic development and expansion is accepted not only as possible, but also as the best solution for poverty problems and in some cases even as a solution for problems of environmental degradation. To extrapolate from the past economic growth tendencies, value and utility of resources and other material products used today is considered feasible and logical.

The different possibilities to provide resources for extended reproduction are often discussed in literature. There are proposed ways for overcoming deficiency of natural resources: substitution of natural resources with artificial, development of recycling technologies - utilisation of the already used resources by means of waste processing (metal scrap, polymer materials etc.), et al [7]. The increase of prices for depletable resources makes new technologies more competitive, spur to invent new materials and energy carriers.

Undoubtedly, development of technologies allows to keep resources in economic turnover, increase efficiency of their utilisation. New resource saving technologies can assist to a certain extent in decreasing environmental load. However, technological progress does not always correspond to objectives of sustainable development, and economic growth is not necessarily adequate to public well-being, though the latter is accepted as its aim.

In Ukraine, there are great differences in economic development of regions. For instance Dnepropetrovsk region is notable for high industrialisation level. Today 302 mineral deposits are exploited according to 39 mineral types. 712 large industries of 20 different branches employ over 447 100 people. The region produces 15.7% of the entire industrial products of the country. Dnepropetrovsk region ranks second in Ukraine according to this index According to information of Dnepropetrovsk Economic Administration as of 01.01.2005..

At the same time, the volume of atmosphere emissions makes up 22% of the total volume released from stationary source in Ukraine, Dnepropetrovsk region ranks second in air pollution level (after Donetsk region). Among Ukrainian regions Dnepropetrovsk region has on of the most serious deficiencies in water supply. As a whole, the environmental situation in Dnepropetrovsk region can be characterised as critical, and a part of its territory - as zone of ecological disaster [8].

It is obvious that implementation of European principles of sustainable development requires realising one of four fundamental theses in the filed of environmental protection and nature management aimed at environment conservation - the differentiated development of the decentralised spatial structure and structure of settlements should contribute to future reduction and prevention of environmental pressure.

Thirdly, organisation of society conforms to social welfare through influence of market forces.

In Ukraine conception of social welfare is interpreted as a sum of individual well-being (of different levels - territories, regions, citizens). It is assumed that market forces in an attempt to satisfy individual wants of consumers inevitably create “common good”. Demand for a resource (as for other goods) determines its social utility.

Literature places high emphasis on the issues of quantitative assessment of social welfare under market conditions, on regulating consumption of natural resources [9, 10].

Many natural resources of free access are used without limitations. Under the conditions of keen demand, it is difficult to provide for preserving population of individual bioresources. It especially applies to bioresources, which are collected, caught, hunted etc. outside the special zones (e.g. natural reserves). Injurious consumption of natural resources progresses under market conditions, when the social discounting rate is high (society does not care about supplying future generations with natural resources), and costs of resource production are low. Market equilibrium is reached only when the price for resources is equal to the costs of their production.

Furthermore, the technical progress in methods of resource production leads to decrease in its costs and that provides for efficient winning and extraction of the hard-to-reach and diminishing reserves of natural resources.

Therefore, free consumption of natural resources requires its state regulation. In this connection, there are individual problems of establishing an effective taxation policy, assigning consumption quotas, development of monitoring methodology, et al.

Thus, implementation of sustainable development policy in Ukraine must rely on the following conceptual requirements. Human activities should be regarded as on open subsystem within the bounds of natural environment, what determines proactive approach to environmental problems. Environmental conservation requires differentiated development of the decentralised spatial structure, which shall contribute to normalisation of environmental load. A system of methods for state regulating the consumption of natural resources should provide for environmental and economic balance.

Sustainable development indicators (SDI) are indicators that measure progress made in sustainable growth and development [11]. They are various statistical values that collectively measure the capacity to meet present and future needs. SDI can provide an early warning, sounding the alarm in time to prevent economic, social and environmental damage. They are also important tools to assist decision-makers and policy-makers at all levels and to increase focus on sustainable development.

Hence, the SDI must, on the one hand, reflect integration of social, economic and environmental development parameters into a single complex, and, on the other hand, characterise level of sustainability of environment, its ability to self-repair when development parameters are changed.

It is necessary to emphasise that cooperation of different authorities, administrations and scientific institutions is essential to produce the SDI. As an example, in Finland almost 20 ministries and research institutes participated in development of the national SDI and the so-called indicator network has been created. Therefore, the indicators chosen could reflect many points of view and were developed according to the needs of the users.

Following also the main development priorities of Ukraine stated in “EU - Ukraine Action Plan” endorsed in the framework of European Neighbourhood Policy [12], it is possible to formulate the main groups of sustainable development indicators:

1. Social indicators: poverty rate; demographic dynamics and its sustainability; population employment level; gap between levels of regional development and opportunities for local population; level of social integration (including stability of educational system, public health care and other social services for all levels of the population) et al.

2. Economic indicators: level of macroeconomic stability; stability level of the functioning market economy, including equalisation of investment conditions for different regions, stability of fiscal system; level of development of financial resources and mechanisms et al.

3. Environmental indicators: quality level of different elements of environment; development level of methods and instruments for management of ecosystems; ecologisation level of development policies, plans and programmes; part of public taken in making of environmentally significant decisions et al.

4. Institutional indicators: efficiency level of institutions ensuring stability and supremacy of law; transparency and accountability of public authorities; efficiency of institutional field with regard to regional and transboundary sustainability issues, preventing conflicts and crisis situations et al.

5. Structural indicators: level of consistency and harmonisation of long-term development policies, plans and programmes; development level of administrative structures and procedures, co-ordination between relevant actors; development level of regulatory and administrative structures in Ukraine, their compliance with international and European structures et al.

In the view of objectives set for economic and social reforms in Ukraine, there is a need in further specification of these indicator groups.

Ukraine along with many other countries faces the global and local environmental problems leading to unsustainability of development. The main threats to environment today are climate change, the eutrophication of water systems, depletion of natural resources and biodiversity. Aims of sustainable developments require more environmental protection and the restoration of environmental damage - future generations have a right to live in a healthy environment. Thus, in our opinion, it is appropriate to distinguish an indicator group reflecting intergenerational equity.

This indicator group could include the following: thickness of the ozone layer; mean temperatures in Ukraine; volume of waste disposed of in landfills; amount of untreated hazardous waste; share of untilled land; environmental awareness of population.

With a view to broaden the meaning of sustainable development, provide for its multidimensional perception, contents of the above mentioned indicator groups might be revised or reclassified.

For example, the social indicators group may be divided into subgroups: distributional equity (poverty rate, income-level differences, number of homeless children, unemployment level et al.); human health (urban air quality, level of immune resistance, number of cancer cases, annually reported HIV infections et al.); social adaptation to the future (environment-related taxes and fees, environmental protection expenditure, research and development expenditure, education levels, area of nature reserves, use of renewable energy sources, bio and environmentally friendly farming). Such subdivision is most relevant to existent in Ukraine social problems.

Equity is an important objective when it comes to achieving sustainable development. In Ukraine, the processes of visible and concealed unemployment became more acute during the last years. In addition, stratification of society by the income level became notably stronger. Economic equity is a new and unexpected problem for Ukraine. Before gaining independence in 1991 the entire population had on average equal income, rather low if compared to developed Western countries. Also, environmental pollutants and environmental health problems often affect worst those who are most vulnerable in society. On the other hand, poverty often leads people to make choices that are bad from the point of view of the environment. Therefore, the solution of these problems is complicated but crucial for achieving social well-being, which is a necessary prerequisite for sustainable development.

The state of the environment is closely linked to human health. In Ukraine as a result of obsolete technologies, production facilities, exceeding pollution thresholds, lack of investments, problems of environmental protection and recreation are aggravated. In particular, the number of cancer cases is rising, the deterioration of water quality led to increase in gastrointestinal disturbances, and the high levels of pollutants in urban air result in lung diseases. The Ukrainian government and the whole of the public service system are responsible for continuous development of the Ukrainian welfare system. The important objective on a way to sustainable development is to create social and health care system, which would serve all people equally, independent of income and place of residence.

Likewise, the environmental indicators group can be broken up into the following subgroups: environmental efficiency (ratio of private cars use and public transportation use, internal migration, urbanization, waste accumulation, re-use of material in packages, total energy consumption, consumption of energy and natural resources in relation to economic growth); environmental pressure (acidifying emissions, nutrient discharges to waters, nitrogen balance of agriculture, use of pesticides); preserving natural resources (total consumption of natural resources, conservation of forest resources, use of water resources, numbers of endangered species).

Environmental efficiency is one way to achieve sustainable development. The main idea of environmental efficiency is that natural resources have to be used in a sustainable way. This applies to industrial consumption, transportation, way of life and to any other activity. The consumption rate is growing constantly, and as the result, the choice of products is expanding, which leads to waste accumulation. The recycling of waste has progressed, but great amounts of waste are still being disposed of in landfills. The majority of Ukrainian landfills does not meet the environmental requirements.

Ukraine adopted the Concept of the sustainable development of settlements and thereby created favourable legal conditions for sustainable urban planning [13]. This Concept includes complex approaches to improving traffic and living conditions, to regulating internal migration, problems of waste treatment, decentralisation of megapolises, et al.

The major environmental threats today are climate change, depletion of natural resources and biodiversity. Mainly they are caused by inefficient methods of management. For example, only in the Dnepropetrovsk region the volume of domestic and industrial waste waters makes up 25% of the total volume in Ukraine. In addition 96.3% of waste waters are released into surface water sources. The polluting run-off and insufficient water treatment bring to increase in the level of chemical and microbiological pollution of water bodies. In the rivers Dnepr, Samara, Mokraya Sura a high concentration of iron (1.2-2.4 MAC - maximum allowable concentration), oil products (1.3-2.0 MAC), cadmium (2.0-5.0 MAC) have been detected [6]. Nutrient discharges to water results in eutrophication of water systems, which is a major environmental problem.

Ukraine has not yet managed to reach international objectives when it comes to emissions of greenhouse gases, i.e. comply with its obligations with regard to the Kyoto Protocol.

The concentrations of different environmentally dangerous chemicals in animals and in humans have decreased to a certain extent, mostly due to a reduction in harmful emissions. Unfortunately, it did not result from transition to a more sustainable development, but from setback in production volumes in the post-soviet period.

Criteria and requirements for implementation of the sustainable policy indicated in the paper presume changes in the concept economic management, as well as in social mentality, and that should lead to proactive character of environmental protection.

The main role of the sustainable development indicators is to function as a support tool for policymaking and for evaluating the implementation of sustainable development. The developed indicators must take into consideration specific character of Ukrainian conditions. Indicators also need to be developed according to the needs of the users - by close cooperation of different authorities, scientific institutions and stakeholders.

Such system of indicators will allow analysing the trends of social development and extent of its sustainability, setting the next targets and evaluating a distance to these targets.

List of references

1. Agenda 21. Adopted at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) at Rio De Janeiro, 13 June 1992.

2. Nutzinger H.G., Radke V. (1995) Das Konzept der nachhaltigen Wirtschaftsweise. In: Nutzinger H.G. (Hg.) Nachhaltige Wirtschaftsweise und Energieversorgung. Marburg.

3. Палехов Д. О. Деякі питання оптимізації управління на регіональному рівні // Друга науково-практична конференція “Соціально-економічні реформи у контексті європейського вибору Украини”: Доповіді - Дніпропетровськ: НАЦ “Ера”, 2005.

4. Schmidt M., Shapar A., Palekhov D. Reforms of Ukrainian planning mechanism as compared to experience of Germany In: Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference “Problems of regional development in Ukraine and Poland”, Lviv, 23 - 25 May 2005.

5. Schmidt M., Shapar A., Pivnyak G., Palekhov D. Methodical approaches to elaboration of the balanced environmental-economic regional development plans in Ukraine. // Науковий вісник Національного гірничого університету. - №7, 2005.

6. Schmidt M., Shapar A., Palekhov D. Analysis of the state of environment and recreation potential in Dnepropetrovsk region // Матеріали доповідей учасників міжнародної науково-практичної конференції “Інформаційні технології в управленні туристичною и курортно-рекреаційною економікою та проблеми підготовки фахівців”(15-16 вересня 2005 року, Бердянськ). - Бердянськ: АРІУ “АРІУ”, 2005.

7. Tietenberg T. Environmental Economics and Policy. - Reading/Mass., 2nd edition, 1998.

8. Экологический паспорт Днепропетровской области. - Днепропетровск, 2000.

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11. European Environment Agency. Multilingual environmental glossary, at http://glossary.eea.eu.int /EEAGlossary (last access on 20.09.2005)

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13. Концепція сталого розвитку населених пунктів. Затверджено Постановою Верховної Ради України від 24.12.99 № 1359-XIV // Офіційний вісник України . -1999. -№ 40.

Abstract

Implementation of sustainable development principles primarily involves stating appropriate criteria and requirements for reformation of the development management. The main groups of sustainable development indicators (social indicators, economic indicators, environmental indicators, institutional indicators, structural indicators) are formulated. In the view of objectives set for economic and social reforms in Ukraine, there is a need in further specification of these indicator groups, their legislative support with the purpose of organising monitoring of efficiency of state policies and programmes.

Реалізація принципів сталого розвитку, насамперед, включає визначення відповідних критеріїв і вимог для перетворення управління розвитком. Сформульовано головні групи індикаторів сталого розвитку (соціальні та економічні індикатори, індикатори якості навколишнього середовища, інституційні та структурні індикатори). Набір цілей для економічних і соціальних реформ в Україні визначає потреба в подальшій специфікації цих груп індикаторів, їх законодавчій підтримці з метою організації контролю ефективності державної політики і програм.

Реализация принципов устойчивого развития, прежде всего, включает определение соответствующих критериев и требований для преобразования управления развития. Cформулированы главные группы индикаторов устойчивого развития (социальные и экономические индикаторы, индикаторы качества окружающей среды, институционные и структурные индикаторы). Набор целей для экономических и социальных реформ в Украине определяет потребность в дальнейшей спецификации этих групп индикаторов, их законодательной поддержке с целью организации контроля эффективности государственной политики и программ.

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