DOI: https://doi.org/10.62204/2336-498X-2023-2-9

PUBLIC MANAGEMENT OF SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINE

Viktor Sychenko,

Doctor of Sciences in Public Administration, Professor,

Dnipro Academy of Continuing Education of the

Dnipropetrovsk Regional Counci, Ukraine,

sychenko@dano.dp.ua; ORCID: 0000-0001-9655-2317

Olexandr Shevchenko,

Doctor of Sciences in Public Administration, Professor,

 V.I. Vernadsky Taurida National University, Ukraine,

alex_shevchenko_61@ukr.net; ORCID: 0000-0001-8854-3728

Annotation. The article analyzes the goals of sustainable development of Ukraine in the conditions of war and found that the war started by Russia became a significant challenge for the country, provoked a huge negative impact on the environment, economy and society, nullified the gains in the field of development achieved during the 30 years of the country’s independence. It was concluded that for the further support of our country, it is necessary to follow the rules that are decisive in the European Union and the world, and especially the perception of general principles of social development, such as democracy, the rule of law, good governance; implementation of European standards and norms in the field of public administration.

Keywords: sustainable development, public administration, European integration, sustainable development goals, environmental, social and economic goals.

Statement of the problem in its general form. One of the key tasks of modern public administration is to restore the pace of sustainable development of Ukraine, which was slowed down by Russian aggression against Ukraine. A significant part of the population of Ukraine was forced to emigrate. Since the beginning of the war, according to the UN, about 8 million people have left Ukraine, mainly to European countries. Significant damage was caused to the infrastructure of Ukraine. The ecological situation worsened. This requires justification of the mechanisms that will contribute to the recovery of the country’s development rates. In the context of European integration, the implementation of European standards and norms in the field of sustainable development is also important. For this, it is necessary to ensure proper access to information and experience of the member states of the European Union.

Analysis of recent research. Such scientists as V. Andreeva, Z. Buryk, Danylyshyn, A. Kozhina and others made a significant contribution to the study of the problems of sustainable development and directions of state policy in this matter. Thus, V. Andreeva [1] proposed an algorithm for ensuring the sustainable development of the region, Z. Buryk [2] considered the essence and structures of the mechanism of state regulation in the field of sustainable development, B. Danylyshyn [3] researched sustainable development strategies, A. Kozhina [6] revealed the main trends of public management of sustainable development of Ukraine. At the same time, despite the noticeable intensification of research on the problems of sustainable development, the issue of developing tools for the effective formation of development directions in the context of European integration remains insufficiently developed and requires further

scientific development.

The aim of the study. Justification of the priority approach to ensuring the sustainable development of Ukraine in the conditions of European integration.

Presentation of the main research material. In the conditions of the war, there was an increase in disparities in the socio-economic development of Ukraine, the environmental situation significantly worsened, and these problems need to be solved as soon as possible. Their undecidedness increases the threat of regional crises, disintegration of the national economy; contributes to reducing the competitiveness of the national economy and its European integration. In the second half of 2023, the war has not ended, the economy is shrinking, and the restoration of the ecological balance has not begun. We can count on receiving resources for the reconstruction of the country primarily on our Western allies and partners. In order for such support to be exact, Ukraine needs to adhere to certain rules that are decisive in the European Union and the world.

Therefore, the development and implementation of the policy of restoration of sustainable development of Ukraine should not contradict the key investment policy of the EU – cohesion and regional development. Russian aggression against Ukraine provoked a huge negative impact on the environment, economy and society: there was the largest mass displacement of the population of Europe since the Second World War; entire cities and communities were destroyed; a large number of civilians, including children, died. All this nullified the gains in the field of sustainable development achieved during the 30 years of the country’s independence. It also provoked negative consequences in energy and food at the global level, which posed a serious threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations.

The Sustainable Development Goals were defined in September 2015 as part of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, when the UN Summit on Sustainable Development was held. The final document of the Summit “Transforming our world: the agenda in the field of sustainable development until 2030” approved 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 tasks. Ukraine, like other UN member states, has joined the global process of ensuring sustainable development.

The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure peace and prosperity for all people in the world. These interrelated goals cover new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among other priorities. The SDGs work in a spirit of partnership and pragmatism, and are aimed at making the right choices in order to sustainably improve the quality of life for future generations. They contain clear guidelines and targets that all countries should implement in accordance with their own priorities and the environmental problems of the world in general. The SDGs address the root causes of poverty and unite the people of the planet to bring about positive changes for life.

Because of the war, the national development priorities reflected in the previous Partnership Framework Program between the UN and the Government of Ukraine were put on hold. In the first six months after the invasion, the UN in Ukraine focused on humanitarian response. In partnership with NGOs, local authorities and the Government, these responses reached 16 million people whose lives were upended by war in Ukraine during 2022. Meanwhile, UN development agencies in the first months after the invasion focused on supporting the capacity of authorities and civil society to manage crisis situations [8].

At the Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine, which took place in July 2022 in Lugano (Switzerland), the Government of Ukraine presented the draft Plan for the Restoration of Ukraine. The impact of war on environmental, social and economic goals, the achievement of which is under serious threat in the course of hostilities, was considered. The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station has caused and will continue to cause catastrophic consequences, the scale of which has no analogues among the man-made disasters of modern Ukraine and the countries of the European Union. Huge residential areas, household and industrial enterprises, agricultural lands were flooded, the structure of drinking water and electricity supply was disrupted, the processes of medical assistance and the work of rescue services were complicated, as a result of which there were victims among the population of the flooded regions. In addition, there is a threat of disrupting the safe functioning of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. The consequences of an accident at this station could be catastrophic, far beyond the borders of Ukraine.

Ukraine has a significant negative economic effect from the war: the biggest wave of emigration; increase in unemployment; increase in inflation and food and energy prices; loss of purchasing power; reduction of agricultural production; decrease in economic activity. The war led to a significant reduction in production: industrial production fell by 30%, and in some sectors (for example, metallurgy), the reduction reached 70%.

Due to hostilities, agricultural production has shrunk. The agricultural sector lost part of the harvest, which was reduced due to hostilities, and quality storage of the harvest became difficult due to the narrowing of opportunities for exporting agricultural products. The supply and sales chains were sharply disrupted due to the actual destruction of part of the transport infrastructure, the deterioration of the quality of transport communications, and the impossibility of transporting the vast majority of goods by sea. The risk of a shortage of energy resources has increased as a result of the purposeful destruction of the energy infrastructure of Ukraine by the enemy. There was a significant increase in the cost of production due to the increase in the price of energy resources, raw materials, logistics, and the increase in the price of imported components.

Merchandise exports decreased significantly due to the complications of export logistics, in particular, the limited capacity of the western border of Ukraine. Due to the deterioration of the solvency of households in conditions of job loss, consumer demand has narrowed. Stagnation of investments is observed due to high uncertainty and loss of financial resources of enterprises.

Negative phenomena also occur in the social component: massive shelling of health care facilities reduces the ability to serve the population and prevent potential outbreaks of diseases; there are cases of mental illness provoked by the armed conflict, the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and drugs among the military and civilian population is provoked; air, soil and water pollution endangers the health of the population and causes an increase in mortality.

The main and defining risk of a full-scale war for Ukraine was the loss of human capital, which occurred as a result of the powerful migration of people – both abroad and within the country. Many skilled and productive workers actually dropped out of the production process. Unemployment increased sharply, and the burden on the social security system increased. Among the significant factors in the displacement of people, it is worth highlighting the massive destruction of housing and communal infrastructure, which led to a sharp deterioration in the quality of life and the impossibility of living in the territories liberated from the occupiers or those located in zones close to hostilities.

All this leads to the fact that it is very difficult for Ukraine to adhere to the principles of sustainable development during the war. As mentioned above, we can count on our partners, including countries that are part of the European Union, to obtain external credit resources. However, in order to successfully attract external credit resources, it is necessary to have an effective governance system, to apply effective sustainable development management mechanisms, to develop a public management system that ensures transparency and efficient use of funds. It is also important to have a developed infrastructure and a competitive economy, which ensures the stable development of the country and increases its competitiveness to attract investments.

Restoring the rate of sustainable development of the country will be facilitated by the sustainable development of the regions, that is, it should become the main object of stimulation. Sustainable development of the regions is a priority direction in the conditions of war and post-war reconstruction. Effective public management mechanisms that will ensure the restoration of sustainable development of the regions of Ukraine include: creation of a strategy for the sustainable development of the region, development of a strategy for the restoration and development of the region’s infrastructure, development of a strategy for the use of environmentally friendly technologies and materials, informing the community about the developed strategies, attracting investments for development, further development of civil society, evaluation of the effectiveness of measures for the sustainable development of the region and the country.

Creation of a strategy for the sustainable development of the region, which takes into account the needs and interests of all interested parties. This mechanism is key to ensuring the sustainable development of the region, as it allows taking into account the needs and interests of all stakeholders, such as residents, businesses, public organizations, local authorities and others. Such strategies for the sustainable development of individual territorial communities are developed on the basis of an analysis of the current state of the region and its potential, determination of priority areas of development and mechanisms for their implementation [7], which is interpreted as “decentralization brings better results and efficiency.” The strategy must be transparent and accessible to all stakeholders, and must also include mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating its effectiveness. This will ensure the coordinated action of all interested parties and achieve the maximum positive impact on the development of the region.

The development of a strategy for the restoration and development of infrastructure should be aimed at reducing the emissions of harmful substances and reducing the negative impact on the environment. Energy efficiency should be increased through the use of renewable energy sources and energy-saving technologies. The development of water supply and drainage should be ensured by the appropriate level of water quality and quantity, as well as by reducing the pollution of water resources. This will make it possible to achieve sustainable development of the region, ensure an adequate standard of living for residents and preserve the environment for future generations.

The development of a strategy for the use of environmentally friendly technologies and materials will contribute to reducing the negative impact on the environment through the use of solar panels for the power supply of buildings, energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems, as well as the production of waste processing products. In addition, an important element will be the reduction of the use of plastic and other materials that worsen the state of the environment. For example, implementation of a system of separate garbage collection and waste processing.

Conducting an information campaign for the public about the developed strategies can be done through various communication channels, such as television, radio, social networks, newspapers and magazines. Measures that will contribute to the success of such a campaign can be: creation of a website or an electronic platform where information about sustainable development strategies, their goals and objectives, results and achievements will be posted; organization of meetings and conferences with representatives of the public, local authorities, businesses and other interested parties; placement of information materials in newspapers, magazines, on radio and television; placement of information banners on the streets and in public facilities, etc.

Attracting investments in projects that contribute to the sustainable development of the region may include investments in solar and wind power plants, energy efficiency programs, projects using renewable energy sources, and others. Such projects can create new jobs and contribute to the economic development of the region. Attracting investment in such projects can be done through various mechanisms, such as government support programs, private investments and joint investment funds.

Development of public participation and partnerships, which ensure active participation of residents in decision-making and development of the region. This may include participation in the city planning process, infrastructure development and environmental protection measures. Partnership between the public, the state and business is also an important element of sustainable development [7]. The development of public participation and partnership can be carried out through various mechanisms, such as consultations with the public, formation of public councils and committees, cooperation with non-profit organizations and business.

Evaluating the effectiveness of measures for the sustainable development of the region allows timely adjustment of strategy and actions. This process allows you to assess how successfully the set goals were achieved and how the results can be improved.

For the effective functioning of each of these mechanisms, it is advisable to use “Europeanization”. It consists in studying and introducing into the system of public management of Ukraine the best experience of using management mechanisms of EU member states, implementation of national legal norms, standards and procedures to EU norms, rules and requirements. First of all, this is the perception of general principles of social development, such as democracy, effectiveness and efficiency of governance, rule of law, market economy; basic principles of public administration, such as good governance, openness, transparency. Practical steps in the implementation of mechanisms of public management of sustainable development, based on European principles, namely the priority of people in socio-economic development, will make it possible to restore the pace of achieving the goals of sustainable development of our country.

Conclusions. In modern conditions, Ukraine faces serious challenges that require the fastest possible response. Implementation of the policy of sustainable development has become more difficult, the threat of crises in the social sphere has increased, the competitiveness of the national economy has decreased, and there is a risk of slowing down Ukraine’s European integration. In order to further support our country, it is necessary to adhere to certain rules of the European Union, among which the following stand out: acceptance of general principles of social development, such as democracy, rule of law, good governance; implementation of European standards and norms in the field of public administration; justification of approaches to ensuring the sustainable development of Ukraine in the conditions of European integration. One of the approaches that will help ensure the recovery of the country’s development rate involves creating a sustainable development strategy in the face of new challenges and threats; restoration of infrastructure, which will ensure innovative development of the country; the use of environmentally friendly technologies and materials, which will reduce the negative impact on the environment; attraction of investments in projects that contribute to the sustainable development of the country; development of public participation in decisionmaking regarding the development of a separate community and the country as a whole; monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of sustainable development measures.

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