Some Aspects of Reforming the Water Management System and Efficient Use of Reclaimed Lands in Ukraine

Abstract

The necessity and the basic directions of the scientific vision of further reforming the systems of water resources and land reclamation management are determined. The need for such a reform is dictated by the fact that, despite the adoption on October 4, 2016, by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the Law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Implementing Integrated Approaches to Basin Management" and a number of by-laws, the system of water management and land reclamation management in Ukraine still remains virtually unreformed since post-Soviet times as two mutually exclusive functions remain in this system: the water management function and the land reclamation management function. Moreover, the statutory grounds for the introduction of integrated basin management have been deliberately used to eliminate economic entities which managed reclamation infrastructure, which has made it much more difficult to separate the above-mentioned functions, as required by Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe “On establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy”, the implementation of which into Ukrainian law is a mandatory task under the Association Agreement with the EU. Recent adoption (on February 17, 2022) by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the Law “On Organization of Water Users and Stimulation of Hydrotechnical Land Reclamation” was confirmed by the President of Ukraine on May 6, 2022. It is an important step towards reforming the water management as for the first time in Ukraine the law introduces a new organizational and legal form for the management of reclamation systems, namely water user organizations. But this Law does not address the main issue of the reform - the separation of the above-mentioned functions. Therefore, the success of further reforming of the systems of water resources and land reclamation management will directly depend not on the speed of development and adoption of bylaws to the Law “On Organization of Water Users and Stimulation of Hydrotechnical Land Reclamation”. It will depend on the earliest possible adoption of the “Concept of reforming the water management system of Ukraine” by the Government of Ukraine, the project of which was prepared and approved by all interested ministries and departments in 2019, but was deliberately blocked by then leaders of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine. Therefore, the work on reforming the systems of water resources and land reclamation management is unsystematic and, in many cases, the practical steps being implemented, especially in improving the structure of the State Agency Water Resources of Ukraine, are mostly destructive. Minimizing their negative impact will require considerable efforts and time.
 This article aims at scientific substantiation of the list and sequence of measures, including at the legislative level, the implementation of which will bring the systems of water resources and land reclamation management in Ukraine in line with European water legislation, and thus ensure full implementation of the provisions of integrated management on the basin principle not only formally but also in the spirit.

Сучасний Стан Зрошуваних Сільсько- Господарських Земель В Україні

“…О.Н. Соколовського", ІВПіМ, ІЗЗ НААН [1,6,8,9,10], співробітниками відділу геоінформаційних технологій, агроекологічних і економічних досліджень в офісному редакторі електронних таблиць MS Excel 2016 сформовано базу даних сучасного стану зрошуваних земель, головне меню наведено на рис. 4.…”

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Analysis of Methodical Approaches to the Formation of Water Tariffs for Irrigation and Compensation of Costs for Reclamation Infrastructure: The Experience of Eu Countries

“…In the USA, China and India the development of meliorative agriculture makes an important contribution to the policy goal of ensuring food security, in the most Eu countries produce most of their grains and oilseeds without irrigation, so it is hardly the basis of their food security. Restoring the key role of land reclamation in ensuring the sustainability of Ukraine's agriculture under ЗРОШЕННЯ -ОСУШЕННЯ climate change is one of the priority tasks of Ukraine's agrarian policy [6].…”

“…Using the experience of EU countries in Ukraine. For Ukraine, given the significant achievements in irrigation at the end of the twentieth century and its transformation into a guarantor of world food security [6], its necessary urgently implement the recovery of irrigated agriculture in large areas due to its strategic and export-oriented nature, the presence of different climatic zones, the achievements of both the irrigation "grands" of the Mediterranean region of Europe and new EU members with a positive experience of renewing the agricultural and water sectors of the economy. The search for appropriate approaches, factors, and procedures for tariff formation in Ukraine is underway.…”

“…In terms of economic content, water tariffs tariffs for water supply services for the irrigation of agricultural crops are classified as an important economic tool of irrigation management. The study of the practice and experience of the EU countries shows that an effective tariff-setting mechanism for water supply services in Ukraine should be based both on the solution of administrative and legal problems in the plan of continuing water system management reforms [6], and on the approval of known schemes [13] and proposals regarding the combination of the interests of the state and water users regarding the effective use of irrigated lands.…”