PECULIARITIES OF THE STRATEGIC ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE TERRITORIES OF SETTLEMENT COMMUNITIES AS A MECHANISM FOR PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Strategic environmental assessment is one of the tools for promoting sustainable development by ensuring the protection of the environment and public health and integrating environmental requirements during the development and approval of state planning documents, which is especially relevant for territorial communities formed within the framework of Ukraine’s decentralization reforms. The article examines the main challenges that territorial communities may face when implementing community development strategy tasks and mitigating measures to minimize the negative impact on the environment using the example of a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of Natalyn territorial community in Kharkiv region. A SWAT analysis of the current environmental situation of the Natalina territorial community was developed, regional and local strategic goals, provided for by the Development Strategy of the Kharkiv region and the Natalina community, were analyzed. A description of the main factors that can limit the implementation of a complex of environmental protection and ecologically safe management solutions in the SEA section regarding the provision of recommendations for mitigating the negative effects on the state of the environment is given. Such challenges are: peculiarities of spatial characteristics of communities, natural resource potential, low concentration of human resources, peculiarities of architectural and planning measures in rural areas Strategic environmental assessment is one of the tools for promoting sustainable development by ensuring the protection of the environment and public health and integrating environmental requirements during the development and approval of state planning documents, which is especially relevant for territorial communities formed within the framework of Ukraine’s decentralization reforms. The problematic field of decentralization of rural settlements is analyzed, which manifests itself in the solution of problems of economic and social direction as the first priority, while the issues of environmental protection do not have a priority in the solution for settlement territorial communities. The article examines the main challenges that territorial communities may face when implementing community development strategy tasks using the example of a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of Natalyn territorial community in Kharkiv region. A SWOT analysis of the current ecological situation of the Natalina territorial community was conducted, regional and local strategic goals, provided for by the Development Strategy of the Kharkiv region and the Natalina community, were analyzed. A description of the main factors that can limit the implementation of a complex of environmental protection and ecologically safe management solutions in the section of the SEA on providing recommendations for mitigating possible negative effects on the state of the environment is provided.Such challenges are: peculiarities of spatial characteristics of communities, natural resource potential, low concentration of human resources, peculiarities of application of architectural and planning measures in rural areas, remoteness from administrative centers, limited access of communities to all the benefits of ecosystem services. It is noted that the strategic environmental assessment report should be used not only as a documented description and assessment of environmental consequences, but also as a component of integrated management of resources, natural potential and land use planning. After all, the stability of the system is determined in its mutual, parallel development of the spheres of economy, ecology and society, which is the basis of sustainable development.