Ukrainian State Eological Policy and Ecological Safety at the Present Stage of Development: Concepts and Legal Principles

Abstract

The article attempts to research and analyze the definition of such concepts as «environmental policy» and «environmental safety» and the principal approaches to the definition of these concepts. The study elucidates some features of the state ecological policy and ecological safety legal regulations at the present stage of our state development. The state policy in the field of environment protection, natural resources utilization, and environmental security is determined as the issue of a top priority for national interests. The author substantiates the need for timely measures, adequate to the nature and the threats rate of environmental security, and proves that they are to be based on the legal principles. Elimination of the environmental threats and providing environmental safety are principal aims of the state environmental policy of Ukraine. The key findings of the study prove that the main problem with the ecological crisis situation in Ukraine is that, despite the fundamental legal framework, the practice lacks its proper implementation. Now the environmental legislation of Ukraine is a multi-sectoral system of legislative acts of different legal force, which complicates their using and leads to numerous contradictions between them. The presence of regulations in large numbers creates significant difficulties for their practical application. Therefore, the codification of environmental legislation is an urgent issue that should be considered as one of the priorities of all environmental policy. Carrying out a clear state environmental policy and ensuring environmental security in the current conditions of Ukraine's development is a priority both in the international arena and at the national level, and it is an important factor and the basis of sustainable economic and social development.