STATUS AND DIRECTIONS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL PROTECTED AREAS OF THE ODESSA REGION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE "BLUE ECONOMY"
Authors: VOROBIOVA O.A. 
Published: March 2024

Topicality. In the conditions of increased anthropogenic load on natural territories, the role of the study of the nature reserve fund (NRF) of countries and regions. It is increasing, since the quality of life of the population largely depends on the ecological state of the natural environment as the basis of human life. Currently, it is recognized at the highest level in the world that the role of protected natural areas (PNA) in the transition to sustainable development is fundamental and key. These global trends have been recognized by Ukraine and approved in national legislation among the most important priorities of long-term state policy. And in today's conditions, this priority acquires special significance, and it sets out the target setting for increasing the area of recreational areas in coastal regions and realizing their recreational potential.

Aim and tasks. Based on the existing in Ukraine and the world, the special relevance of the expansion of the PNA, the development of coastal regions within the framework of the "blue economy", as well as the focus on using the own potential of the territories in Ukraine, the purpose of this study is to conduct an analysis of the state and existing directions of development of the territories and objects of the NRF Odesa region, including the cross-section of coastal and non-coastal regions.

Materials and methods. Statistical analysis methods were used when conducting research to determine the areas of territories and objects of the NRF, when studying the areas of the NRF objects in the seaside and non-sea areas of Odesa region, the method of comparative analysis was used, the method of scientific generalization was used to analyze the state and existing directions of development of territories and objects of NRF facilities of the region.

Research results. The analysis of the state and existing directions of development of the territories and objects of the NRF of Ukraine, Odesa region and its districts, carried out in the article, showed that in general in Ukraine there is a general state tendency to increase the area of the territories of the NRF. But the rate of development of the territories of the nature reserve fund in the country lags behind the benchmarks declared in the program documents. As for Odesa region, it should be noted that in the ranking of administrative territorial units by the size of the territories of the NRF (as a percentage of their total area), it takes as much as 19th place, and according to the change of the actual areas of the NRF territories - 9th place. For the Odesa region, with its potential, these are extremely low positions. And this emphasizes that the region's capabilities in this area are not being used to their full extent. The analysis of indicators of the state of the nature-reserved area of the region showed that the main increase in the area of protected areas in the region took place in the last 2 years. At the same time, the overall increase in the territories of the NRF of the region occurred mainly due to the increase in the territories of national importance (+13%). At the same time, in the Odesa region, there is significant differentiation in the territorial distribution of NRF objects. Thus, the actual area of the NRF territories in the coastal areas is three times larger, than in the non-coastal areas. And in terms of the percentage of protected areas, seaside areas are 5 times ahead of non-seaside ones. In addition, the region does not meet scientifically based recommendations for the percentage of protection for the steppe zone (10%). Thus, the level of protection is high (9.48%) in the coastal areas, and very low (1.82%) in the non-coastal areas. And along with the average level of conservation in the region (4.63%), which is almost 1.5 times less than the average Ukrainian indicator (6.80%), it is necessary to note the need for further development of the network of protected areas and objects in Odesa region. At the same time, coastal and non-coastal areas should have different target orientations for the development of NRF. So, for example, in the coastal areas, it is advisable to develop more multifunctional areas of the NRF, with the possibility of recreation, and in the non-coastal areas - mainly purely protected areas, as well as areas for reservation for future.

Conclusion. Despite the fact that over the past decades, appropriate steps have been taken in the direction of the development of PNA in Ukraine, in the post-war period, the work should be continued and strengthened, with a focus on attracting investments to restore the lost and develop the existing potential, including recreational, expansion of the network of PNA to the necessary, legally established scales. To ensure the sustainable long-term functioning of NRF objects, it is necessary to take a number of measures and comply with certain requirements regarding: expansion of the network of existing territories and NRF objects; scientific substantiation of the creation of new NRF objects; development of recreational capacity of PNA; informing the local population about the value of NRF objects, etc.