Problems and areas to improve a land monitoring system in Ukraine
Authors: Lyusak A. V. , Nikolaichuk K. M. 
Published: January 2021

Relevance of the research. A scientific and theoretical analysis of the legislation in the field of monitoring of land use and protection was carried out. The problem of information imperfection on the quantitative and qualitative state of land resources, which is the basis of land monitoring, was identified. The problem of land monitoring is the imperfection of the monitoring system itself, namely the collection of information on the land state, the spread of degradation processes by various entities of monitoring. The current Regulations on land monitoring were considered and it is proposed to provide for the expansion of the types of analytical work, to adapt the European standards in the selection, transportation and storage of soil samples, to impose mandatory quality control on all works. According to the current legislation of Ukraine, the main task of monitoring is to monitor the dynamics of the processes taking place in the field of land management. Monitoring data are used in making decisions on construction, establishing permitted types of land use, which help prevent land degradation. The updated monitoring data enable public administration bodies to make appropriate demands to land users to eliminate the violations in the field of land use and protection, as well as to bring to justice those responsible for these violations. To ensure the effective functioning of the unified monitoring system, it is necessary to solve a number of organizational, technical and other problems. The main disadvantages of this system are the obsolescence of technical, methodological and information equipment of the monitoring system centers used during observations; lack of a single observation network; inconsistency of separate information technologies used by different entities of monitoring; inconsistency of normative-technical and normative-legal provision with modern requirements. These problems can be solved by creating a new network of observations, but it requires a large amount of funding.

The Concepts of the State Target Program for the development of land relations in Ukraine and the Concepts of the State Program for Environmental Monitoring were considered, which provide for the improvement of the land monitoring by maximizing the existing potential and gradual improvement of organizational, legal, methodological and technical support of the monitoring system, taking into account current information needs and the recommendations of the UN Economic Commission for Europe. A necessary requirement for the effective counteraction to violations of land legislation and non-compliance with the norms of rational land use is the improvement of the regulatory framework for land monitoring.

It is necessary to clearly specify the following: the purpose and objectives of monitoring as well as the methods of its implementation; main stages and steps of the land monitoring procedure; powers of the implementation entities of this procedure; basic criteria and standards for evaluating the state of land resources and crisis detection. It is also necessary to develop and legislate the procedure for Ukraine's participation in international monitoring studies on land conditions, etc. Currently in Ukraine there is no single methodology for conducting observations, due to the lack of monitoring networks, as well as a modern information system on the state of natural resources, in particular - land. According to scientists, the monitoring requirements are currently met only by agrochemical inspection of agricultural land, however, it is not monitoring: certification does not give a complete picture of land condition; it is not carried out on permanent plots and by a very limited list of indicators and focuses only on the evaluation of individual characteristics, without identifying numerous other physical, chemical and biological indicators.

Conclusions. According to the current legislation, the land monitoring system is improved by defining and developing standards and regulations in the field of land use and protection, including protection and reproduction of soil fertility. Improving the land monitoring procedure in Ukraine requires the development and implementation of a set of mechanisms for coordinating the interaction and coordination of all monitoring entities using a single system of methods and technologies in planning, organizing and conducting observations and joint activities, which will facilitate the rapid response of local executive bodies and governments to the occurrence or threat of emergencies and proper control over their development and elimination of consequences.

The main areas of developing the land monitoring system include: improving organizational and legal support of monitoring; establishing a single integrated monitoring system; optimizing land monitoring methods, determining and developing standards and regulations in the field of land use and protection; ensuring the integration of information resources; strengthening the coordination of the activities of monitoring entities and data management within the state system of land monitoring in Ukraine; participating in international monitoring studies on land condition and harmonization of national standards with the international ones in order to integrate the national land monitoring system in the international systems.