GLOBAL, EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, DECENTRALIZATION, AND MILITARY DETERMINANTS OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE FUNDING SYSTEM FOR TERRITORIES WITHIN THE NATURAL RESERVE FUND

Abstract

In the last decade or so a new global mode for nature conservation has developed, based on a package of standards and rules guiding the reform process in nature reserve management. This article analyzes the recent tendencies of the financing system development for nature reserve territories in the EU member states, and considers the challenges of war, postwar recovery and European integration processes as a context for realising, through best European practice, solutions that could be adopted for Ukraine. It considers the institutional conditions necessary to finance and invest in environmental conservation, outlines the features of the funding mechanism for nature reserves in EU member states, and highlights the major sources, modalities, approaches and tools that can be used to finance the development of nature conservation infrastructure. The importance of blended finance, public‐private partnerships, grant support, corporate social responsibility, «green» investments, European Union programmes – with special emphasis to LIFE – as well as innovative financial instruments in promoting a sustainable management of the nature conservation fund is proven. Some of the essential institutional preconditions for the diversification of financial and investment support for environmental protection activities were outlined, such as boosting blended finance modalities, fostering multilevel governance in the environmental domain, strengthening the financial capacity of local communities, institutionalizing economic incentives to enlarge nature reserves, and shifting financial flows toward environmental protection and low-carbon projects. It has been substantiated that the adaptation of the European practice in financing nature conservation funds will serve as a basis for developing an advanced model of financial and investment support for environment protection activities in Ukraine, as well as will promote a more efficient use of financial resources, renovation of environmental infrastructure and restoration of biodiversity in the frame of the country’s post-war reconstruction.