Sustainable Forest Management: Сurrent Problems in Cross-Border Cooperation between Ukraine and the Neighboring European Union Countries

Abstract

This paper focuses on studies of cross-border socio-ecological and economic cooperation in the field of forestry. It emphasizes the fact that cross-border cooperation is an instrument designed to facilitate the expansion of interstate cooperation and the implementation of the sustainable development concept. Current problems in the field of protection, use, and reproduction of forest resources in the border regions of Ukraine and the neighboring European Union countries are considered. The concept and essence of the ideas of greening the economy and greening education are analyzed. For more thorough theoretical-methodological and applied research in the field of forestry, it is appropriate to apply an interdisciplinary socio-ecological and economic approach at different territorial levels. The paper analyzes the national legislation of Ukraine and the international conventions regulating the conditions for cross-border cooperation in the field of environmental protection and the use of natural resources. In the end, the proposal is to create joint research centers for sustainable development and to establish a system of cross-border management, control, and monitoring in the field of forest use in the border regions of the neighboring countries.