Abstract
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Conservation, preservation and development have greatly shaped the international debate about environmental protection. A relatively new concept, sustainable development, was proclaimed as a main goal for future world development at the Global Summit on Environment and Development in Rio-de-Janeiro in 1992. Almost no nation has been immune to the debate surrounding these new ideas (and even the debate about whether or not sustainable development offers anything new). Especially interesting is how the concepts of sustainable development have affected national, sub-national and local policy initiatives in countries experiencing political and economical transition, such as those of Eastern and Central Europe.
The past ten years of attempted implementation of the principles of sustainable development coincide with ten years of Ukrainian independence. This decade has brought about radical changes in Ukrainian social, political, and socio-economic systems. Unfortunately strategic planning for the transition to sustainable development has not yet achieved the status of formal hallmarks for a coherent policy in Ukraine. The National Commission for Sustainable development was established under the Cabinet of Ministries, and in 1998 the Ukrainian Parliament adopted the “Guidelines of State Policy in Environmental Protection, Use of Natural Resources and Ensuring Environmental Safety,” which proclaimed the goal of sustainable development as a national priority.
Important aspects of successful implementation of sustainable development principle in Ukraine include: decision-maker recognition of related problems; dissemination of sustainable development knowledge and skills to important stakeholder groups; preparation of qualified educational facilities, materials, programs, and trainers; creation of sustainable development indicators for regions and localities; and monitoring of those indicators.
It is apparent that a "one size fits all" model is not realistic, especially for these countries of transition. The political, economic, and social systems in Ukraine are much different from those in the U.S. Indeed, policy actors in Ukraine are debating and conceptionalizing the meaning of sustainable development in a Ukrainian context. Such considerations as multiple-use of protected lands, stewardship, government responsibilities, personal property rights, community and regional development, poverty elimination, public health and welfare, grassroots action and activism, and economic development will all color sustainable development concepts.
We propose to use Q-methodology to examine the views and understandings of important Ukrainian policy actors toward sustainable development. Q is an appropriate technique because it provides a framework for a science of subjectivity that incorporates procedures for data collection (Q-sort technique) and analysis (factor analysis). The participants for this study will include main actors involved in sustainable development issues in Ukraine: representatives from national ministries, councils, and parliament; leaders of recognized environmental NGOs; and researchers, professors and students from institutions of higher learning.
The manuscript will discuss how an understanding of differing Q factors (and hence policy participants) will affect future policy debate. The factors, what ever they may represent, will indicate that the proponents of various policy arguments will weigh in at the sustainable development bargaining table, each in his or her own way and through various mechanisms such as law-making, law-implementation, local planning, market participation, and protest. This research will emphasize the need for not only understanding these various view-points, but also the potential for these views to change as individuals come into contact with other actors.
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