The publishing house "Akademperiodyka" of the NAS of Ukraine has published a collective scientific monograph "Management of Natural Assets on the Principles of Blue Growth," prepared at the Institute of Market and Economic-Ecological Research of the NAS of Ukraine (Odessa) .
The work comprehensively substantiates theoretical-methodological and practical approaches to optimizing the use of Ukraine's natural resource potential through the prism of the evolution of EU environmental policy. Special attention is paid to the conceptualization of the development of coastal territories and the construction of sustainable blue-green infrastructure in the context of global climate challenges. The authors propose an effective toolkit for transforming accounting systems at the municipal level, enabling the integration of environmental goods, including hydrosphere objects and natural healing resources, into the overall structure of financial and economic planning for the development of territorial communities.
A significant portion of the research is devoted to the ecological modernization of urbanized spaces through the revitalization of park zones and the implementation of urban forest strategies in the specific conditions of coastal regions. At the same time, in the context of modern security challenges, a unique scientific-methodological basis has been formed for the detailed calculation of the destructive impact of hostilities on the country's forest areas and their loss of key ecosystem functions. Considering decentralization processes, the monograph outlines strategic guidelines for enhancing the economic capacity of local self-government and optimizing the management of protected areas based on public-private partnerships.
The concept of "blue growth" and the "blue economy" model are currently key vectors in the evolution of the sustainable development paradigm and an important component of the European Green Deal. They aim at the rational and balanced use of marine and ocean resources to stimulate economic activity, create jobs, and preserve marine ecosystems amid global climate change. Integrating natural capital into real strategic models requires a fundamental change in approaches to assessing ecosystem services, developing effective financial mechanisms for investing in natural assets, and transitioning from purely administrative regulation to economically justified management.
For modern Ukraine, these tasks are of critical importance. Military actions have caused colossal damage to our environment, provoking acute ecological crises, particularly on the shores of the Black and Azov Seas. Under extremely severe security challenges, there is an urgent need for long-term tools to restore ecological potential. At the same time, the country's European integration movement and the necessity of implementing strict EU standards turn "green" and "blue" transformations into an indispensable foundation for post-war reconstruction and strengthening Ukraine as a powerful maritime state.
That is why transdisciplinary research into the theoretical, methodological, and strategic foundations of managing natural assets based on blue growth principles is extremely relevant. They offer scientifically grounded responses to current ecological and economic challenges and form an applied toolkit to ensure a balance of interests among society, business, and nature in the process of comprehensive national economic recovery.
The authors of the monograph present a modern scientific vision of managing natural assets as one of the key directions for ensuring sustainable development, environmental security, economic resilience, and post-war recovery of Ukraine. The publication summarizes many years of fundamental research by the scientific school of natural resource economics operating at the Institute of Market and Economic-Ecological Research of the NAS of Ukraine and is dedicated to forming theoretical, methodological, and applied foundations for transitioning to a blue growth model, which today is one of the priority directions of European environmental and economic policy.
The research results gain particular relevance amid the full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine, when the issues of preserving, restoring, and effectively managing natural capital have become an integral part of national security, economic resilience, and Ukraine's future integration into the European Union. Therefore, the authors consider the management of natural assets not only as a separate direction of environmental policy but also as a comprehensive tool for forming a modern model of the state's economic development that corresponds to the principles of the European Green Deal, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and modern European environmental standards.
The focus of the research is the concept of blue growth—a new direction in the development of the global economy that involves the rational use of water resources, marine ecosystems, coastal territories, and natural capital to ensure economic growth, create new jobs, improve the population's well-being, and simultaneously preserve ecological balance. The authors convincingly argue that the blue economy can become one of the drivers of Ukraine's post-war modernization, especially for coastal regions and territorial communities.
The monograph proposes a new approach to understanding natural assets as a full-fledged class of assets that have not only ecological but also economic, social, financial, and investment value. For the first time, it comprehensively substantiates the need to integrate natural assets into the overall system of managing state, regional, and territorial community assets, as well as into strategic, budgetary, and financial planning processes. Modern methodological approaches to inventorying natural assets, assessing ecosystem services, determining risks and criticality of natural infrastructure are proposed, creating a scientific basis for forming a modern new system of state and municipal management.
An important feature of the monograph is its practical focus on supporting territorial communities, which, under decentralization, are key subjects of natural resource management and local development. The authors demonstrate that natural assets are part of community infrastructure and one of the determining factors of their economic capacity. The proposed scientific approaches enable communities to account for natural capital, integrate it into the municipal management system, form new mechanisms for making management decisions, and attract funding for implementing nature-oriented projects.
Special attention is paid to forming institutional conditions that open new opportunities for developing local entrepreneurship, creating innovative business models, developing ecological services, recreation, tourism, green infrastructure, and other areas of economic activity based on the sustainable use of natural resources. The work also thoroughly substantiates proposals for reforming the state environmental control system.
One of the central directions of the research is the development of blue-green infrastructure in modern cities. The monograph proposes conceptual approaches to managing urban natural assets, covering parks, forests, water bodies, coastal territories, green spaces, urban forests, green roofs, and other natural components of the urban environment. A system for monitoring blue-green infrastructure is substantiated, its institutional support, financing principles, and organizational coordination are defined. The proposed solutions are important for forming modern green urban ecosystems, increasing cities' climate resilience, improving the population's quality of life, and adapting to the consequences of climate change.
A separate section is devoted to assessing environmental damage caused to Ukraine's natural ecosystems by Russian military aggression. The authors have developed scientific-methodological approaches to determining harm to forest ecosystems, assessing losses in ecosystem functions and natural capital. This creates a foundation for forming transparent compensation mechanisms, international cooperation, and implementing state ecological restoration programs.
The work proposes the concept of a National Program for Managing Natural Assets, which envisages integrating natural capital into the system of state, regional, and municipal management. The mechanisms proposed by the authors comply with the provisions of the State Environmental Policy Strategy of Ukraine, the Strategy for Forming State Policy in the Field of Climate Change, the European Green Deal, and modern international approaches to developing the blue economy. Practical implementation of the proposed program will contribute to strengthening the institutional capacity of territorial communities, developing inter-municipal cooperation, forming modern models of natural infrastructure management, and accelerating Ukraine's integration into the European environmental space.
Significant attention is paid to the prospects for developing the blue economy in Ukraine during and after the war. The authors justify the need to transform the national maritime economy complex according to modern European approaches, develop offshore wind energy, circular economy, marine spatial planning, restore marine ecosystems, use nature-oriented solutions to protect coasts, support innovative and knowledge economies, and attract international financial instruments for implementing large-scale environmental projects.
The monograph presents an innovative concept for developing protected areas as multifunctional ecological-economic complexes. To overcome the fragmentation of management functions in Ukraine, the necessity of creating a single central executive authority on protected areas under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is substantiated.
The monograph convincingly demonstrates that effective management of natural assets is not only an ecological necessity but also an important condition for the country's economic competitiveness, regional and territorial community development, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurship, forming modern natural infrastructure, and ensuring a high quality of life for the population. The presented results are of significant importance for forming state policy in the field of natural resource use, post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, and implementing the course toward European integration.
The publication will be useful for scientists, economists, ecologists, managers, natural resource specialists, representatives of state authorities and local self-government, territorial community managers, regional development strategy developers, as well as lecturers, graduate students, students of economic, managerial, ecological, and natural sciences specialties, and all interested in sustainable development, blue economy, ecological restoration, and natural capital management.
Author team:
- Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Institute of Market and Economic-Ecological Research of the NAS of Ukraine, Chief Researcher of the Department of Economic Regulation of Natural Resource Use of this Institute, Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine Nina Khumarova;
- Head of the Department of Economic Regulation of Natural Resource Use of the Institute of Market and Economic-Ecological Research of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Economics, Professor Mykola Petrushenko;
- Senior Researcher of the same department, Doctor of Economics, Senior Researcher Kateryna Kostetska;
- Professor of the Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, Doctor of Economics Larysa Cherchyk;
- Senior Researcher of the Department of Economic Regulation of Natural Resource Use of the Institute of Market and Economic-Ecological Research of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Economics, Professor Hanna Shevchenko;
- Senior Researcher of the same department, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Senior Researcher Oleksandra Vorobyova;
- Senior Researcher of the Department, Candidate of Economic Sciences Pavlo Bulanovych;
- Scientific Secretary of the Institute, Doctor of Philosophy in Economics Olha Holikova;
- Researcher of the Department of Economic Regulation of Natural Resource Use of the Institute, Doctor of Philosophy in Economics Nataliya Vernigorova;
- Senior Researcher of the same department, Doctor of Economics, Associate Professor Volodymyr Yankovyi;
- Junior Researcher of the Department, Doctor of Philosophy in Economics Nataliya Mahats.
Bibliographic description:
Management of Natural Assets on the Principles of Blue Growth: monograph / Khumarova N.I., Petrushenko M.M. (scientific ed.) et al., NAS of Ukraine, SE "Institute of Market and Economic-Ecological Research of the NAS of Ukraine." — Kyiv: Akademperiodyka, 2026. — 412 pages.
Information provided by the Institute of Market and Economic-Ecological Research of the NAS of Ukraine
Illustrations: Institute of Market and Economic-Ecological Research of the NAS of Ukraine
Photo: Press Service of the NAS of Ukraine
