The paper addresses the substantiation of specific Land Ecology Fund in Ukraine to solve environmental problems in land management. It determines the following sources of the Fund establishment: land fee (land tax and land rent paid by legal persons and individuals), environmental tax, and penalties for pollution and littering of land resources due to violation of environmental legislation. The author proves that the funds of environmental taxes, environmental pollution fees, land fees, and penalties both at the national and local levels can only partially secure modern research and assessment of Ukrainian lands’ environmental condition and development of environmental projects for their management and protection. The paper offers an expansion of the list of penalties and the formula to calculate the amount of damage caused by landowners and land users due to ignoring the parameters of permissible arable land standards and eroded land area increase. The most advanced research data and evaluation of the environmental condition of land resources on their basis, as well as measurement acts or protocols, concluded as the result of research or the data of land plots’ environmental certification should by the foundation for calculation of environmental taxes and penalties. The funds from penalties are recommended to by directed to a specific Land Ecology Fund, and they should by distributed among the public and local funds in the proportion of 25 % and 75 %, respectively. In addition to penalties, a system of economic stimulation with the participation of the Land Ecology Fund, landowners, and land users honestly implementing the measures for land use and protection and soil fertility increase should be developed. The author argues that the main role in the development of local, regional, and national projects for efficient management of land (soil) resources is played by regional and local authorities due to the change in the types of ownership of the land resources and decentralization of the administrative and financial system. 

environmental tax, land fee, land tax, rent payment for land, penalties, local budget of Ukraine 

The distribution of the share of agricultural and arable lands owned and used by agricultural enterprises and farms across the regions of Ukraine and in the developed countries of Europe and America is analyzed. The paper determines that sixteen regions of Ukraine have extremely and very high share of agricultural lands in the total area of the region. The share of agricultural lands in the mentioned regions is 75.6 % of their area in Ukraine or 53.5 % of the total area of Ukraine. Thirteen oblasts have extremely and very high share of arable lands. The share of arable lands in these oblasts is 67.6 % of their area in Ukraine, 85.3 % of the total area of farmlands, 49.2 % of the total area of agricultural lands, and 34.8 % of the total are of Ukraine. The paper reveals that soils with high bio productivity within especially valuable lands of forest-steppe and steppe agrolandscapes are the most agriculturally developed and ploughed, while the least – the lands of physical and geographical area of mixed forests and mountain areas of Carpathians and Crimea. Main factors of intensive development of surface water and wind erosion are outlined. According to the research results, the ranges of areas of erosion degradation are singled out and classified, and maps-schemes are developed. Extremely high, very high, high, and significant share of eroded soils covered by combined impact of water and wind were recorded for thirteen oblasts. The total share of eroded soils in the researched agricultural farmlands of these regions is 82.1 % of their total share in the country. The zonal patterns of expansion and development of soil erosion are revealed. The legal framework of activity directions and measures directed at prevention of soil erosion is presented. The ways to introduce economic measures to achieve environmental security in land management are suggested. The issues of extending the list of environmental taxes provided by the Tax Code of Ukraine with inclusion of chemical pollution, depletion, and reduction of natural land fertility tax are addressed. 

environmental security, economic measures, agricultural lands, arable land, agrolandscapes, soil erosion