Ecological Economics: a tool for implementing the concept of sustainable development

Among the main problems of mankind, a special place is occupied by the protection, use, and renovation of natural resources, as well as ensuring the environmental safety of the population. The development of production and the growth of economic activity, in which mankind uses more and more natural resources, lead to increased anthropogenic pressure on the environment. Nowadays, the attitude of the majority of the world's population towards nature is of definitely consumerist character, where natural conditions and natural resources are perceived only as a factor influencing economic development. This approach of society is wrong and leads to the environment degradation, large-scale biological disasters, deterioration of the quality of life and health of the population. Mankind's consumer attitude towards nature and its resources in recent years has led to global environmental problems. The natural living conditions of the population in most regions of the world remain extremely difficult. The current generation is almost the first to experience extremely complex environmental and economic problems. The problems of the natural living environment are gradually aggravated, therefore it is necessary to develop and take specific environmental and economic measures to eliminate them, to devise new tools that ensure the practical implementation of the sustainable development concept. Since the main goals of sustainable development are to ensure dynamic socio-economic growth, environmental quality, and rational use of natural resources, the priority is to implement the principles of ecological economics, aimed at environmentally friendly management, which contributes to the achievement of high economic and social results while protecting and improving quality of the natural environment, rational use and reproduction of natural resources. Effective protection, rational use and reproduction of natural resources, as well as ensuring environmental safety and creating favourable natural conditions for the life of present and future generations can only be achieved through proper training of specialists and formation of a system of professional environmental and economic competence in line with the requirements of the sustainable development concept. The ecological-economic competence of specialists provides an opportunity to develop and implement appropriate, science-based tools for implementing the sustainable development concept. The main tool for implementing the globally recognized concept of sustainable development is ecological economics. The paradigm of ecological economics considers the use of natural resources and natural conditions as a process of social production as a whole, as well as the rational use, reproduction and protection of natural resources and appropriate conditions of the natural environment. In the current difficult environmental conditions, it is necessary to choose the priority instruments of the ecological economics, that is, those that take into account national ecological and economic characteristics, protection, use and reproduction of natural resources, the state of the national economy, and the environmental safety of the population. Today, it is necessary to introduce such tools of ecological economics that would ensure the transition from the consumer method, where natural conditions and resources are perceived only as a factor influencing the development of the economy, to a sustainable development model, where the main theoretical ideology is to meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. If in the near future humanity does not introduce new science-based approaches and tools that ensure the practical implementation of the sustainable development concept, the dangerous trends in the field of environmental degradation will deepen. To objectively assess the awareness and attitude of Ukraine’s population towards the development of ecological economics and understanding of the concept of sustainable development, a socio-economic study was conducted which showed that the majority of Ukrainian citizens (84%) consider that ecological economics is the main tool for sustainable development. The majority of respondents (87%) consider that economic development should be based on the theoretical and methodological basis of the concept of sustainable development. Conceptual provisions for improving economic development have been established, based on the principles of ecological economics and the model of sustainable development. Substantiated is the necessity of strengthening the role of the state in the development of the environmental economics and practical implementation of sustainable development, aimed at ensuring appropriate control mechanisms and the inevitability of responsibility for violations of the law and proper coordination of public authorities in implementing sustainable development policy. The classification and comparative characteristics of ecological and economic instruments for the implementation of sustainable development are proposed. Proposals have been made to improve the ways of introducing the tools of ecological economics for the implementation of the concept of sustainable development.