ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: CURRENT STATE, LEGAL CHALLENGES AND DIRECTIONS OF IMPROVING THE LEGISLATION

Abstract

The article examines the current state of environmental education in Ukraine, legal challenges, that exist today in the context of legal regulation of environmental education, and directions of improving the national legislation with the aim of further developing environmental education, which is a fundamental prerequisite for environmental protection, sustainable development of Ukraine taking into account the European Green Deal, effective implementation of the green transformation policy, and further implementation of green post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. It has been established, that despite the fact that youth potential is capable of ensuring the ecological future of the state and promoting sustainable development, in Ukraine there is an insufficient level of environmental awareness and environmental culture among youth. In the course of the study the regulatory framework, that establishes the legal foundations of environmental education in Ukraine and in some foreign countries, was considered. It is determined, that today in Ukraine there’s a considerable amount of legal challenges in the context of legal regulation of environmental education. Thus, for a long time there is no separate specialized legislative act dedicated to environmental education in Ukraine. National legislation still does not contain a definition of the concept of «environmental education». The Conception of environmental education in Ukraine is outdated. There is insufficient synergy between the national youth policy and the state’s environmental policy. The article provides an author’s definition for «environmental education», which is proposed to be fixed at the legislative level. The study emphasizes the need to modernize the Conception of environmental education and also to develop and adopt a separate Law of Ukraine «On Environmental Education». It is concluded that there is an urgent need to «green up» the regulatory framework of the youth sphere in order to bring together the youth and environmental policies of the state