Land Use Policy and Access to Water Bodies in Ukraine

Abstract

Free access to water bodies to meet basic human needs in Ukraine is currently complicated. The banks of rivers and lakes are built up in violation of the law. Th author analyzes the widespread ways of substantiating the development of the banks of rivers and lakes in Ukraine that undermine the possibility to access these water objects. The conclusion of the inconsistency of the legislative provisions on access to water bodies is made. It is proved that free access to water objects cannot be provided only by the prohibition of granting ownership or use rights of the parcels on the banks. Th regime of the coastal protective strips is confusing, contradicts to the regime of development of coastal settlements and does not ensure free access to water bodies. A general land use right may be used to guarantee free access to water objects. A comparison of ways to overcome similar problems in the Republic of Poland is conducted. The necessity of increasing the effectiveness of control activity, which would allow at the early stages to detect and stop illegal activity, that leads to the impossibility of free access to water objects, is substantiated.