Human Geography Journal

Investment attractiveness of Ukraine during the war

Nataliia Husieva, Oleksii Niemets — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The war ongoing in Ukraine since early 2014, and especially the full-scale Russian invasion from February 24, 2022, has led to destruction on a colossal scale. According to the World Bank, post-war reconstruction in Ukraine will require at least 486 billion USD. Attracting such an amount is impossible without private investments, philanthropic funds, and various foundations. The EU is striving to attract investments to Ukraine now, without waiting for the end of the war. Thus, creating a favorable investment climate and, accordingly, enhancing Ukraine's investment attractiveness are exceptionally urgent tasks. Without addressing these, the country's recovery is nearly impossible. This article aims to analyze the investment attractiveness of Ukraine under the conditions of a prolonged war (2014-2023). It examines the dynamics of the investment attractiveness index and the evaluation of Ukraine's investment climate by both international and domestic investors throughout the years of the Russian-Ukrainian war (2014-2023); it identifies positive and negative factors that have influenced and continue to influence the investment climate throughout this period; and it reveals the dynamic trends in the volumes of direct foreign and capital investments injected into the state's economy over the last decade.

It was found that during the years 2014-2023, Ukraine's investment attractiveness index never reached a positive zone – above 4 points, constantly remaining in the negative zone – below 3 points. Only in the years 2017-2018 did the index reach a neutral zone, slightly exceeding 3 points. Overall, it can be said that negative factors predominated in shaping the investment climate in Ukraine during 2014-2023, resulting in its unfavorable assessment by both international and domestic investors. The main obstacles for investors have been the ongoing war since 2014 and associated risks, high levels of corruption, the shadow economy, shadow employment, and illegal business activities, a high level of oligarchization of power and bureaucratization of business processes, a weak judicial system, financial instability, high tax and administrative pressure on businesses, low purchasing power of the population, political instability, slowness and low effectiveness of reforms, and the absence of effective legislation to support and protect investments.

The Analysis of the Transformation of Forest Landscapes in the Eastern Zangezur Region of Azerbaijan Based on Satellite Imagery

Faig Abdurahmanov — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Forested areas, which are considered as the most valuable national natural assets of Azerbaijan, encompass the interconnectedness of soil, water, trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, wildlife, and microorganisms in their biological development. For this reason, the protection and research of the forests are considered one of the important studies. In this article, we have studied the forests of the Eastern Zangezur region where formed based on the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, on July 7, 2021, which united the districts of Kalbajar, Lachin, Gubadli, Zengilan, and Jabrayil. The Eastern Zangezur region has a rich forest area which approximately a quarter of the region is covered with forests. However, unfortunately, the forest areas within the district have been strongly degraded and destroyed over the past 30 occupation years. The main causes of this destruction are attributed to illegal logging, deliberate forest fires, wars and other factors.

The information obtained from various official sources (written articles, statistics of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, various maps etc.) shows that the forests of our study area were substantially degraded during the occupation period.

In the article, the forest areas in the Eastern Zangezur region have been thoroughly investigated, and the transformation of forests over the years has been assessed based on the analysis of satellite imagery. For study, we have used images get from LANDSAT and AzerSky satellites. The level of degradation of the forest area in the region was calculated with the help of GIS and Mathematical methods. As a result of this assessment, maps and diagrams have been prepared.

This information will play a major role in the evaluation of the forest area of the Eastern Zangezur region, the proper conduct of forest restoration and construction works, as well as the placement of agriculture. It will also show the environmental damages caused by wars.

Assessing the sustainability of urban spaces based on city strategy analysis

Daria Venhryn — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The level of urbanization worldwide rises. The increase in urban population stimulates economic growth, improvements in healthcare and education systems, and the creation of new jobs. However, the concentration of urban population leads to air and water pollution, the depletion of arable land, and other challenges. These issues hinder the achievement of sustainable development in countries. To regulate and control this issue, government authorities worldwide are developing and implementing strategies and development plans for cities to steer the urbanization process towards the desired sustainable development indicators. To gauge the success of these strategies, a set of indicators has been developed to show the resilience of urban development. The list of indicators varies significantly in global practices as they are tailored to specific city needs.

This paper presents a list of indicators that are consistently applied across six strategies for the development of Ukrainian cities (Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro, Vinnytsia). The indicators are grouped into three categories: economic, social, and environmental. For each indicator in these categories, a standardized unit of measurement was established, and additional indicators that may not be directly comparable but are included in international urban sustainability indicator lists were also incorporated. This set of indicators is not comprehensive and can be adjusted – either expanded or reduced – as needed to align with the city's short-term and long-term sustainable development plans. Through comparative analysis, measures are justified regarding the use of indicators to assess the sustainability of city development.

This study demonstrates the necessity of aligning the indicator selection process based on benchmark indicators derived from advanced global experiences, taking into account successful practices. Future research will strive to combine these indicators to establish a universal approach for calculating a city's sustainable development index. Such an index would provide a valuable tool for policymakers, urban planners, and stakeholders to monitor progress, identify areas needing improvement, and implement targeted interventions. By fostering a holistic and integrated approach to urban development, cities can achieve sustainability goals, enhance the quality of life for their residents, and contribute to global efforts in promoting sustainable urbanization.

Suggestions for activating the activities of the tourist enterprise «Let's go with us»

Valentina Oliinyk — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The sphere of services is one of the most important spheres of public life that influences the quality of life of the population. Tourist service is the result of the activities of a tourist enterprise aimed at satisfying the corresponding needs of tourists. The work of a tourist enterprise includes organizing the entire trip and providing individual services.

The analysis of tourist enterprises in conditions of economic instability and practical proposals for increasing their economic activity are a relevant research topic. The works of domestic scientists on the organization of tourist activities, analysis of the activities of tourist enterprises, characteristics of organizational processes, creation and operation of a tourist enterprise, technology of designing, developing, and selling tourist products were analyzed in the study. The choice of the research object - the network of travel agencies "Let's Go Together", which ranks 18th out of 50 tourist companies in the national rating of 2022, is sufficiently competitive in the market of tourist services, and has the opportunity to improve its rating through activity optimization.

Based on the analysis, proposals were formulated to activate and increase the efficiency of the network of travel agencies "Let's Go Together", which found reflection in the following directions: expanding the range of services, namely creating a new tourist product - detox tours, introducing Instagram tours, promoting cruise tourism, actively developing domestic tourism; a wide selection of various types of tours. The second direction: intensification of advertising activities, including in social networks. The third direction: implementation of a flexible discount system. At the final stage of the work, the main business processes and types of enterprise activities were identified and the main obstacles that may affect the implementation of these business processes were identified.

Ethnofestivals in Chernivtsi Region as Indicators of Polyethnic Identity and Components of Community Development Potential

Roman Kisil — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the spatio-temporal (historical-geographical) features of holding ethnofestivals in the Chernivtsi region, which are important indicators of its features such as polyethnicity and ethno-contact. Such events not only celebrate the cultural heritage of various ethnic communities living in the region but also serve as significant indicators of the ethno-cultural potential for the development of individual settlements, territorial communities, territories, and the region as a whole. It is also worth emphasizing the importance of holding ethnofestivals in the cross-border region, as it expands the inflow of investments into the region, as well as the possibility of jointly organizing such events between Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova.

Many ethnocultural festivals of poetic, ethnographic, artistic, spiritual, gastronomic, and other directions are held in the Chernivtsi region. The largest number of ethnofestivals is held in the regional center – the city of Chernivtsi. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been ongoing since March 2020, and immediately after the start of a full-scale war with the Russian Federation, the number of held ethnofestivals has decreased significantly. Festivals such as "Bukovynska Malanka" ("Malanka Fest"), the ethno-spiritual festival "Onova-fest", "International Hutsul Festival", "Colors of Storozhinechchyna", and others were practically not held in those years. However, despite the difficulties, ethnofestivals like the ethno-festival of theatrical art "Golden Applause of Bukovyna", the poetry festival "Meridian Czernowitz", "Tulip Field", "Pumpkin Field", and others are still being held.

Each ethnographic festival has its own characteristics of being held both in Ukraine in general and in the region in general, which relate not only to the venue, meaningful content, but also to the peculiarities of the terrain and weather conditions, seasonality of the climate. Another important factor is the number of festivals and the ability of the infrastructure to meet the needs of tourists.

It should be noted that each ethnofestival held in the Chernivtsi region is primarily aimed at uniting different ethnic groups of the population of the multi-ethnic region, as well as popularizing the material and spiritual culture, ethno-landscapes of Northern Bukovina, and Northern Bessarabia. Ukrainians, Romanians, and Moldovans, who have compact settlements in the region, are the most active in holding ethnofestivals, which gives reason to call the region an ethno-contact area.

Chortkiv district resettlement system and features of transformation in the conditions of administrative and territorial reform

Mykhailo Salii — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The article examines the features of the transformation of the Chortkiv inter-district resettlement system into a newly formed district resettlement system, which was formed on the site of six former districts of the southern part of Ternopil Oblast as a result of the administrative-territorial reform. A detailed analysis of the formation of territorial communities of the newly formed Chortkiv district, which arose on the basis of former districts, was carried out. The composition of each community was considered by the number of united councils, the number and type of settlements included in them, the number of cities and villages, as well as the area, population and density of the population, and a comparison was made according to all the indicated indicators between Chortkiv district and in comparison with other communities of Ternopil region. The share of the rural and urban population in each of the communities of the district was analyzed, and the communities where the urban population is the majority and where it is the other way around were determined. By means of cartographic display and comparison of communication routes, the supporting frame of the settlement of Chortkiv district and its place in the general supporting frame of the region were highlighted, and the main cores of population attraction were determined by comparing the places where communication routes intersect and the most densely populated cities and communities. The profitability of transport accessibility between the administrative centers of the district communities was established, the level of transport accessibility between neighboring communities of the district was determined by determining the topographical distances between their administrative centers, as well as the profitability of transport accessibility to the city of Chortkiv from the centers of all communities, and the most and least favorably located settlements were determined.