# 90 469-473 View full article

УДК 332.2:330.342.146(477)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36887/2415-8453-2026-1-90

Lakhmatova Olha,
Head of the Certification Department of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre,
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8366-0382
Bodnar Andrii,
Candidate of Sciences (Economics), Senior Researcher,
West Ukrainian National University,
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7061-0272

JEL classification: Q15, Q24, R14

Published: 25.02.2026

The article explores the profound evolution of scientific views and theoretical paradigms concerning land resource management in Ukraine over the decades of independence, while thoroughly analyzing the practical outcomes and structural shifts of the ongoing land reform amidst a devastating full-scale war. It determines that domestic scientific thought has traversed a complex, transformative path from a purely engineering and technical, state-centric land management model of the Soviet legacy to the modern, highly sophisticated institutional and economic framework known as the Land Management Paradigm, which seamlessly integrates property rights, market mechanisms, spatial data infrastructure, and long-term environmental sustainability. The study meticulously systematizes the key arguments and ideological divides surrounding the liberalization and opening of the agricultural land market. It demonstrates that the implemented phased model—starting with the opening of the market to individual citizens in 2021 and subsequently expanding to legal entities in 2024—has successfully struck a delicate balance among social security, the prevention of excessive latifundization, and essential investment attractiveness. Based on official statistical data from the State GeoCadastre and comprehensive analytical reports by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) for the period 2021–2024, the paper evaluates actual market indicators: moderate turnover and sales volumes representing roughly 0.7 to 1 percent of the total agricultural land area, a steady upward trend in weighted average land prices, and the active integration of the corporate agricultural sector into formal property relations. Particular attention is dedicated to examining the crucial role of administrative decentralization in providing robust financial support and autonomy to local territorial communities through land taxes, local duties, and revenues generated from transparent lease auctions. Furthermore, the paper characterizes emerging severe environmental challenges associated with historically high levels of land plowing, progressive soil degradation, and the catastrophic ecological consequences of active combat operations. Finally, the study substantiates the urgent need to implement the modern concept of ecosystem services—such as the economic valuation of carbon sequestration—alongside innovative institutional tools like the “Land Bank” to ensure resilient, sustainable post-war recovery and the green transformation of Ukraine’s agricultural sector.

Keywords: land resource management, land reform, land market, land management, institutional theory, ecosystem services, decentralization, territorial communities, environmental security, post-war recovery.

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Quote article, APA style

Lakhmatova O. , Bodnar A. Evolution of scientific views on land management in a market economy: institutional, economic and environmental dimensions. Ukrainian Journal of Applied Economics and Technology. 2026. №1. 469-473 pp. https://doi.org/10.36887/2415-8453-2026-1-90

Quote article, MLA style

Lakhmatova O. , Bodnar A. Evolution of scientific views on land management in a market economy: institutional, economic and environmental dimensions. Ukrainian Journal of Applied Economics and Technology. https://doi.org/10.36887/2415-8453-2026-1-90