Sustainable and Efficient Water Management for Resilient Regional Development: The Case of Ukraine

Abstract

Management based on sustainable approaches increases the resilience of systems in which they are implemented. The following study explores the sustainability and efficiency of water management in the regions of Ukraine and the role of these factors in its resilient development. The study conducts a bibliometric analysis of sources on sustainable water management, a comprehensive assessment of water resource efficiency in the regions of Ukraine, identifies and maps regional differences, and analyzes their dynamics over the period 2016–2020. The assessment shows that almost half of the regions (48.3%) have sufficient water management efficiency, 40.8% are very high, and 10.9% are average. Most regions (79.2%) maintained the same level of water resource efficiency. The Kharkiv region was examined in-depth, revealing higher water losses during transport and municipal/household sectors than the national average. Based on the assessment’s results, a differentiated approach to sustainable water management should be taken, depending on the type of regions. For regions with a very high and sufficient level of water efficiency, strategies to maintain the achieved positions should be implemented, while for regions with an average level of efficiency, strategies to improve the respective indices should be implemented. These research findings and policy recommendations can be utilized to guide policy-makers aiming to enhance the economic mechanism of sustainable water management at regional and national levels and improve their resilience to face the intensifying challenges.