The level of participation and performance of water user associations (WUAs) in drained and irrigated areas is influenced by many factors. This paper aims to identify the main challenges to the functioning and performance of these associations in Poland and Ukraine using the methodology of international comparative analysis. We examined legal, organizational, and financial framework of WUAs performance in Poland and Ukraine based on selected case study areas. The results of the study indicate that creation of WUAs in both countries can be assessed as beneficial for sustainable water development in general. However, it is found that the actions intended to bring benefits can actually exacerbate the problem of drought and water shortages. Research shows that the lack of complete documentation on the layout of the drainage networks plays a huge constraint factor that can lead to problems with controlling the reconstruction of drainage networks and significant deterioration of water relations. Another significant problem is the restriction of the scope of WUA activities in Poland to those types of actions subsidized by the state, while lacking financial resources for other necessary activities.

Land consolidation works carried out in Poland are mainly aimed at the improvement of spatial structure of plots in agricultural holdings. However, modern trends indicate the necessity of compliance with sustainable rural development policy. This implicates the inevitability of inclusion of the environmental, landscape, technical and organizational aspects in the land consolidation projects in Poland. One such operation is the introduction of trees and shrubs. The paper aims to investigate the scope of land consolidation design solutions concerning the introduction of trees and shrubs. The study was based on selected land consolidation projects from different regions of Poland. The paper also proposes the concept of implementation of the design solutions related to the introduction of trees and shrubs in the land consolidation projects.