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The aim of this study is to identify opportunities for the development of the bioeconomy in Latvia, assessing its role in the development of the agricultural sector. Nowadays, the development and sustainability of natural resources are of great importance. The bioeconomy can be considered as one of the oldest sectors of the economy, which life sciences and biotechnology can transform into one of the most modern sectors of the economy. From a number of perspectives, one of Latvia's development opportunities is the more sustainable and efficient use of natural resources. The bioeconomy provides a combined approach to integrating knowledge-based economic growth, social welfare and environmental protection in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, respecting the principles of the circular economy. The aim of this paper is to provide information on a study carried out to investigate and analyse the development perspectives of the bioeconomy and organic farming in Latvia. The research methodology includes theoretical concepts and a framework of factors influencing the bioeconomy. The study uses the Delphi method, collects data from expert interviews and surveys, uses the Porter's hypothesis method, and analyses the competitiveness of organic farming enterprises in Latvia based on Porter's five forces method. The development of the bioeconomy is mainly related to the production and efficient processing of bioresources. Rural areas and regions are therefore the ones with the greatest potential for development. Research data show that the growth of the bioeconomy will contribute to the development of Latvia's rural areas and regions and that Latvian organic farming enterprises have great potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coastal lakes of the Romanian Black Sea shore comprise significant ecosystems, characterized by marine, brackish and freshwater assemblages. Therefore, these lakes may be seen as biodiversity huge reservoirs and natural bio-filters. They offer natural resources linked to their high biological production and productivity. This paper is presenting the current research state in the field of quality assessment of the aquatic ecosystems, with special regards to the lakes occurring in the southern Romanian Black Sea coast (southern Dobrogea region), posing problems regarding the sustainable management of resources. The presented monitoring and evaluation of the water ecosystem quality of the Romanian coastal lakes is based on the analysis of the water and sediments physical, chemical, biological and sedimentological features, as well as biological components. The geological setting and geomorphological features of the lakes and limans situated on the southern Romanian Black Sea coast are also discussed in this paper. The selected Romanian coastal lakes and lagoons are, from N to S: Corbu (Gargalâc), Taşaul, Tăbăcăriei, Agigea, Techirghiol, Tuzla, Costineşti, Tatlageac and Mangalia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to identify opportunities for the development of the Latvian forest sector and to assess competition. Nowadays, the development and sustainability of natural resources is of great importance. The forest resource in Latvia is valued as the most important national natural resource. It is therefore necessary to identify and analyse the factors influencing its development. The study included an analysis of the Latvian forest sector exports. The research methodology includes theoretical concepts and a framework of factors influencing the forest sector. The aim of this paper is to analyse the export performance of the Latvian forest sector and to present data on the export of forest sector products, collected within the framework of the study, depending on the degree of processing of the product, as well as to determine the breakdown of partner countries for forest sector exports. The study involved surveys of companies in the sector and expert interviews. The data from the study show that Latvia's forest sector exports have great potential. The largest share in the forest sector's export structure is occupied by primary processing products, followed by further processing products, which overtake the position of logs and by-products. The total value of Latvia's forest sector exports, like the total value of the country's exports, has tended to increase. The analysis of the data obtained will allow an understanding of the factors influencing the development of forestry exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern historical geography plays an important part in the complex historical and geographical study of a region and creation of the techniques of the ecological and geographical assessment of its landscapes. The retrospective analysis of the evolution of the definition of the concept of the "ecological and geographical assessment" in the works of the leading Russian geographers showed the dependence of its treatment on the applied approaches, i.e. historical-landscape, comprehensive physical-geographical, socio-geoecological, etc. The distinction between the approaches to the ecological-geographical assessment of various Russian scientific schools is shown through practical examples. The analysis of the structure of the criteria and the set of the indicators of the ecological-geographical assessment is carried out in the paper. The potential of the stability of the landscapes, included by many authors along with the ecological and resource potentials into the structure of the ecological-geographical assessment, is important. The landscape potential assessment (ecological, natural- resource) is carried out within natural and administrative boarders. The paper considers the approaches to the integral assessment of the landscape potential based on the analysis of the duration and intensity of the territory's development at a regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem considered in this paper is the need to step up the methodological and informational support for improving the environmental and economic efficiency and sustainability of natural resource management in the Kamchatka territory (Russia) and the adjacent marine areas of the Pacific Ocean.The object of the research is the natural resource potential of the research area.The subject of research includes: clarification of the composition, structure and system relationships of the main natural resource potential components of the region as the elements of natural capital; selection and adaptation of methods for evaluating elements of natural capital, as well as practical valuation of this capital.The purpose of the assessment is the identification of the comparative environmental and economic efficiency of possible environmental management strategies in the area based on the criteria of conservation/growth of the region’s total capital, as well as economic incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of the natural resource potential of this exceptionally rich, but still poorly studied region.As a result of research, an original open classification of economically significant resources of animate and in animatenature of the region and their assessment as natural capital has been developed.The novelty of the obtained methodological results is determined by the expansion of the region’s natural capital elements, the refinement of their structure and intra-system connections.New in the practical assessment of the region’s natural capital is the assessment of the economic services of terrestrial and marine ecosystems for the long term deposition and fossilization of organic carbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-quality environment is becoming absolutely necessary not only for the health of the population, but also for the good functioning of the economy and the availability of natural resources. The aim of environmental policy and instruments of environmental policy is to ensure the required quality of the environment. Environmental aspects have become an essential part of the decision-making processes of developed European countries. Environmental management has not been implemented separately from other economic decisions, but has been gradually implemented in all economic sectors and spheres, at the macroeconomic level. In practice, also in environmental management there are characteristic tools often used in the process of achieving others - mostly economic and social goals. By appropriate selection and setting of these tools, as well as their suitable combination, there is possible to achieve also environmental goals. But there are also specific instruments of environmental policy. The use of environmental policy instruments is currently considered not only as a way of sustainable development building, but these instruments have a much broader economic, social and, in particular, fiscal dimension. Individual European Union countries strive to influence the quality of the environment, as well as to ensure social-economic development, using various combinations of economic, normative but also voluntary instruments. Using the environmental policy instruments is possible to implement the concept of sustainable development into concrete economic and social activities. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the use of selected environmental policy instruments in the European Union countries, in the context of sustainable development and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia is one of the most important players in the Arctic Zone with significant economic, security and political interests on these territories. This is primarily because of significant natural resources, in particular oil and gas, in the Russian Arctic. The objective of this paper is to define the main prospects of strategic development of the Russian Arctic zone, and to offer socioecological approach to its development. Arctic has considerable strategic importance to the Russian economy. Strategic development of the Russian Arctic represents an area of economic, ecological and social concern. The Arctic shelf in the future can become the main source of hydrocarbons for both Russia and the world market in the whole. The paper presents the strategic importance of the Russian Arctic as a wealth of petroleum and mineral resources. We offered socioecological approach to the Arctic's sustainable development and paid special attention to the ecology and environment preservation. We examined legal and regulatory framework of the Russian Arctic development and estimated social and economic potential of oil and gas project's implementation in the Arctic. Special attention is paid to ecological aspect of the Arctic zone's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green economy, green growth and sustainable development are currently very often used terms. There are many international organizations intensively involved in the field of green growth and sustainable development. Green growth, according to the OECD, is a way how to support economic growth and development, while protecting natural resources, so that we could continue to use the natural resources and environmental services, on which our prosperity depends. One of its aims, especially in developed countries, is green economy building and ensuring social and economic sustainable development. However, it is not always clear how to build a green economy or achieve social and economic activities in the sense of sustainable development. The European Union is a cluster of relatively homogeneous countries, based on similar social and economic development. Ensuring green growth and sustainable development should be a common, coordinated and targeted activity of all European Union countries. The main aim of the paper is to evaluate green growth and sustainable development in the European Union countries using the selected indicators of green growth and selected indicators of sustainable development, including assessment of interregional disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvement of methodology of natural resources management, evaluation of its application in a territorial innovation cluster. The paper proposes to separate a new responsibility zone in the sustainable development indices system and namely the nature utilization sphere. To characterize the sphere in metallurgy and metal consuming industry branches the author suggests a system basing on indices of metal stock formation and utilization. The paper separates sets of general, extensive and intensive indicators. For the first time the method basing on cycling process of metal stock utilization and its apparent annual consumption is proposed. The application of this methodological approach in one of metallurgy branches has allowed to compare metal stock formation and consumption under different versions of metallurgic production :in a territorial innovation cluster and without it. The substantial improvement of indices within the cluster has been demonstrated: the share of secondary raw materials in metal stock formation increased by 25%. The natural resources management has a paramount importance for material consuming production utilizing initial raw materials such as metallurgy . Separation of a new responsibility sphere and elaboration of metal stock and indices of its formation and application makes it possible to perform a through evaluation of resources utilization (from initial raw material up to finished products) and to propose recommendation for their improved utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, biotechnology has provided a motor for environmentally sustainable production and for the development of a diverse range of innovative products. The potential economic and environmental benefits of biotechnology have created a growing strategic interest in bioeconomy. Bioeconomy combines highly research and knowledge intensive economic activities in agriculture, forestry and the food sector with the innovative use of renewable raw materials for material and energy use. This paper aims to study the potential for the further development of bio-based sectors in Latvia and main challenges the development of innovations in bioeconomy faces in Latvia and Baltic Sea Region countries. In this study, the authors have analyzed current situation in Latvia regarding bioeconomy development and have identified innovations fostering sustainable use of natural resources. The research finds out that bioeconomy innovations in the traditional biobased sectors such as agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fisheries, renewable energies, food and feed, pulp and paper, goes in line with the principles of sustainable development and thus it effects development of sustainable use of natural resources. This paper reviews the support systems for innovations in bioeconomy in EU and Latvia and studies the potential for the further development of bio-based sectors in Latvia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is devoted to a comprehensive study of the impact of rent received from energy resources on the economies of individual countries as a factor for the development of a balanced energy dialogue with the countries of the European Union. The research methodology consists of a three-stage sequential algorithm. The first stage is to calculate the absolute and relative profitability of extraction of energy resources. The second stage of the algorithm consists in clustering countries in terms of the level of dependence of the economy on rent from energy resources. The third stage of the algorithm is to determine the relationship between the degree of risk and the profitability of energy resources. The analysis made it possible to identify the inverse relationship between the level of extraction of energy resources and the level of economic development. As a rule, in countries with a low diversified economy, a larger amount of rent from energy resources is generated. It is established that a higher level of energy resources in the country does not affect the formation of a higher amount of rent. It has been proven that the greatest revenue per ton of production is observed in countries that are not among leaders in technological development of the economy and extraction. Thus, the level of reserves is not a key factor in the formation of rent. Moreover the global trend of the dependence of the economy on rent from energy resources has the cyclical nature and in recent years this dependence has been steadily decreasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we will talk about the impact of human resources in development of rural tourism in Kosovo. Tourism plays very important role in the economic growth, especially for countries in transition like Kosovo. Efforts in according to strengthening the economic development of rural areas are comprehensive, given the largeness of its tourist value, viewed from economically, environmentally, socially and culturally. Firstly, the paper summarizes the tourism effect in economy and secondly the paper analysis human resources as advantage for increasing the tourism impact in general economic developments of the country. Beside this the study has analyzed as well the legislation of the sector, culture and natural resources of the country that plays the role of the key drivers for the development. In this way, it tries in the paper, motivation to find alternative tourism models that support sustainable rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at analyzing the current state of organic farming in Northern Poland, as well as its development and diversification in the region. Organic farming is fully embedded with the concept of sustainable and balanced development. It impacts favorably on the ecosystem, rationally using the natural resources, increases biodiversity and ensure high quality of manufactured products. The aim of organic farming is to maintain a balance between resources and requirements of the economy. The study demonstrates the influence of Polish accession to the European Union, on the dynamisation of management system, using the natural processes occurring on the farm. Polish accession to the European Union resulted in the emergence of new instruments of supporting the development of sustainable agriculture and rural areas. After the introduction of EU subsidies and the entry into force of the EU regulation on organic farming, Northern Poland saw a rapid increase in both the number of farms producing organically as well as ecological surface area of the farmland. Ecological processing plants began functioning. In large part this is due to the increasing demand for organic food, both domestically as well as abroad, as well as the possibility of financial support for farms, which implement environmentally friendly agricultural practices. Organic production methods in agriculture fit into the concept of sustainable development, which implies coherence between economic, environmental and social objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]