ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS OF LAND USE. POLLUTION: METHODOLOGICAL ESSENCE, ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS AND WAYS OF SOLVING THE PROBLEM

Issue № 12, 2025, article № 12, pages 99-107

Section: Land use and land relations

Language: Russian

Original language title: ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ ЗЕМЛЕПОЛЬЗОВАНИЯ. ЗАГРЯЗНЕНИЕ: МЕТОДОЛОГИЧЕСКАЯ СУЩНОСТЬ, ЭКОЛОГО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ И ПУТИ РЕШЕНИЯ ПРОБЛЕМЫ

Keywords: ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS OF LAND USE, POLLUTION, POLLUTANT, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, BALANCE, RESOURCE POTENTIAL OF LAND, SOIL, NEGATIVE ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACTS

Abstract: Analyzing the environmental problems of land use, the author argues that all of them are a consequence of the lack of balance between the growing needs of the population and the ability to preserve and increase the resource potential of a land plot. This balance, according to the author, fits into the global concept of sustainable development, the implementation of which is based on the simultaneous solution of two tasks: ensuring the sustainability of economic development and the resource base of the natural environment. The author defines the formation of environmental consciousness in society as a key condition for solving the first task. The solution of the second task lies in eliminating the negative consequences of irrational land use, which cause destruction in the "living organism of the soil." Recommendations are given for solving the identified problems. According to the author, all environmental problems characterize only certain aspects (results) of the key problem, which is pollution. Therefore, pollution is proposed to be considered not as a species, but as a phase.The article shows that pollution occurs as a result of the lack (backwardness) of scientifically-based technologies for producing any products and/or using the results of labor. The use of inefficient technologies is driven by the desire to save costs on their improvement and is encouraged by the overestimated demand for goods and services without taking into account the balance between "human needs and natural resources," as well as the lack of environmental awareness among consumers. As a result, the sustainability of the natural environment is compromised, which, according to the author, is the only way to address all environmental issues related to land use. The author proposes a new interpretation of the methodological essence of the concepts of "pollution" and "pollutant." The author provides an original definition of the concept of "pollution," which states that pollution is the "introduction of elements that are not characteristic of nature into living matter, disrupting its natural (environmental) development." The author considers this definition of "pollution" to be universal, as it can be applied to other scientific fields where the introduction of unnecessary elements leads to the disruption of desired natural or anthropogenic outcomes. The author uses the terms "inefficiency," "unreasonableness," "tastelessness," and so on as synonyms for "pollution." In this context, the author suggests using the terms "pollution" and "pollutant" not as waste products of production and consumption, but as a depleted resource that cannot be used in modern conditions due to the lack of necessary technologies. According to the author, this approach to considering "pollution" and/or "pollutant" should be considered as one of the criteria for assessing the use of natural resources and should be the basis for the interconnected sustainable development of the economy and the environment.

Authors: Vershinin Valentin Valentinovich