Methodological approaches to the resource efficiency assessment of using the renewable natural capital in the region

The methodological support of efficiency assessment of use of renewable resources of the region through adequate consideration of social, economic and environmental aspects of resource use is considered. The basic concept and indicators of ecological efficiency are presented. These include two pairs of indicators. The first pair includes resource productivity (measured by value added per unit of resource used) and resource intensity which is the inverse of resource productivity, measured by the amount of resource used per unit of value added. The second pair consists of environmental productivity reflecting the decline in economic value due to losses from pollution, resources depletion and environmental intensity which characterizes the negative impact on the natural environment of extraction and use of resources measured by the environmental impact per unit of value added. These indicators correspond to the main integrated assessment methods complex decoupling and adjustment of net savings. The calculation of resource productivity implements resource decoupling, and the measurement of environmental intensity impact decoupling. On the other hand, the net savings adjustment method evaluates environmental performance. Complex decoupling and adjustment of net savings are proposed as integral methods for assessing the resource efficiency of the region. The features of using the method of adjusting savings are revealed, the depletion of forest capital, the assessment of economic damage to public health from the adverse effects of the environment are concretized. The tasks of increasing the efficiency of timber processing and reindeer herding are formulated.