Sustainable land use in the northern region: problems and instruments

The study of sustainable land use in agriculture is a growing direction of research worldwide. The relevance of this topic is related to the large-scale degradation and increasing multifunctionality of agricultural land. According to scientists, unsustainable land use is largely due to the shortcomings in land management. In the Russian Federation, this scientific direction is less developed, especially in terms of policy instruments at the regional level. The aim of the work is to propose instruments for sustainable land use in the northern region based on the study of the works of foreign and Russian scientists and the assessment of the effectiveness of agricultural land management mechanisms in the Komi Republic. The object of the study is the agricultural land use of the Komi Republic. The methodological basis of the research is as follows: monographic method, analysis and synthesis, systematization and generalization, quantitative methods of statistical information processing. The paper examines the current agrarian land policy in Russia and its mechanisms, and reveals its weak focus on achieving sustainable land use. The classification of the instruments of the policy of sustainable land use is clarified and supplemented with the following elements of social sustainability: protection of cultural and social values of society, preservation of traditional land use and ancient settlements, use of local knowledge about land use activities, and environmental justice. Based on the analysis of the agricultural land use of the Komi Republic and its regulatory instruments, the use of elements of sustainable land use aimed at supporting soil fertility through agro-forestry, agroforestry reclamation, and the development of agrobiology is proposed. The introduction of ʺgreen public procurementʺ, the expansion of measures to inform and train best practices of land use are recommended.