Aim. This work aims to study the distribution and stocks of crayfish on the eastern shelf of the Caspian Sea at places where they mostly habitat.

Material and Methods. The studies were implemented in the spring and summer of 2019. The material was collected by scuba divers surveying routes of transects 100 m² in area. Collected crayfish were identified at species level, measured, weighed and their fertility was evaluated. Their abundance was calculated by estimating the aggregation density along the routes (ind./m²), with subsequent recalculation for the biotope areas, which were identified using data from the Caspian Sea satellite monitoring. The stocks were estimated according to the size and weight characteristics of collected individuals.

Results. Two astacid species inhabit the surveyed area: Pontastacus eichwald Bott – long‐clawed crayfish and Caspiastacus pachypus Rathke – thick‐clawed crayfish. Certain changes have occurred compared with archival data of the 1970s‐1990s. The range area has expanded and the abundance of C. pachypus has increased. The fertility of both C. pachypus and P. eichwald has reduced.

Conclusion. The crayfish stocks in the surveyed area are of commercial importance. The application of satellite survey data greatly increases the objectivity of research.

Aim. Analysis of new data on populations of invasive ctenopfores Вeroe ovata and Mnemiopsis leidyi in the Caspian Sea and assessment of adaptation of B. ovata to new habitat conditions.

Material and methods. The data was obtained in the Dagestan sector of the Middle Caspian Sea in September‐November 2021. Ctenophores and zooplankton were collected by a big cone plankton net (BC) with a 0.5 m² opening and a Juday plankton net (0.1 m² opening). Small ctenophores, eggs and zooplankton content were determined in samples fixed with formaldehyde to a final concentration of 4%.

Results. In September‐October 2021, the Вeroe ovata were detected in the shelf waters of Dagestan. The total number of ctenophores reached 32 ind/m², biomass – 10 g/m². Individuals up to 35 mm in size were recorded. The abundance of M. leidyi in areas where B. ovata was found 3‐10 times less often than in areas where it was absent. The habitat of Вeroe ovata was limited to the southern part of the Dagestan shelf and a salinity range of 7.1‐5.5 psu.

Conclusion. In 2021, new data was obtained on the Вeroe ovata in the Caspian Sea. The detection of B. ovata in the Caspian Sea in 2021 indicates that the ctenophore overcame winter conditions of the Caspian Sea. The fact determines the further evolution of the Caspian Sea ecosystem. The parameters of the impact of the new alien on the population of M. leidyi were recorded. An analysis of B. ovata distribution in the waters of the Dagestan shelf depending on environmental conditions was carried out.

Aim. Environmentally safe protection of tea plantations in southern Russia during the revival of a previously prosperous industry and development of a strategy for the development of biological protection of tea growing in the long term which requires the integration of science and production.

Material and Methods. Pest contamination of the plantation was detected during phytosanitary surveys. The number of individual pests per unit area is calculated according to the Shapiro method. Studies of the effectiveness of the Australian ladybird beetle cryptolemus (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Muls.) in relation to tea pulvinaria were carried out on tea plantations in the Lazarevsky district of Sochi.

Result. Justifications are given for the need to provide scientific support during work on farmland when developing environmentally safe protection of tea from pests and diseases. The results of surveys of tea plantations of the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory on the identification of the most dangerous pests for the yield of plantations together with the study of the effectiveness of cryptolemus in relation to tea pulvinaria (cottony camellia scale) in tea culture are given. As a result of the studies, the methodology, norms and multiplicity of the release of the cryptolaemus predator (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Muls.) were worked out, both in the larval and imago stages, with heavily infested tea plants. The research was carried using the material and technical facilities of the unique scientific installation, State Collection of Living entomoacariphages and entomopathogens.

Conclusion. The revival of tea plantations involves a set of measures aimed at increasing productivity: improving the system of cutting bushes and methods of collecting leaf, repairing, irrigating and fertilizing and mechanizing work on plantations. The use of environmentally friendly methods of protection against the most harmful objects allows the obtaining of tea raw materials of the highest quality.

Aim. Reveal the distribution of cadmium in the components of the ecosystem of the Caspian Sea.

Materials and Methods. The sampling was carried out according to generally accepted methods, the determination of heavy metals was carried out by the method of atomic absorption spectroscopy using an atomic absorption spectrometer with electrothermal atomization MGA‐915 MD.

Results. As a result of the studies carried out, it was found that the bottom sediments of the Middle Caspian were distinguished by a greater accumulation of cadmium than the North Caspian. Invertebrates of the Caspian Sea accumulate cadmium from water and soil, with the exception of shrimp, for which water is the only source of metal. Among the taxonomic groups of organisms studied, molluscs of the genus Didacna are cadmium accumulators. In the body of the Russian and Persian sturgeons, cadmium is mainly accumulated in the kidneys.

Conclusion. Coefficients of cadmium accumulation in the organs and tissues of Russian and Persian sturgeons, black‐backed herring and Dolginsky herring relative to their food objects indicate that cadmium is able to accumulate in food chains.

Aim. To research the Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo L., 1758) ecology during the secondary expansion of the Baikal region.

Material and Methods. The material for studying cormorant nutrition was 28 stomachs of harvested birds, visual observations of feeding cormorants using optical equipment, as well as regurgitated burps of nutrition obtained by a bloodless method when being fed to chicks. 21 examples of cormorants were the subjects of the parasitological research.

Results. The number of the species has been growing since the beginning of the XXI century and, starting from 2020/21, is likely to stabilize, remaining at a high level. This indicates the gradual integration of the species into the Baikal Lake ecosystem. The main food item of Cormorants are the non‐commercial fish, Sleeper (Percottus glehni Dyb.), Perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) and Roach (Rutilus rutilus L.). Parasitological studies have revealed 8 species of helminths from three classes with varying degrees of invasion. Only one of them, Contracaecum osculatum baicalensis (Mosgovoy et Ryjikov, 1950), is endemic and potentially dangerous to human health (its infection rate can reach 80%).

Conclusion. The Great Cormorant is an obligate, but not a specialized ichthyophage, focused on the prevailing fish species. Great Cormorants as hosts of ticks, helminths and other ecto‐ and endoparasites are potentially sources of threat to the occurrence and spread, primarily, of ornithoses and helminthiasis in the Baikal region and possibly of other diseases carried from their wintering places.

Aim. Questions about the invasive flora of the Caucasus regions are a most important issue under discussion. The aim of the research is to identify the species composition of the family Poaceae, which are alien to the Western Caucasus, and their distribution over the floristic regions of the Caucasus.

Material and Methods. Material: Disturbed communities. Methods: analysis of herbarium collections, route reconnaissance studies of the territory of the Western and Eastern Caucasus, detailed geobotanical route studies with photography, population mapping and analysis of literary sources.

Results. 96 invasive cereal species in the territory of the Western Caucasus and the Ciscaucasia were identified and their current geographical distribution shown. 5 levels of danger have been established in terms of the amount of invasive cereal flora in the floristic regions of the Caucasus. An ecological analysis is given for 96 species of cereals in the Caucasus.

Conclusion. 96 invasive cereal species were identified and their current geographical distribution in the territory of the Western Caucasus and the Ciscaucasia shown. 5 levels of danger have been established in terms of the amount of such invasive flora in the Caucasus’ floristic regions. An ecological analysis is given for these 96 invasive species of cereals.

Aim. The aim of the current work is to analyse the epiphytotic situation in the south of the Russian Far East in connection with viral diseases of legumes (Fabaceae Lindl., 1836).

Discussion contains a description of 18 viruses that infect legumes in this region: Alfalfa mosaic (Martellivirales: Bromoviridae, Alfamovirus); Vicia unijuga mosaic (Martellivirales: Bromoviridae, Bromovirus); Cucumber mosaic (Martellivirales: Bromoviridae, Cucumovirus); Vicia unijuga ringspot virus (Martellivirales: Closteroviridae, Unidentified); Trifolium hybridum yellow mosaic virus, Bean common mosaic virus, Bean yellow mosaic virus, Trifolium repens mottle virus, Mountain clover mosaic virus, Red clover mosaic virus, Soybean chlorotic deformation virus, Soybean chlorotic mottle virus, Soybean mosaic virus, Soybean weak mosaic virus (Patatavirales: Genus, Potyvirus); Tobacco ringspot virus (Picornavirales: Secoviridae, Nepovirus); Pea enation mosaic virus (Tolivirales: Luteoviridae, Enamovirus); White clover mosaic virus (Tymovirales: Alphaflexiviridae, Potexvirus); Vicia pseudorobus necrotic mosaic virus (Tymovirales: Betaflexiviridae, Carlavirus). The description of the established natural reservoirs and the main vectors of these viruses is given.

Conclusion. A list of measures are recommended for the prevention of viral diseases of legumes and a thesis is provided on the need to continue the planned monitoring of the phytovirological situation in the Russian Far East.

Aim. Summarize and analyze information on the results of studies on the antagonistic properties of Bacillus bacteria against phytopathogenic fungi of the genus Fusarium.

Materials and Methods. Current information of research by Russian and foreign scientists on the role of bacteria of the genus Bacillus to suppress Fusarium diseases of plants and contamination of plant products with mycotoxins was studied and critically analysed.

Results. Information on the prospects for the use of bacteria‐antagonists of phytopathogenic fungi of the genus Bacillus for plant protection against diseases caused by toxinogenic fungi of the genus Fusarium has been generalized. The role of lipopeptides produced by bacteria in inhibiting the growth of fungi, which manifests itself both through the destruction of the cell wall of the fungus and by increasing the immune status of the plant, has been shown. The study contains information on the structure and mechanism of action of the main anti‐fungal cyclic lipopetides. The features of the manifestation of the antagonistic properties of Bacillus bacteria, which consist in the ability of bacterial metabolites to destroy mycotoxins which can help to reduce their toxicity, have been disclosed. The prospect of searching for bacterial strains of the genus Bacillus suitable for creating effective biofungicides against Fusarium fungi is substantiated.

Conclusion. Knowledge of the mechanisms of action of bacteria of the genus Bacillus as antagonists of Fusarium fungi will contribute to the careful selection of strains that are promising for the development of effective biological products for replacing chemical fungicides with biofungicides in the control of F. graminearum and its mycotoxins, which will make it possible to obtain products that are not burdened with either chemical means of protection or mycotoxins which are dangerous for consumers.

Aim. Development of new approaches to ecological and geological zoning of territories based on an integrated assessment of the state of abiotic and biotic components of the environment.

Material and Methods. The methodology of teratological analysis of leaf blades is presented, which makes it possible to determine the morphological deformation of vegetational elements associated with external negative influences.

Results. The degree of comfort of the environment, as determined by a set of quantitative indicators, is emphasised. The process of generalization of the entire body of information is embodied through the creation of a map of ecological‐geological zoning by combining and "scanning" individual thematic maps using overlays. The legend, as the basis for the logical classification of the map of ecological and geological zoning, fixes its object, subject and defines the semantics.

Conclusion. Practical recommendations for the construction of maps of ecological‐geological zoning within the framework of the proposed methodology are presented through the example of large enterprises engaged in petroleum product logistics.

Aim. The aim of the study is to group municipalities by the volume (or scale) of municipal economies.

Materials and Methods. On the basis of indicators of the volume of agricultural, industrial products, retail trade, investments, the cluster differentiation of municipal districts was carried out. According to the prevalence and combination of indicators, the sector is divided into 8 cluster groups: highly developed industrial, highly developed commercial, industrial and agricultural, commercial and agricultural, trade and logistics, agroindustrial, agricultural, depressed underdeveloped and single large oil producing.

Results. According to the results of clustering, certain peculiarities were revealed: more highly developed districts gravitating towards administrative urban centers and major transport arteries. In the west and east of the mesoregion, two axes of advanced development have formed: the South Ural and Altai‐Siberian.

Conclusion. In considering the forest‐steppe and steppes of the Urals and Siberia, they were compared with other natural zones that are part of the subjects of the federation studied. Depressed areas are concentrated in the centre of the mesoregion: in the Kurgan region and in the north of the Omsk region, and also gravitate towards the state border with Kazakhstan.

Aim. The purpose of the study was to assess the socio‐economic security of the municipalities of the Voronezh Region on the basis of a developed methodology.

Material and Methods. The information base of the study was made up of official data of the Federal State Statistics Service. To measure the socio‐economic security of the region, the following methods were used: comparison of macroeconomic indicators with threshold values; assessment of the dynamics of changes in the rates of socio‐economic growth of the region; cartographic tools.

Results. The results of the calculations of the integral index of socio‐economic security made it possible to identify 5 groups of municipalities that have a certain degree of socio‐economic security: high; medium, below average, low and crisis. It is the crisis situation of a number of municipalities that indicates the need to develop certain anti‐crisis recommendations that contribute to the effective use of existing potential and directly develop the internal resources of municipalities.

Conclusion. The assessment conducted of the indicators of socio‐economic security of the municipalities of the region will make it possible to determine the "strengths and weaknesses" of the regional socio‐economic system of the Voronezh region and to develop strategic directions for the implementation of a single strategic goal: improving the level and quality of life of the population. The authors’ approach can be used as a basis for further monitoring of socio‐economic security, which would involve expanding the range of analyzed indicators, as well as conducting regular calculations and comparisons.

Aim. To conduct studies on the content of radionuclides ⁹⁰Sr, ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb and determine the total beta‐activity in objects (samples) of the external environment, as well as to investigate the effect of radioactive isotopes on the spread of bovine leukemia in the Republic of Dagestan.

Materials and Methods. Samples (haylage, natural grass, silage, compound feed, milk, etc.) that were obtained from various locations of the Republic of Dagestan were used for radiological research. The method of research was radiochemical analysis using the universal spectrometric complex "Gamma Plus", etc. For bovine leukemia the principal material was the reporting data of the Republican Veterinary Laboratory, supplemented by our own research from 1988 to 2008. The research was carried out by generally recognized methods in serology and hematology.

Results. After the studies were conducted, a high content of radionuclides ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs was found in environmental objects from 1986‐198, and the activity of nuclide ²¹⁰Pb in the ecosystem of the republic increased tenfold compared to 1985. An important indicator such as the total beta‐activity in the republic also increased in the period (from 1986‐1988) after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station. In 1988, we recorded the maximum number (32.2%) of infected animals with the bovine leukemia virus and in subsequent years the percentage of hemo‐diseased heads of cattle in the farms of the republic increased.

Conclusion. Thus, there is a causal relationship between the activity of radionuclides and the decrease in the immune status of animals, which may lead to the increase in the spread of bovine leukemia in the republic.

Aim. The rational use of North Caucasus forage lands, a large part of which is located in the mountains, is one of the important tasks in addressing the issue of improving the efficiency of cattle breeding. This appears quite challenging, as the mechanisms of adaptation of farm animals, in particular cattle, to the environmental and climatic peculiarities of a certain region have not been sufficiently explored. Since hematopoietic function of blood is the basis of organism’s vital functions and genetic polymorphism is the measure of its adaptability, the present study is aimed at examining haematological profile and the degree of genetic variation in the Brown Caucasian cattle.

Materials and Methods. Haematological, genetic and statistical methods of analysis were used to examine the haematological profile and genetic structure of genes GH, PIT‐1, PRL in Brown Caucasian dairy cattle, bred in different ecological and climatic zones of Dagestan.

Conclusion. This was the first time that hematopoietic function was studied in the context of genetic variation in Brown Caucasian dairy cattle bred in the foothills (100‐200 m above sea level) and mountains (650‐1,250 m above sea level). The information obtained gives an idea of and an answer to the question about the role of haematological profile and the degree of genetic variation in the development of adaptive and compensatory mechanisms to specific environmental conditions. The use of haematological, molecular and genetic methods allows the further exploration of the adaptation traits of Brown Caucasian dairy cattle for their further improvement.

Aim. To study the ecological and epidemiological features of the spread of toxoplasmosis in the territory of the Republic of Dagestan.

Material and Methods. A total of 3152 people in the 7‐50 years age range living in Makhachkala, Kaspiysk, Derbent and rural settlements of different climatic and geographical zones of the republic, were examined for toxoplasmosis. Among those surveyed were 1817 women and 82 children. Disease with toxoplasmosis was diagnosed according to laboratory and clinical and epidemiological data. Of the serological research methods, RIF (immunofluorescence reaction) and ELISA (enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay) were used. Based on the survey results, ecological and epidemiological maps were complied

Results. It was revealed that the inhabitants of lowlands are 1,7 times more likely to be infected with toxoplasmosis than mountain settlements. The unequal frequency of toxoplasmosis infection in residents of mountainous and foothill areas depends not only on the altitude of the area above sea level, but also on soil moisture (plains and foothills), the intensity of isolation (highlands), as well as contact with infected domestic and agricultural animals. Infection with toxoplasma invasion in different territories varied within the range of 17.3%‐29.1%.

Conclusion. Identification of the sources of toxoplasma invasion was undertaken structured around regionally‐oriented methods for the prevention of the disease. Typifying the sources of toxoplasmosis included monitoring: levels of sanitation when in contact with insufficiently thermally processed food products; obligatory hand washing after working with the soil; contact with pets; special sanitary and veterinary control over persons in contact with animals, as well as sanitary and medical care of patients and pregnant women.

Aim. Study of upwelling based on spatio‐temporal variability of chlorophyll a concentration in the western part of the Caspian Sea in 2017 based on space survey images.

Materials and methods. Space images were obtained from the specialized centers of Ocean Color NASA, Earth Science Data Systems NASA and SATIN. Remote sensing data was processed using SeaDAS and ArcGIS programmes. Ground data were obtained from the Unified State System of Information on the Situation in the World Ocean (ESIMO). ESIMO is an inter‐agency information system designed to integrate data and services of marine systems of Russia and to provide integrated information support to maritime activities of the Russian Federation. The database was created in ArcGIS and maps compiled accordingly.

Results. The first upwelling occurred on 9‐17 June 2017. The minimum water temperature registered in the Makhachkala region was 14°C with an increase in salinity to 12‰, over an area of 1.500 km². There was an increase in the content of dissolved oxygen up to 9.70 mg/l and a pH of 8.64 was recorded. At first, the concentration of chlorophyll a was more than 10 mg/m³, then it decreased to 2.5 m/m³, while at the same time the area of distribution of chlorophyll with this indicator significantly increased. For the coastal strip, the chlorophyll index was 5 mg/m³. The second upwelling of medium intensity was from 19 June to 1 July 1 2017 with a minimum of t = 17.9°C with an increase in salinity of 1‰. The surface area was 454 km². The concentration of chlorophyll a increased from 4 to 8‐12 mg/m³, reaching 23 mg/m³ on 24 June. The third case of upwelling was recorded from 26 August to 1 September 2017 and was characterized by a decrease in water temperature by 7.4°C (near the coast by 17.1°C). The average salinity increase was 0.32‰, while the O₂ concentration was 8 mg/l and the water area 500 km². A sharp increase in the area and concentration of chlorophyll was observed on 29 August 2017. Subsequently, the concentration of chlorophyll throughout the entire water area was evenly distributed in the range of 1‐5 mg/m³.

Conclusion. The Caspian Sea is characterized by spatial heterogeneity of oceanological parameters, which can be recorded based on the results of processing satellite images and their verification using ground data. In the western part of the sea, the upwelling is periodic and of different scales. In total, on the basis of the capabilities of multifactor geoinformation modeling, 3 upwellings were identified and confirmed using satellite data.

Aim. Assessment of modern climatic and corresponding cartographic changes in the territory of the North Caucasus for its effective use.

Methods. Assessment of the impact of climatic changes and their consequences from the point of view of the conditions of heat and moisture availability of the growing season on the biological productivity of the region, and on this basis the creation of maps of the dynamics of agro‐climatic conditions.

Results. The areas of territories with different humidity conditions vary quite significantly over time. Thus, the dry zone of the North Caucasus can almost completely disappear in some years, while other humidity zones are much more stable. The territories where the most arid conditions can be observed have the minimum area for the entire period of time under consideration. Recent changes have led to a reduction in forest‐steppe conditions due to an increase in the area of steppe and dry steppe, which can also be attributed to an improvement in climatic conditions for the production of grain crops.

Conclusion. Our research has shown that the territory of the North Caucasus is characterized by a rather significant variability in the conditions of heat and moisture supply during the active vegetation period, which leads to the fact that steppe conditions began to prevail in most of the Western and Central Caucasus, and this favors an increase in grain yields.

Aim. To develop an effective and innovative policy approach to Dagestan State University’s third mandated mission to support sustainable community development by acknowledging and enhancing through specialist education the undervalued knowledge capital inherent in individuals and organizations throughout the community.

Discussion. Dagestan State University has 90 years of experience in providing support for the people of Dagestan in scientific research and higher education and is cognizant of the deep reservoir of community knowledge and competencies in articulating aspirations for sustainable development. On this basis, the university’s Institute of Ecology and Sustainable Development is instituting an innovative community engagement program, the University of the People, to deliver effective scientific support for such development through co‐creative collaborations which draw on and enhance community knowledge in the diverse regions of the republic. In consultation with the administration and community stakeholders of the alpine Tsumadinskiy district of the Dagestan Caucasus, through the present policy document a launch phase of the University of the People program has been formulated for 2022 which will provide year‐long local vocational guidance to schools and an annual “Summer Field Faculty” which will undertake research, developmental needs analysis and offer in‐service specialist training opportunities and support for local experts and administrations in implementing their desired sustainability initiatives. Following literature research and fieldwork in 2020‐2021, the first outcome of the regional sustainability initiative, “Conserving the Koisu: Sustaining the Mountain Fastness of the Upper Andiiskoe River – A Uniquely Surviving Socio‐Ecological Continuum in the Dagestan Caucasus”, has been completed

Conclusion. Implementation of the University of the People concept has the potential to effectively harness the vast resources of traditional knowledge of individuals and local bodies in regional sustainable development by providing communities with concrete support and interaction of university specialists and educators in ecology and sustainable development. It is hoped that the program will stimulate and enable members of the community to themselves attain tertiary qualifications in these fields, who, in turn, will create a future knowledge resource for continuing local applications of sustainable development principles. The concept has potential for application to other societies in the Caspian region which share similar histories and challenges.

Aim. The author aims to draw attention to the urgent need to accelerate the development of the scientific, technical and organizational basis for solving a global economic problem: reducing damage from natural disasters and, in this context, the issue of security and legal regulation of the use of geophysical technologies for active protection against them.

Discussion. The thirty‐year universal campaign conducted by the UN and consisting of special events, did not at any stage bring about the repeatedly planned significant reduction in the number of human victims and the amount of material damage. Its prolonged failure proves that the expected result cannot be obtained due to the attracted potential. In addition, it makes us critically evaluate the chosen means of implementing programmes and look for new ways to increase the effectiveness of the fight against the threat. In the natural sciences, the most promising prospect is methods that are being mastered in many developed countries and focused on a targeted influence on the destructive natural process. In this area, large‐scale scientific work has been carried out for a long time and already productively to increase the capabilities and scope of the modifying effect. However, serious problems arise on the path; they have been caused by insufficient knowledge of the changing natural phenomena, military and environmental aspects of these technologies, low predictability of the long‐term consequences of their use, conflicts between economic interests of different states. From a humanitarian point of view, the scale and dynamics of the adverse natural trend require a more radical and operational response than the implementation of methodological recommendations of a single plan for the widespread dissemination of a safety culture. The form of a collective solution adequate to the importance and significance of the universal task is a global disaster risk management which has a developed institutional base and a solid executive discipline. But it is absent today.

Conclusion. It is impossible to overcome the indicated obstacles for raising efficiency except by relying on a special regulatory platform of a universal level, which, however, today consists almost entirely of declarative decisions. Here it is necessary to increase the imperativeness of regulation, giving it legal force which is capable of more than recommendatory one to ensure by 2030 a previously unattainable substantial reduction in losses. It is also necessary to move to binding specific measures and technical standards agreed upon and guaranteed by legal instruments. To what extent the special system of international security created on such a basis will satisfy national interests in the future, depends very much on the degree of state participation in this construction today.

Aim. To determine the place, role, vectors of development and content of modern land policy in connection with the paradigm of sustainable economic development.

Materials and Methods. The results of the author’s long‐term research on the problems of land relations and the draft Doctrine of Land Policy which he has developed, together with socio‐economic analysis of the state and trends of development, expert assessment, scientific forecasting and comprehensive risk assessment.

Results. The main characteristics of the current state of land relations are established, the reasons and conditions for the emergence and development of negative trends in the organization of the use and protection of the country's land resources are determined, the directions for improving the state's land policy are substantiated and the main content of the document defining the goals, objectives, content, institutions and technologies that ensure its successful implementation is proposed.

Conclusion. The draft "Doctrines of the Land Policy of the Russian Federation" proposed by the author can become a document that forms clear ideas about the essence and content of a promising land policy and creates conditions for more effective use and reproduction of the country's land potential.

Aim. Determination of the importance of the ecological vector in ensuring the sustainable development of the Republic of Dagestan.

Materials and Methods. A historical and comparative analysis was carried out using official statistical data of Rosstat and data from state reports on the state and on environmental protection.

Results. The author proposes that there be a focus on the formation of public and individual ecological consciousness of citizens, the involvement of the population in various environmental actions, the use of alternative energy sources and the development of tourism in the republic, taking into account the proper level of protection of natural objects.

Conclusion. The Republic of Dagestan, due to its geographical and climatic features, has more potential in the field of sustainable development than any other region of our country, but it seems that the best results require the application of all the actions listed herein aimed at strengthening the role of the environmental component of sustainable development.

Aim. To analyze the ecological aspect of the media space discourse in the Caspian region and qualitative changes in the parameters of the media environment, resulting from the state policy of the Caspian states and objective informatisation processes in the region.

Material and Methods. Systems approach, geopolitical theory, expert interviews, content analysis and document analysis.

Results. Based on the results of the analysis, positive changes in the media environment of the Caspian region were identified, which include the expansion and deepening of the environmental aspect of the Caspian discourse and the quality of the existing resource and infrastructure base. The need to continue efforts to create a common media space for the Caspian region and its qualitative development is stated. Considering the level of complexity of the geopolitical situation in the Caspian region and its borders, as well as the experience of "Editorialising the Caspian States", it is advisable to focus on the exchange of media content within the framework of non‐political topics, as military‐political topics in the current geopolitical conditions, because of the very serious contradictions in the region, cannot serve integration purposes. Particular attention should be paid to the formation of content that should "work" on an urgent and constructive Caspian agenda, especially its environmental aspect.

Conclusion. The need is stated to consistently saturate the media environment with new content within the framework of three cases aimed at developing and strengthening humanitarian cooperation between the countries of the "Caspian Five" in order to form a space of trust, where one of the central places will be occupied by the environmental safety of the region.

The monograph reviewed is devoted to the place and role of ecology and environmental safety in ensuring the sustainable socio‐economic development of society. In the conditions of the obligatory transition of the economies of the leading countries of the world from an industrial type to a new form of "green economy" aimed at ensuring the preservation of ecological systems and the maximum reduction of damage to the biodiversity of ecological systems, the Russian Federation faces the task of forming a new course of socio‐economic development of society focused on the preservation of the potential of nature and ecology at a level enabling the support of the viability of society, flora and fauna in the foreseeable future and in the long term.

The authors outline the role and importance of environmental safety in the system of ensuring the economic security of the state, examine the concept of the ideology of Global Commons in ensuring sustainable socio‐economic development of society, analyse the problems and prospects for the implementation of the Green Course of Russia programme, and examine special aspects of environmental audit, accounting and control, damage assessment in the field of ecology. Special attention is paid to the forecast of the dynamics of key environmental indicators for the medium term. The main directions of increasing the effectiveness of the mechanism for ensuring environmental safety in a market economy are described.