Biological and Landscape Diversity Conservation as a Systemic Tool of Sustainable Development in the Context of European Environmental Policy

Abstract

The relevance of this study lies in the need to preserve biodiversity and enhance the effectiveness of environmental policy in the context of unprecedented climate change and continually changing anthropogenic pressures. The purpose of the study was to conduct a well-founded comparative analysis of the current state of biodiversity and protected areas, covering Ukraine, Azerbaijan, as well as the countries of the European Union, in particular Germany and France. To achieve this goal, an interdisciplinary approach was employed: a combination of statistical analysis, economic and mathematical modelling, correlation and regression analysis, as well as the use of forecasting tools to determine current development scenarios. It was found that in Ukraine, the area of the protected area fund remains significantly lower than average European standards, while in France and Germany, this indicator consistently exceeded 19% of the total area of the country. Obviously, targeted financing of nature conservation initiatives is a decisive factor that significantly stimulates the expansion of protected areas, but uncontrolled urbanisation and high industrial loads have a clearly expressed negative correlation with the nature of the protected areas. Forecast models, calculated for the period 2025–2030, indicate an excessively complete, almost stagnant, increase in protected areas in both Ukraine and Azerbaijan, which is an alarming signal that clearly increases the current acceleration of the pace of fund expansion and deep integration of European strategies into the domestic nature conservation policy. The practical value of the study is explained by the fact that the recommendations and multi-criteria assessments provide an opportunity to increase the efficiency of management of existing protected areas, ensure the systematic development of a cellular ecological network, and contribute to the formation of a qualitatively new level of environmental awareness among a wide range of the population.