Environmental Audit of Anthropogenically Disturbed Territories: Problems and Growth Points (A Case Study of Kaliningrad Oblast)

The study demonstrates that the modern conditions of economic development and the requirements of environmental security call for more advanced mechanisms for assessing environmental conditions, especially in anthropogenically disturbed territories. The article summarizes the available information and provides a brief overview of studies that detail the concept of environmental auditing. It is substantiated that the regulatory framework for conducting environmental audit procedures should play the role of the primary tool for implementing state policy of supporting sustainable production. The sequence of development and implementation of standards for environmental management and auditing systems both in the Russian Federation and globally is considered. The article proposes an algorithm for conducting environmental audits of territories, which includes five stages, taking into account functional zoning based on landscape planning tools, assessment of conflicts in environmental management associated with natural and anthropogenic risks, and introduction of a modern GIS system based on geoecological monitoring. The article describes the problems associated with environmental audits of territories, which are caused by an imperfect regulatory framework, insufficient funding, high cost of implementation, and absence of objective assessment strategies of the risks and of permissible impacts on natural environments. It is stated that it is necessary to improve the existing environmental management system and to increase the role of environmental education of the public, especially employees of enterprises and municipal administration bodies. A system for optimization of environmental management is developed; it consists of natural, geoecological, social, and economic subsystems. The example of Kaliningrad oblast, located on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea, is used as a case study to develop recommendations on the use of environmental audit mechanisms and tools to achieve more balanced, rational, and secure regional environmental management.