Sustainable rural development: implementing environmental component at local level

Abstract

Currently, in connection with the onset of environmental and other planetary problems, more and more importance is attached to the transition to sustainable development. Sustainable development in rural areas should be focused on the restoration and preservation of natural ecosystems, including water bodies. The paper discusses a number of phenomena and objects reflecting the ecological state of pilot rural areas that were studied in the framework of the presented Russian-Finnish projects. The project activities helped to improve the ecological state of several agricultural enterprises and to familiarize the population with environmental requirements. Particular attention was paid to working with students of pilot schools for their environmental education. They not only studied nature, but participated in actions to work with garbage, conducted population surveys, prepared a number of projects, including the development of agri tourism and the ecological development of individual villages.