Modeling an integral index of environmental sustainability of land use in European countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31548/zemleustriy2026.04.0%25pKeywords:
environmental sustainability, land use, ecological network, biodiversity, protected areas, anthropogenic pressure, ecosystem servicesAbstract
The article examines the environmental sustainability of land use in European countries, taking into account the spatial provision of protected areas, land-use structure, the level of environmental stability, and anthropogenic pressure. The necessity of shifting from the assessment of individual environmental indicators to a comprehensive analysis of the capacity of territories to preserve their natural potential, biological diversity, and ecosystem functions is substantiated. The methodological basis of the study comprises indicators of the development of the Natura 2000 and Emerald ecological networks, the protection coefficient, the indicator of anthropogenic saturation of natural territorial complexes, the share of arable land, the environmental stability coefficient, and the anthropogenic pressure coefficient. To ensure their comparability, normalization using the min-max transformation method and equal weighting of the indicators were applied. On this basis, an integral index of environmental sustainability of land use was proposed, which enables a comprehensive assessment of the relationship between the environmental protection and economic components of territorial development. The index was modeled for the 27 countries of the European Union and Ukraine. Significant differentiation of countries by the level of environmental sustainability was established. The highest values of the integral index are characteristic of Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, Croatia, and Estonia, while the lowest values are observed in Denmark, Ukraine, Hungary, Malta, and the Czech Republic. The average value of the index for the European Union countries is approximately 0.504, whereas for Ukraine it is 0.218. It was established that a significant area of protected territories alone does not ensure high environmental sustainability of land use if it is accompanied by a high share of arable land and substantial anthropogenic pressure. The proposed index can be used for comparative assessment of countries, spatial planning, improvement of land and environmental policies, and substantiation of directions for developing environmentally balanced land-use systems.
Received: 01.09.2026;
Accepted: 15.09.2026;
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