Аннотация:The results of land use/cover and biodiversity change and people well-being study in Russia are presented. Agriculture is one of the major driver of land cover and biodiversity change in Russia.The transformations of steppe landscapes are related with their conversion to cultivation, large industrial installations (hydropower stations) and urbanization. Agriculture restructuring started in country from 1991-1993 have put severe strains on the agricultural production and creates dramatic threats to biodiversity because of plowing mostly of all tillable lands, abandonment or transformation part of them to grazing lands, accelerating of soil erosion, overgrazing and pasture degradation, landscape fragmentation by the fields and infrastructure. Between the global factors that shape the land cover and biodiversity in Russia, climate is the most important one.The healthy environment cannot be made better in poverty, and poverty cannot be eliminated without sustainable healthy environment, that’s why the sustainable development is closely connected with the people well-being. Due to the ongoing municipal reform in Russia local communities faced and have to manage an extremely outdated and inefficient economic and social infrastructure that previously was maintained by federal budget money. According world trend the traditionally dominant ideas of material product-based well-being started to be changed by ideas of immaterial well-being based on availability of access to social-humanitarian services. The similar changes are happening in Russia during the period of economy restructuring and market economy development, although the living standards of people in Russia are still lower than in the most developed countries.
The ecologically sound land use practice and biodiversity conservation should help to reconcile social needs with the requirements of the environment and to avoid the unfavorable consequences of land degradation.