Published: 15 March 2025
Introduction. Existing ideas about sustainable development of regions within the framework of the need to achieve economic, social and environmental goals do not solve the main problem of preserving the assimilation potential of territories (a). Its value lies in the range from zero to 1.0. The higher the value (a), the less payments will be required for the reproduction of natural resources and environmental quality. Purpose. To find criteria for assessing the state of sustainable development of a region within the framework of a new strategy for balanced use of natural resources that would not contradict the principle of completeness of ecological unity between the state of use and reproduction of natural resources and the quality of the environment. Methods. The goal is achieved based on the method of comparative assessment of the balance between the rates of economic growth, the rates of reproduction of natural resources and the quality of the environment within the framework of the assimilation potential of the region's territory. On this basis, the share of costs (payments) for the reproduction of natural resources and environmental quality is calculated within the framework of the criterion of completeness of ecological unity between the state of natural resources and environmental quality. Results. In order to transition to a new strategy of environmental and natural resource regulation within the framework of achieving the goals of sustainable development, deductions for the reproduction of natural resources and environmental quality (payments) should be determined by the total cost of a multiple of 1.618 of the share of the increase in the gross regional product. If this condition is met, then at any rate of economic growth the assimilation potential (a) cannot be less than 0.618. Conclusions. Under the conditions of the experimental calculation of the value (a) and its increase by a value greater than 0.618, the share of payments for the reproduction of natural resources and the quality of the environment decreases proportionally. Only in this case is it possible to make a consistent assessment of the state of sustainability of the region’s development by the users of natural resources themselves and the environmental control bodies at different levels of management based on the achieved level of gross regional product.