Chapter 10 - The Concept of Energy-Efficient Residential Block Design

The article examines the concept of use of natural in Environmental Law. It has been shown that both in law and in legal science, the concept is unreasonably used in the following meanings: sustainable use of natural resources, the use of natural resources that does not make their exploitation difficult, the use of natural resources that does not entail violation of the legislation, etc Two common legal criteria for the rational use of all natural resources have been identified: (1) achieving maximum efficiency of their use at the current level of the technique and technology development (2) with such a level of negative impact that the environment can handle itself On the basis of the named criteria, the rational use of any natural resources suggests understanding of the use of natural resources characterized by maximum efficiency in terms of the balance of private and public interests in environmental law in compliance with the current level of technological development and the extent of the negative impact that the environment is able to cope with itself because of its assimilating capacity The article defines legal differences between rational use of natural resources and their sustainable use. Also, it formulates additional legal criteria that separate the rational use of renewable and non-renewable natural resources An additional legal criterion for the rational use of renewable natural resources includes enhancement of sustainability of natural ecological systems, natural and natural-anthropogenic objects. Additional legal criteria for the rational use of non-renewable natural resources include: their most efficient use and/or extraction; their economical consumption with minimum losses at the current level of technology development It is suggested that the rational use of renewable natural resources means the use that results in strengthening natural ecological systems sustainability, natural and natural-anthropogenic objects. Rational use of non-renewable natural resources means their most efficient use and/or extraction, their economical consumption with minimum losses at the current level of technological development and such extent of the negative impact that the environment is able to overcome independently

I. APPROACHING THE STUDY OF NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS. 1. Economic Concepts for Examining Natural Resource Use. 2. Sustainability and Natural Resource Scarcity. II. THE USE OF STATIC OR STEADY STATE MODELS TO EXAMINE NATURAL RESOURCE USE. 3. The Valuation and Use of Land and Water. 4. The Economics of the Fishery: An Introduction. 5. Regulation of the Fishery. 6. An Introduction to Environmental Resources: Externalities and Pollution. 7. Pollution Policy in Practice. III. NATURAL RESOURCE USE IN AN INTERTEMPORAL SETTING. 8. Nonrenewable Resource Use: The Theory of Depletion. 9. Nonrenewable Natural Resource Use: Departures from the Competitive Case and from Fixed Stock Size. 10. Forest Use. 11. Dynamic Models of the Fishery. 12. The Economics of Sustainability.

It is on a daily basis that modern humankind encounters a challenge to provide basic resources for living. Population growth leads to the emerging need to use natural resources (fresh water, oil, natural gas, coal, arable soil, etc.). The supplies and use of these resources are a persistent problem. As the process of urbanization intensifies, the awareness of the limitations of specific commercially overused resources rises. These processes are tightly connected with environment impairment and sustainable development. New technologies do increase productivity but the ratio of labor force and job positions decreases, raising an issue of future working population. Population and human resources have a multidimensional impact on economic growth of each country, which also includes continuous use of natural resources. A balanced population distribution is one of the crucial factors of functional sustainability of space, natural resource use, and social prosperity. It is in late 2020 that our planet marks the population of slightly less than eight billion and the figures will grow up to 10 billion in 2050. Changes in the structure and number of population affect many aspects of our lives. It is of an utmost pertinence to understand modern demographic processes in order to meet many challenges regarding natural resource use as these challenges are directly connected with fresh water shortage, hunger and underfeeding, climate change, diseases, economic growth, energetics shortage, clashes and wars. Even though natural resources play an important role, it is the human resources that matter the most. The specificity and exceptionality of human resources make them more relevant than other resources and they are extremely pertinent for the economic growth of any given area. Investing in human resources is more effective than investing in any other resource because of the ability of self-renewal and growth. In addition, human resources may employ all their mental, physical, and other available potentials. Hence, special attention should be paid to demographic processes and other changes taking place in regard to population. The fast scientific-technological revolution transformed the relation between demographic processes and natural resources, i.e. natural resource management. Centralization and the introduction of the so-called agribusiness market approach based on new economic models resulted in massive increase of productivity and efficiency in natural resource use, which successfully met the needs of the growing population but also led to wealth accumulation. Nevertheless, the same process caused the vast decrease and degradation of arable soil and forests, over-usage of natural resources, and irreversible destruction of habitats. Humankind gradually entered into a vicious circle of demographic growth, urbanization, increased food demands and requests for natural resources on one side and the increasing degradation of these resources on the other side. Unsustainability of natural resource management based solely on agribusiness market principles (supranational or global framework, accumulation of private property or corporate wealth) is becoming more evident. The Republic of Srpska is currently employed in the final phase of demographic transition, which is conditioned by poor economic growth and tertiarization, inadequate use of natural resources, and favorable transportation-geographical position, which has already initiated biological disturbances. Given the population density and distribution, the Republic of Srpska is an extremely homogeneous area with pronounced regional and interregional disparities. One such unbalanced spatial population distribution has negative effects on natural resource use and the total socio-economic growth. Most areas are affected by depopulation. The situation is most alarming in undersized and mountain settlements and areas along the entity borderline. The negative demographic conditions are further complicated by the negative migration balance so a large-scale depopulation becomes an emerging problem. Negative demographic features resulting from the current socio-economic situation, historical factors, and geopolitical issues from the 1990s are typical of the Republic of Srpska. All these determinants clearly indicate the unbalanced concentration and the decrease in the number of population. Early 21st century is demographically challenging for the Republic of Srpska as the number of population decreases and birth rates are negative. We may infer that demographic resources of the Republic of Srpska are humble and insufficient in regard to potential use of main natural resources (arable soil, forests, hydropotential, and mineral ore). The renewal of demographic resources depends on the constantly decreasing birth rates and, unfortunately, increasing mortality rates. If we add negative tendencies of intensive population aging and emigration, we may infer that the future use of natural resources shall be a great challenge to the economic growth of the Republic of Srpska. Hence, a question remains how to most optimally use natural and demographic resources in order to achieve a more balanced socio-economic growth in the Republic of Srpska.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of developments in Korea in relation to its energy consumption and sustainable development policies and progress in achieving its energy targets as given by the Building Energy Codes. Building insulation and passive building technologies are also reviewed for achieving passive house standards by 2017 and zero-energy or near zero-energy buildings (nZEB) by 2025 in Korea, and to identify strategies to further reduce usage of primary energy and to achieve energy efficiency targets. A defining feature of a sustainable building is its ability to reduce significantly its environmental impacts and its embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions over its whole life, including use of natural resources and releases of pollutants, to promote reuse and recycling of materials and sustainable development of buildings whilst ensuring the building satisfy the indoor environmental quality requirements for occupants. Passive technologies include the use of natural ventilation, energy storage such as using phase change materials (PCM) and high thermal mass structure, high energy efficiency windows and lighting and maximizing daylighting and use of renewable energy technologies. Technologies for refurbishment of building envelopes, windows and ventilation systems are reviewed to improve and upgrade the energy efficiency of existing buildings as well as focusing on new builds. The various options for heating, ventilating, cooling and air-conditioning of buildings are also discussed. Green Buildings and Energy Efficiency Labels and Standards should have a pertinent role to affect energy efficiency measures in building developments.

Topicality. Current high socioeconomic (public) request for recreational and tourist services and the inadequate use of available natural resources in Ukraine as recreational make it necessary to find directions for diversification of their rational use for expanding recreational and tourist activities and related species.Aim and tasks. Purpose of the article is to determine the conceptual approaches to the diversification processes development in the use of natural resources around the territory of Kuyalnitsky estuary, that are aimed at revealing its potential and expansion of business activities of enterprises and districts in general.Research results. According to the analysis of financial and economic indicators of administrative units (Bilyaivskyi, Ivanivsky and Limansky districts), adjacent to the Kuyalnitsky estuary, and the aim, the authors conclude that the traditional use of natural resources in agriculture and industry does not provide the proper level of socio-economic development of the districts and they are not financially self-sufficient. Consequently, the economic activity in the Kuyalnitsky estuary basin is focused on agriculture and industrial production, but this territory diversification of the natural resource potential use in the direction of recreational and tourist activity as an alternative to existing types of production is required. The processes of diversification will consist in the production of environmentally friendly products and services to meet the needs of recreational activities, as recreational activity will contribute to increasing demand for them. To start diversification of economic activities types, which will provide synergistic effect and increase economic indicators of the development of areas around the Kuyalnitsky estuary is proposed. Among the areas of natural resources diversification of the estuary, it is proposed to consider the development of a network of sanatorium and resort establishments, enterprises of cosmetic products creation, as well as beauty salons with the use of the resource potential of the Kuyalnitsky estuary (brine, mud, salt, blue clay, phyto-preparations).Conclusions. The districts located around the Kuyalnitsky estuary have rich recreational natural resources, but do not use them fully in economic activity. In fact, there is only one sanatorium that uses mud and peloids of the estuary. The budgets of these districts do not cover their expenditures and receive subsidies from the regional budget, and the lack of proper implementation of the environmental legislation has led to the almost critical environmental situation of the Kuyalnitsky estuary. In order to improve the current situation, the authors propose to direct economic activities diversification processes of economic entities for the tourism development, in particular, rural, green, ecological, cognitive with the provision of medical services on the basis of unique mud of the estuary, taking into account ecosystem and polyfunctional approaches that will ensure the use , preservation and protection of a unique natural object.

The physical, economic, and sociocultural displacement of local peoples from protected areas generates intense discussion among scholars and policy makers. To foster greater precision and clarity in these discussions, we used a conceptual framework from the political economy literature to examine different forms of human displacement from protected areas. Using marine protected areas (MPAs) to ground our analysis, we characterized the 5 types of property rights that are reallocated (lost, secured, and gained) through the establishment of protected areas. All forms of MPA "displacement" involve reallocation of property rights, but the specific types and bundles of rights lost, secured, and gained dramatically shape the magnitude, extent, and equity of MPA impacts--positive and negative--on governance, economic well-being, health, education, social capital, and culture. The impacts of reallocating rights to MPA resources vary within and among social groups, inducing changes in society, in patterns of resource use, and in the environment. To create more environmentally sustainable and socially just conservation practice, a critical next step in conservation social science research is to document and explain variation in the social impacts of protected areas.

Economic growth is increasing the demand for energy. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have been identified to play an important role in reducing the energy intensity and increasing the energy efficiency of the European Union (EU) economy. ICT will not only improve energy efficiency and help combat climate change, they will also stimulate the development of a large leading-edge market for ICT enabled energy-efficiency technologies that will foster the competitiveness of European industry and create new business opportunities. As ICT are today pervasive to all industrial and business domains, they are expected to generate deep impacts in energy efficiency of buildings of tomorrow. Although versatile statistical information is available on energy consumption in different buildings, there is still limited understanding about the potential of ICT to reduce energy consumption. In order to put ICT at the core of the energy efficiency effort and to enable reaching its full potential, it is necessary to foster research and development (R&D) into novel ICT-based solutions and strengthen their take-up — so that the energy intensity of the economy can be further reduced by adding intelligence to components, equipment and services. In this paper, ICT based support tools to energy efficiency in the so-called smart buildings are investigated. The state-of-the-art in ICT for smart buildings is discussed with focuses on the role of ICT and key fundamental fields in which R&D efforts are needed to enable the energy efficiency in future smart buildings. Five key areas including design and simulation tools, interoperability/standards, building automation, smart metering and user-awareness tools have been identified where there is potential to improve energy efficiency through the use of ICT, and they are considered as the next generation ICT for future smart buildings. As an energy efficient housing example, the Lighthouse built in the UK is discussed in detail along with its ICT integrated building services and demonstration data of energy use. This gives a better understanding of the impacts of ICT on the energy efficiency in buildings. The paper concludes that in order to achieve the energy efficiency in buildings, further support of multidisciplinary R&D and innovation demonstrating the potential of ICT based solutions are needed to foster and accelerate the deployment of energy efficient solutions in buildings.

Actualisation of the global trend of sustainable development in Ukraine in the context of efficient use of natural resources and minimisation of dependence on traditional energy sources is a logical stage of society's progress. The article aims to analyse sustainable development strategies for Ukraine in managing its natural resource potential. The research employed a set of complementary general scientific theoretical methods, including analysis, synthesis, and abstraction. A comparative analysis of the efficiency levels of integrating green energy principles in Ukraine and European Union countries was conducted. Institutional and economic tools underpinning the "green" concept of resource use, which have proven effective in international practice, are highlighted. As a result of the research, the potential for economic incentives and motivation of the business sector to develop renewable energy, reduce emissions, enhance resilience to climate change, and efficiently use resources has been substantiated. Furthermore, the need to intensify the share of renewable resources in the national energy sector has been demonstrated. Principles for integrating sustainable development strategies into the socio-economic recovery process of Ukraine during the post-war reconstruction period have been identified. The practical significance of the research findings lies in the prospect of reducing the use of non-renewable resources in Ukraine for sustainable societal development, consistent decarbonisation, and the preservation of the natural potential of ecosystems.

There is a limited number of studies describing the situation and importance of current or potential usage of the local and indigenous traditional environmental knowledge in the region of Northern Nicaragua. To fill this gap, the author supported by a local team conducted the participative research in this rather neglected Central American region, concretely in the northern area of the aspiring Rio Coco Geopark. The purpose of this research was to identify the local and indigenous knowledge regarding the present and traditional use of natural resources including land use and to analyse the contribution and potential of the usage of this knowledge for the local development sustainability. The practical long-term impact of this research is expected mainly in the form of enhancement of the local geotourism sustainability. The research process itself was of the same importance as its results, especially the involvement of the local and indigenous people. In this participative research, young local and indigenous people obtained training and served as co-investigators who later interviewed representatives of the local households. The other field methods included life history of elders, discussions in the focal groups involving common people from local communities as well as the mapping and photo-documentation of the identified local and indigenous traditional environmental knowledge. The participative character of the research process not only facilitated the data collection and validation but also supported the revival of the community memory and revitalization of its cultural and natural identity. The research findings point out that the more distant and more dispersed are the local settlements the better conserved local and indigenous knowledge regarding the traditional land use and other use of natural resources is. Among the best-conserved local and indigenous traditional environmental knowledge in the northern area of the aspiring Rio Coco Geopark was the usage of the earth material and plants. The local indigenous people are not expressing and transmitting the spiritual dimension of their traditional environmental knowledge (sacred times or sites, rites, rituals or taboos regarding the traditional land use and other use of natural resources) anymore because they were experiencing a continuous repression realized by the dominant (colonial) society in the past. They are not accustomed to appreciating the aesthetic values of the landscape as do visitors, but they are open to share their authentic life with them. The majority of the identified traditional land use and the use of the other natural resources as well as related traditional environmental knowledge in the researched northern region of the aspiring Rio Coco Geopark seems to be more sustainable than the present land use practices and the use of natural resources generally for agriculture, medicine, constructions etc. The local communities should dedicate much more attention and efforts to conserve, transmit and use this local and indigenous traditional environmental knowledge to enhance the sustainability of their development as well as geotourism emerging in this part of the aspiring geopark.

Resource efficiency means management and use of limited resources in a sustainable manner, whilst minimizing negative impact on environment. Sustainable management of resources assumes monitoring of whole process, from resources extraction, transport, transformation and consumption, to the disposal of waste. In plainer words, it means finding ways of producing more with fewer inputs and less impact and consuming differently, to limit the risks of scarcity or pollution. Moving towards a growth path which will have the dual benefit of stimulating the growth needed to provide jobs and wellbeing for its citizens and of ensuring that the quality of this growth leads to a sustainable future, will require the country to tackle these challenges and turn them into opportunities. Preparing the Montenegrin economy for this transformation in a timely, predictable and controlled manner, will enable it to further develop its wealth and wellbeing, whilst reducing the levels and impact of its resource use. Ensuring a sustainable development path in Montenegro would mean gradual transition towards achievement of European targets, competitiveness, permanent decoupling of economic growth from the use of resources and environmental impacts and keeping the promise to be an ecological state. The research in this paper is a partial outcome of the UNDP project Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Human Development. The scenario of the future use of natural resources in Montenegro, presented in this paper, is a pioneering attempt to assess its resource productivity (RP), which may serve as a rough illustration of the degree of efficiency in the use of natural resources in the national economy. As such, they may serve as the basis for policy directions and for fostering discussion on this issue which is important for future socio-economic profile of Montenegro.

The use of natural resources and the policy environment surrounding this use are informed by concepts derived from economic theory, extant technology, past uses, common law, statutory regulations, and descriptive ethics influenced by past and present social mores. As such, the uses of natural resources tend to reflect where society has been rather than where it is going. This is especially the case if we consider that existing laws and regulations controlling the allocation and utilisation of natural resources such as land, air, surface water, and groundwater are largely based on utilitarianism reflecting a worldview dating back to Greek antiquity. Given that utilitarianism and a worldview in which nature is perceived as immutable have become part of our legal foundation, technological changes now present ethical and economic problems that threaten part of this foundation. Within a market economy such as that of the United States, the legal environment regulating decisions regarding the use of natural resources contains contradictions that adversely affect the efficiency of allocative decision making. On the one hand, users of resources are urged to find the highest and best use of the resources and are supported by case law and legal precedent, while on the other, statutes based on alternative ethics increasingly prohibit certain uses of natural resources. Additionally, recent legislation, for example, the 1985 Food Security Act, is changing entitlement rules. Concurrently, legal doctrines such as public trust are challenging assumed private property rights. In this article I describe some of these ethical and economic problems while relating them to existing and emerging natural resources law and litigation. While doing so, I review the critical works of Jonas and Rawls. As opposed to utilitarians justifying their actions based on the intrinsic goodness or badness of the end(s) resulting from the action, Jonas and Rawls are ethical formalists seeking rules of right conduct that everyone performs as a matter of principle; see Taylor. In addition, I review the Public Trust Doctrine, and the manipulation of entitlement rules, as “tools” being used to address issues of environmental quality and resource utilisation. For example, see Calabresi and Melamed and Bromley.

In a broad ranging a green building includes a building which is outline, constructed, operated, maintained and reuse by considering the maximum conservation of energy in all phases. First objective of a green building is related to human health, maximum use of natural resources, reduction in electrical energy consumption, maximum utilization of renewable energy and reduction of environmental pollutants. Reflective and systematic site design and expansion practices help to minimize the energy consumption and improve performance of a building. In this paper a case study on energy efficient with intelligent technique in construction and operation of newly constructed hospital building has been presented. Main purpose behind this study is to analysis the strategy is there in hospital green building where the scope of further minimization of electrical energy consumption and maximize the utilization of natural resources which results in maximum percentage of savings in energy. All the electrical instruments used in building are based on Energy Conservation Building Code and Bureau of Energy Efficiency rated. In this paper main focus is on HVAC system, Water Treatment Plant, Building Management System, Solar Water Heating System, Solid Waste Generation and Management and Sewage Treatment Plant.

The relevance of the stated topic is justified by a set of factors, and, above all, by the fact that an unscrupulous approach to the use of environmental resources brings irreparable social and economic harm. The ecological balance and stability of ecosystems is properly maintained by nature itself, but the emergence of the modern industrial era has upset the ecological balance through intensive industrialization, technological revolution, faster growth of vehicles, predatory exploitation of resources, unplanned urbanization, etc. The article aims to analyze the main problems of the economic mechanism of effective nature management and priorities of its functioning. The author reveals the main characteristics of the economic mechanism of nature management: the lack of effective incentives to reduce the negative impact on the environment, the rational use of natural resources and the use of resource- and energy-saving technologies, the lack of payments for emissions, discharges, waste disposal and use of natural resources to finance environmental protection activities and reproduction of renewable natural resources in the required scale; the mechanism of lending for environmental protection measures, tax benefits and price incentives for environmental activities is practically inactive. The main priorities in the development of such a mechanism are proposed: an ecologized system of preparation and decision-making in the field of nature management; cardinal restructuring of taxation; the need to include indicators of economic evaluation of natural resources in the system of industrial and economic relations in society.

The reform of local self-government and decentralization of power is one of the most successful among the initiatives initiated by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. It allows for the formation of a significant, active local self-government institution, in accordance with the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The purpose of the research is to study the prerequisites for the introduction of a specific type of fiscal state financial control (audit of efficiency) of decentralization for the effective use of national resources and the provision of democracy in the state. Methodology. The article used the following scientific methods: a systematic approach using methods of comparative analysis and synthesis, methods of the theory of making managerial decisions, generalizations and comparisons. Results. It is proved that the state financial control over the movement of funds of local selfgovernment is an important tool in modern conditions aimed at decentralization of state power in Ukraine. It is revealed that the state financial control of local budgets in the context of decentralization consists of the effective use of resources by the territorial bodies of executive power and local selfgovernment, as well as assessing the ability of the region to identify additional sources of formation and use of resources of local budgets. State financial control, through the introduction of an audit of the efficiency of use of resources of the local budget, makes it possible to make management decisions that contribute to the effectiveness of the activities of local governments. Practical meaning. State financial control is a problematic issue that requires immediate study and practical implementation. The process of formation and development of state internal and external financial control in the united territorial communities is particularly relevant. During 1994-2014, the Presidents of Ukraine created exclusively centralized management of national resources. The results of the analysis show that the functions of the Constitution of Ukraine and obligations to the European Charter of Local Self-Government are not fulfilled. State problems were not solved, but accumulated. Control and verification of the correctness of management activities will continue to play an important role in the conditions of the new public administration model, since the administration operating in these conditions, which focuses its activities on achieving economic efficiency, requires regular monitoring of the recognition of the effectiveness of decisions and the legality of their actions. Prospects for further research by the author concern the development of mechanisms for differentiating competences between all levels of government, along with the regulation of the functional powers of public authorities and local government, including regional and district councils, with the aim of preventing their duplication.

The article analyzes domestic and international experience in the field of energy efficiency and energy security. Thus, it was important to adopt the Law of Ukraine "On the Energy Efficiency of Buildings", which introduced mandatory certification of buildings by energy consumption classes. The study of sources on the issues of effective energy consumption showed that issues related to improving the energy efficiency of buildings and structures are acquiring special relevance; the use of foreign models to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock. Specific organizational and economic measures are highlighted that will help improve the energy efficiency of the national economy. The Swedish experience of using a modern cost model for the full period of operation ("General Concept") is studied, which aims to assess the economic results of investments in measures to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock. The main principles of the modern cost model of the full operation period and the criteria for determining the number of necessary energy efficiency measures are considered. Analyzed "hard" (physical condition of the building) and "soft" (user behavior) measures that provide for the integrated energy efficiency of the building. The stages of the analysis according to the cost model of the full operation period are considered. The typical for Sweden ranges of the duration of energy efficient measures and the requirements for the internal rate of return, which depends on the general economic situation in the country and the terms of the loan, have been investigated. Based on the results of the energy audit of the ten-story building selected for the study and taking into account the experience of Sweden, a number of measures to improve energy efficiency are proposed and a calculation is given to ensure the energy efficiency of a residential building in Ukraine. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that there is a positive trend in this implementation. With the integrated use of all measures that will even allow you to save more, you can significantly improve the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock in Ukraine.