Role of natural capital for sustainable development of a region

The relevance of a «natural capital)) category in the geographical analysis is shown on the example of environmental management systems in the regions of Siberia. The value of their ecosystems exceeds the cost of natural resources that makes it possible to correct regional approaches to the formation of sustainability-oriented environmental policy. Under the market economy the natural capital is shown as an economic result of environmental management stemming from the geographical features of a territory. Application of results of the natural capital assessment allows using new approaches to the solution of administrative tasks, e. g. improvement of the natural rent management, introduction of compensation mechanisms to maintain the biodiversity, development of mineral raw material resources through the natural rent reinvestment into the development of territories, etc. Combination of the geographical analysis of environmental management and the methodology of the natural capital assessment promotes the formation of a qualitatively new analytical research base which allows revealing the interrelations between ecological, economic and social dimensions that is a necessary prerequisite of environmental management and is well coordinated with the sustainable development ideology.