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Analysis of energy efficiency problems has revealed growth of world's energy consumption while the use of petroleum products decreases suggesting that petroleum products are replaced with other energy sources and global economic crises. World’s energy consumption grows constant growth and according to the forecast it will continue grow in future. The use of coal, natural gas, biofuels and waste in the world will increase, as well as energy from wind, solar and other energy sources, including in agriculture and forestry. The use of fuel and electricity on farms is as critical for sustainable development and energy saving as the use of soil and water. Energy efficiency is an integral part of sustainable agriculture. Progress in energy efficiency, which is already lagging behind, faces further setbacks due to Covid-19 pandemic. Energy consumption in agriculture is only a small share of total final energy consumption in Europe. Moreover, energy consumption in agriculture has declined rapidly over the last 20 years. However, there is a significant difference among EU member states. There is no single solution to increase energy efficiency in agriculture. In Ukraine, the consumption of renewable energy sources and biofuels in agriculture and forestry shows increase. Ukraine is reducing agricultural production slowly and unevenly while switching to biofuels and almost not switching to alternative energy sources and replacing it with anthracite or biofuels due to the rising cost of natural gas. Significant potential for reducing the energy intensity of Ukraine's GDP lies in improving the energy efficiency of agricultural industry, but the realization of this potential is complicated by industry-specific shortcomings: high energy consumption of prosecution, which reduces competitiveness of products in the market; low energy efficiency of labor, which does not correspond to the current level of development of agricultural technologies and equipment.

The dissertation is focused on the development of theoretical positions and scientific and methodological approaches towards the formation of a system of socioecological-economic indicators of the development of the Carpathians mountains areas in the context of ecological economics and environmental economics theories. The dissertation summarizes theoretical, methodological, empirical and practical results of scientific research of the applicant, her conclusions and proposals as to future socio-ecological-economic development of the Carpathians mountain areas. In the thesis, the definition of "forest-dependent community" is proposed and characterised with regards to the Carpathians conditions. The conceptual matrix model for determining the level of forest dependence has also been developed, taking into account the level of analysis (country, region, oblast, district, city / village, community, household, individual) and the type of forest dependence (from wood / wood products, non-wood forest products, tourism / recreation, from forest as a source of income / employment, forest ecosystem services for environment stabilization, cultural ecosystem services). Considering as the priority maintaining of forest ecosystem services, as key components for the socio-ecological and economic development of the Carpathian mountain region, and taking into account the current ecological-economic and socioeconomic challenges and opportunities in the studied region, we propose a system of indicators to assess its development. On this basis, and through our evaluation of the contribution of forest ecosystem services to the wellbeing of forest-dependent communities (using a mixedmethod approach), we arrive into the following indicators of the development of the Carpathians mountain region: – indicators, that imply opportunities/threats to sustainable flows of ecosystem services; – indicators that characterize the impact of (inefficient) forest management; – indicators that characterize fostering sustainability in the provision ecosystem services, in the context of decentralization; – indicators that characterize an increase of community responsibility in the field of forest governance; – indicators, characterizing authorities' ability in supporting effective management; – indicators that characterize cooperation and interaction between stakeholders (i.e. social innovations) for achieving sustainability; – indicators, demonstrating the availability/lack and simplicity/complexity of procedures for accessing / using of forest products; – indicators, characterizing accessibility to forest products by local 24 population; – indicators, characterizing the essential steps by communities in the Carpathian region to improve the forest management efficiency and forest resilience. The methodical approach for the analysis of socio-ecological-economic development of the Carpathian region is therefore advanced on the basis of the conceptualized system of indicators for the development evaluation. In the thesis, the concept of mountain forest's socio-ecological system is defined as a complex and integrated system, including the socio-economic (human) and ecological (biophysical – mountain forest ecosystems) sub-systems, which are in close connection and interaction with each other. The scientific and methodical approaches for enhancing decision support processes on the development of the Carpathian region are developed. They adapt and elaborate further an integration of the DPSIR method with the concept of ecosystem services. We propose credible ways towards increasing the role of communities in the decision-making process in the field of sustainable development of the region. A smart development of forest-dependent mountain territories and communities requires new and innovative strategies based on green growth and socio-ecological innovations. These would need to integrate scientific and local/traditional knowledge around the array of forest ecosystem goods and services, their management and use. Such strategies should enable an increasing of human well-being without destroying the sustainability of fragile mountain forest ecosystems. The practical significance of the results is in that the theoretical provisions of the thesis have been brought to the level of methodological developments and practical recommendations, which can be used by state and local authorities to improve the strategic planning and the development of settlements and communities in the Carpathian mountain region. Other stakeholders, including local communities, can also make use of the suggestions put forward in the thesis.