The article presents the problems of environmental management and the quality of the environment to achieve the goals of sustainable development of the region. This study develops the idea of the need to conduct an environmental policy on the territory of the Russian Federation and RNO-Alania to improve the environmental situation and reduce the adverse impact on demography and public health. In the study, the authors proceeded from the assumption that the analysis of the state of the republic's environment makes it possible to identify some environmental problems typical for many regions of Russia: waste disposal, air pollution, water pollution, increased anthropogenic impact, high morbidity and natural population decline. The authors substantiate the idea that today it is impossible to separate the high quality of life and the health of the population. These positions are ensured only if the natural systems are preserved and the environment is in an appropriate quality. The main provisions of the article and the presented results can be used for further theoretical substantiation, research in the field of ecology, demography and public health. The results make possible to develop practical recommendations on the problems of forming and consistently implementing a unified policy, within the framework of which the most important measures are being taken to improve the ecological situation.