Protection of Nature
Protection of Nature
For a long time, using plants and animals for their needs, people gradually began to notice that where there were dense forests in the past, they began to thin out, that herds of wild game animals decreased, and some animals completely disappeared. The man also noticed that deep rivers and springs began to become shallow, and fish were caught in nets less and less often. Birds left their usual nesting grounds, and their flocks thinned out. The network of ravines and gullies has noticeably increased, and destructive black storms and hot winds have become frequent guests. Shifting sands approached the villages and covered their outskirts, often along with the fields. Soil fertility decreased, and weeds appeared in the fields, suppressing crops and reducing the yield of cultivated plants.
Particularly strong changes occurred around cities and emerging industrial centers. The air here has become smoky and heavy from factory chimneys. High waste heaps and dumps of empty rock appeared near the mines, as well as extensive dumps of various garbage and waste. The water in rivers and lakes became polluted and became unfit for drinking. Swamps and hummocks appeared in the place of once meadows.
Only the memory of the former distribution of forests is preserved in the names of many villages, hamlets and individual tracts. Thus, on the territory of the European part of the USSR you can often find many Borki and Hogs, Oaks and Berezovkas, Lipovkas and Lipoks, where pine forests, oak forests and birch forests used to rustle, and linden trees were also found. For example, near Leningrad there is Sosnovaya Polyana and Sosnovka Park, but there are no pine trees in them for a long time, and they have been replaced by thickets of alder or, at best, birch. Near Leningrad there is an Aspen Grove, but without aspen. Birch Island disappeared a long time ago, where multi-storey buildings now rise.
There are many places in Ukraine called Gai, but not all of them have preserved forests. There is a Taiga station on the Trans-Siberian Railway, but the taiga vegetation has retreated many kilometers from it.
The same can be said about the animal world. There are lakes Lebyazhye and Gusinye, but swans and geese do not fly to them everywhere. There are lakes Shchuchye and Okunevye, but neither pike nor perch have been caught in them for a long time. Near Moscow, Losiny Island and the Losinoostrovskaya station have been preserved, but moose are not seen here as often as they were in the memory of Muscovites.
And how many places there are with the names Ravines and Ovrazhki! Let us remember, for example, Sivtsev Vrazhek in Moscow or other Brazhki to the southwest of it. There are many places with the names Sukhoi Dol, Sukhodolye, Sukhoi Log, Sukhoi Ford, Sukhaya or Dead Beam. There are quite a few villages that are called either Pustoshki, or Bespolya or Zapolya. Individual places with the eloquent names of Gari and Pozharishcha, Pali and Palniki, as well as Penki and Penechki have also been preserved.
In all these names, people have long noted the appearance of ravines, disappearance of water, forest clearings, empty and unusable lands and fires. All of them testify to how unceremoniously people treated nature, the land and vegetation.
Similar changes in nature have occurred everywhere, in many countries of the world. In tropical countries, instead of the former rich and unique forests, monotonous thickets of bamboo took their place. Many plant species, previously widespread, were rapaciously cut down and disappeared completely. Vast savannas appeared, overgrown with hard and thorny grass, into which even thick-skinned buffalos cannot always penetrate. The edges of the forests became impenetrable jungles with many vines and thickets of bushes. The hills and mountain slopes were covered with a dense network of cattle trails due to the excessive grazing of domestic animals.
Over the past millennia, 2/3 of all forests on the globe have been cut down and burned. Over the course of historical time alone, over 500 million hectares have turned into deserts. Over the past centuries, 540 million hectares of forest have been cut down in America. The forests of Madagascar have disappeared on */10 of its territory. The once vast forests of the island of Cuba now occupy barely 8% of its land. The famous naturalist Alexander Humboldt said long ago: “Forests precede man; deserts accompany him.” People, said F. Engels, “did not dream that by doing this they marked the beginning of the desolation of countries, depriving them... of centers for the accumulation and preservation of moisture.”
The accelerating rate of extinction of many species of flora and fauna is causing acute concern. According to far from complete data, over the past four centuries, humanity has lost 130 species of animals, i.e., on average, one species every three years. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 550 species of rare mammals and birds are on the verge of extinction, and up to 1,000 species of animals are under threat of extermination.
The more often man began to encounter such depletion of the Earth, the more deeply he began to understand the laws of nature, the more clearly he understood the danger of its further unfavorable changes.
Initially, people half-consciously protected cultivated areas and individual plants from their neighbors. Afterwards they began to think about some kind of patronage of nature as a source of food, and therefore life. Rules have emerged regulating the use of natural resources. The ancient Egyptians, for example, believed that people should not exterminate animals in their pastures and drive them away from “God’s” lands. These actions were considered “sinful” and were recorded in the “Book of the Dead,” which contains the spells of the souls of the dead who appeared before the judgment of the god Osiris.
In the famous Code of the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who lived 17 centuries BC. e., rules were established for the protection of forests and their use, and for illegal cutting of a tree in someone else’s garden, a certain and not small fee was supposed to be collected from the perpetrators.
In the Middle Ages in Western Europe, feudal lords interested in preserving game issued bans on the use of hunting grounds. Violations were punished severely, including the death penalty. Forbidden and reserved lands, specially protected, appeared for royal and royal hunts.
In Rus', regulation of hunting, for example, appeared under Yaroslav the Wise, and it was recorded in the first written document - “Russian Truth”.
During the heyday of the Lithuanian state, special sets of laws were created - Lithuanian statutes, which played a positive role in nature conservation. The statute protected swans, beavers, foxes and other animals. There was a significant fine for stealing, killing or destroying a swan's nest.
The conservation of forests was greatly facilitated by zaseki, or zasechnye forests, which were created along the southern border of the forest part of the Russian state. These abatis were created to protect against nomads who raided Rus'.
In abattoir forests, it was forbidden to cut down trees for economic purposes under pain of severe punishment and even death. The main abatis - the Tula ones - were built under Ivan the Terrible, and they were corrected under Mikhail Fedorovich. By the end of the 17th century. In connection with the advance of the defensive line of the Russian state to the south, the abatis fell into disrepair, but they remained until the beginning of the 19th century. were protected as protected state forests. The Tula abatis have survived to this day, but the Kozelsky, Orlovsky, Ryazan and Kazansky ones have not survived.
During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676), many decrees were issued on hunting, its timing, prohibited zones, as well as violations of established rules, duties and punishments. The decree (1649) “On the conservation of protected forest in the Ryazan district” concerned not only hunting, but also the protection of forest territory.
If in pre-Petrine times the forest was cleared to obtain land for arable land, then under Peter I it began to be carefully protected for shipbuilding. In 1701, Peter I announced a decree “On the clearing of forests along the rivers along which forests are driven to Moscow for arable land, and to clear them 30 versts higher.” Two years later, oak, elm, elm, ash, elm and larch, as well as pine 12 vershoks (in diameter), were reserved. It was strictly forbidden to cut down forests with these species in a zone 50 versts from large rivers and 20 versts from small ones. For violation of the decree, up to 10 rubles per tree were charged.
Peter T returned to the ban on cutting down forests more than once. He issued a number of decrees prohibiting burning forests, grazing goats and pigs in them, making timber (to reduce wood waste), and the tsar sent the so-called “knowledgeable people” to inspect oak forests on the Volga. He forbade cutting down the forests of Novgorod, Starorussky, Lutsk and Toropetsk districts.
In St. Petersburg, at the Admiralty Collegium, a Waldmeister office was established, whose responsibilities included monitoring the forests on the Volga, Sura, Kama, Oka, Dnieper, Western Dvina, Don, Lake Ladoga and Ilmen. For non-compliance with security rules, the right was given to fine the choppers, and to punish violators by tearing out their nostrils and sending them to hard labor.
Peter I thought not only about protecting forests, but also about planting them. He personally planted many trees, and at his initiative the Shipov Forest was planted in the Voronezh region. The forest “knower” Fokel planted the Lindulovskaya ship grove near St. Petersburg (near the village of Lindula), which to this day attracts the attention of visitors with huge larch trees, carefully numbered and protected to this day.
Peter I was interested not only in forests, but also in other useful plants. Thus, in 1702, the Apothecary Garden was established in Moscow (now the Botanical Garden of Moscow University), and in 1714, the Apothecary Garden in St. Petersburg, which became the predecessor of first the Botanical Garden, and then the Botanical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences. These pharmaceutical establishments had the goal of supplying the army and the population with medicinal raw materials, which had previously been imported from abroad.
Broadly understanding the need to protect nature, Peter I was also interested in preserving fur-bearing animals, game and fish, “so that these fisheries would develop.” Predatory methods of hunting and fishing were prohibited. For illegal hunting, “people of higher ranks” were charged 100 rubles, while “lower ranks” were threatened with cruel, without any mercy, punishment and exile to Azov “with their wives and children for eternal life.”
Peter I cared about preserving the soil, and also paid a lot of attention to protecting the banks of canals from erosion and destruction. Peter I also provided for the protection of reservoirs, for which it was forbidden not only to cut down forest along their banks, but also to process it, “so that those chips and rubbish would not clog up the rivers today.” It was also forbidden to remove garbage into canals and rivers, as well as dumping ballast from ships, “in all harbors, rivers, roadsteads and piers of the Russian state.” For polluting water bodies with ballast, a fine of “100 efimki for each shovel” was imposed.
Mid-18th and early 19th centuries. in Russia were marked by a significant weakening of strictness in the protection of forests and partly animals. The previous rules were replaced by others and consigned to oblivion. Protected ship forests were plundered, the protection of Belovezhskaya Pushcha was removed, and it itself became a place for royal and grand ducal hunting. Catherine II distributed huge areas of land to her entourage, did not care about the forests, but on her whim forbade “catching nightingales in the vicinity of St. Petersburg and throughout Ingermanland.” Landowners again began clearing forests for grain crops and at the same time selling the cut down forest. V.I. Lenin called cutting down forests for sale the timber industry.
The damage caused to forests, vegetation in general and wildlife, which was a consequence of the predatory management of the developing capitalist economy, was gradually realized both in Russia and abroad. The best minds of scientists and public figures were concerned about the destruction of nature, and the most progressive specialists began to actively advocate for its protection. It has been proven that a predatory attitude towards nature entails negative consequences that are difficult to predict. The awareness that nature should not only be protected in its individual areas, but also the correct use of natural resources, came later. However, already at the end of the 19th century. The first reserves, sanctuaries and national parks appeared, which laid the foundation for nature conservation.
One of the first nature reserves in Western Europe was the nature reserve in Ireland (1870), and after it nature reserves were organized in Iceland, Sweden and Switzerland. Reserves, natural parks and reserves appeared at the end of the 19th century near Singapore (1883), in South Africa, Australia, Canada and the USA, and at the very beginning of the 20th century - in Burma, Central Africa, Argentina, Canada, the USA and Australia.
The first protected area and natural zoo in Russia was the well-known Askania-Nova, founded in 1874 on the former estate of Falzfein. Subsequently, a reserve arose on the small islands of the Baltic Sea (1910) and in other places.
All other currently operating protected areas were organized from 1918 to 1969 in subsequent years, both in the USSR and abroad.
In total, the total number of the largest nature reserves, national parks, protected areas and reserves in the world has exceeded 720. In the USSR, there were 120 nature reserves and protected areas before 1963. For a short period of time their number decreased, but then most of them were restored. There are currently 86 protected areas, the number of which tends to increase.
In the first days after the October Socialist Revolution in Russia, many legislative measures were taken to protect nature and the proper use of its natural resources.
The first role in this important matter belongs to V.I. Lenin, who was keenly interested in preserving natural resources for the young Soviet state. All significant acts in this area were in one way or another connected with his name.
V.I. Lenin thought not only about the protection of nature, but also about the rational use of its resources, since he himself witnessed the harmful influence of the capitalist economic system, when the people's wealth was stolen by various entrepreneurs who sought only personal gain and enrichment.
V.I. Lenin clearly expressed his thoughts on rational use of natural resources on April 11, 1921 at a meeting of the communist faction of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions. “In order to protect the sources of our raw materials,” he said, “we must achieve compliance with scientific and technical rules.”
The first decree “On Land,” drawn up by Lenin himself, confiscated all the country’s natural resources from private ownership and declared them the property of the entire people. In the “Basic Law on Forests,” issued in May 1918 and signed by V. I. Lenin and Ya. M. Sverdlov, a special task was set - to determine forest cover standards for each individual part of the Soviet state, so that local authorities increased the area existing forests. V. I. Lenin expressed his concern for forests in the decree on the forests of Crimea, which prohibited the uprooting and conversion of forests located on the slopes of the mountains to other lands, and, in addition, it was ordered to withdraw from circulation and return to the land authorities those plots of land on which the forest was cleared and cleared without proper permission after 1917.
Not expecting the stabilization of the country's economic situation, V.I. Lenin signed (in May 1919) a decree on hunting periods and the right to hunting weapons, which prohibited hunting elk and goats, as well as collecting wild bird eggs. At the same time, V.I. Lenin supported the idea of creating a nature reserve in the Volga delta and emphasized that he considered the matter of nature conservation to be an important and urgent matter.
The practice of so-called “borrowing from nature,” that is, excessive expenditure of its resources, was completely alien to V.I. Lenin. For example, he opposed deforestation in Sokolniki (Moscow) for firewood, although at that time Moscow was experiencing a fuel shortage. Thus, V.I. Lenin thought not only about the protection of nature, but also about its rational use, including the fact that nature should serve as a place of recreation for the population.
V.I. Lenin was the founder of the first reserves in the RSFSR. He signed a decree establishing the large Askania Nova reserve, which existed since 1874 as a natural zoo. Thanks to Lenin (as mentioned above), the Astrakhan and Ilmensky (in the Urals) nature reserves arose. In particular, the use of the Ilmensky Nature Reserve for purely practical purposes was allowed only with the permission of the Council of People's Commissars. In 1921, Vladimir Ilyich signed the decree “On Baikal State Nature Reserves - Animal Farms” and was constantly interested in the progress of their creation. In the same year, Lenin issued a decree “On the protection of natural monuments, gardens and parks.”
Along with the basic principles of socialist land use, that is, an integrated approach to the use of natural resources and taking into account their multiple interrelations and significance, V. I. Lenin paid attention to individual issues. For example, the decree of the STiO (Council of Labor and Defense) “On the organization of the collection and procurement of wild oil seeds and on their use for processing in the oil industry” and the decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR “On the collection and cultivation of medicinal plants” contain provisions on compliance with certain rules when procurement of these natural products.
In the matter of nature conservation, as in all human affairs, there are both large and small tasks. Understanding this very well, V.I. Lenin gave, for example, an order for the arrest of the commandant of Gorki E.Ya. Wever for damage to state property and for cutting down a spruce tree without proper grounds.
V.I. Lenin was closely interested in the rational use of meadows, streamlining the use of hayfields and measures to improve meadow farming. We learn about this, for example, from the resolutions of the Council of People's Commissars.
V. I. Lenin’s deeply thought-out thoughts and amazing foresight in the matter of protecting and using natural resources later served as the basis for the development of the entire system of environmental measures that are now being implemented by the Soviet state.
Everyone knows that in 1960 the Law on Nature Protection of the RSFSR was adopted. Following its example, corresponding laws were adopted in other republics of the USSR, as well as in certain territories and regions.
Issues of nature conservation and measures for its rational use are reflected in the CPSU Program, as well as the Directives of the XXIII Congress of the CPSU on the five-year plan for the development of the national economy of the USSR for 1966-1970.
Measures to improve the protection of natural resources and their use were considered even more clearly and broadly at the 24th Congress of the CPSU. In the Report of the CPSU Central Committee, made at the XXIV Congress of the CPSU, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L. I. Brezhnev said:
“When taking measures to accelerate scientific and technological progress, it is necessary to do everything to ensure that it is combined with a managerial attitude towards natural resources and does not serve as a source of dangerous air and water pollution or land depletion. The Party is increasing its demands on planning, economic bodies and design organizations, on all our personnel for the design and construction of new and improvement of the work of existing enterprises from the point of view of environmental protection. Not only we, but also subsequent generations should have the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits that the beautiful nature of our Motherland provides. We are ready to participate in collective international events for the protection of nature and the rational use of its resources.”
Finally, in 1972, at the fourth session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the eighth convocation, measures to further improve nature protection and rational use of natural resources were considered and a corresponding resolution was adopted.
All these important documents emphasize the idea that natural resources are the most important component of the material and technical base of communist construction, because the construction of communism is unthinkable without daily concern for the preservation and enhancement of natural resources. Therefore, nature protection is the most important state task and the cause of the entire people. Experience shows that with an integrated approach to the use of natural resources, intensive development of industry and agriculture should not lead to a catastrophic depletion of flora and fauna, if all established rules are strictly followed.
Plants and vegetation cover in general are the most important part of the biosphere, that is, the sphere of life of plants, animals and humans. In the biosphere, processes occur that transform inorganic matter into organic matter, release oxygen and ozone into the atmosphere, and absorb carbon dioxide from air and water. Plants are an important part of the Earth's biological resources, long used by humans and animals. The plant world is a source of a variety of natural raw materials, building materials, many chemicals, human food and feed for agricultural and wild animals and birds. Everywhere, in all zones and regions, there are useful plants - medicinal, food, ornamental, etc. Of the 20 thousand species of higher plants that form the flora of the USSR, not all have been studied. The wild flora of the USSR occupies most of the territory of the Soviet Union, and the share of cultivated plants - grains, vegetables, fruits, melons and fodder - accounts for a relatively small part.
Although wild plants themselves regenerate, as a result of human activity many of them have reduced their distribution or are on the verge of destruction. Thus, the protection of natural flora is one of the important tasks of our time. It is especially necessary to preserve forests as sources of timber, many food and feed products, and habitats for useful animals and birds. Forests have water protection, water regulation (anti-erosion), soil protection and climatic significance. They serve as a place for people to relax and satisfy their cultural and aesthetic needs.
In addition to forests, it is very important to preserve natural pastures for domestic and wild animals. It is known that pastures and hayfields supply up to 70% of feed - this base for livestock production.
The vegetation cover as a whole contains many other useful plants used in the national economy (in industry), as well as in medicine. Procurers of plant raw materials should not use predatory methods of harvesting them, which prevent the regeneration of useful plants and cause the destruction of plant cover.
Nature conservation also concerns the preservation of the most typical landscapes, picturesque corners of workers' recreation areas and rare plants and animals of historical significance. The entire set of natural conditions is also subject to protection, as well as forested areas, the air environment, rivers, lakes and other water sources, etc.
An important place among environmental measures is occupied by the creation of protected areas in the interests of existing and future generations of people.
Nature protection and rational use of its resources is a multifaceted task. It is important not only within one state, but for the entire globe as a whole. Particularly harmful is the opinion that man must “fight nature” and “remake” it. Even F. Engels correctly said: “Let us not, however, be too deluded by our victories over nature. For every such victory she takes revenge on us. Each of these victories, however, has, first of all, the consequences that we were counting on, but in the second and third place completely different, unforeseen consequences, which very often destroy the significance of the first ones.”
As shown above, principles of environmental management are being developed all over the world. It is not without reason that many international organizations are closely interested in this matter and are trying to restore order on Earth in the interests of future generations of humanity. All these measures can be carried out most effectively in the USSR and other socialist countries, where the state guards nature conservation.
“Nature conservation” is a very capacious concept, which concerns not only plant cover, wildlife, soil and water, but also the activities of people building cities and industrial centers; cutting down forests and recycling various minerals; changing the flow of rivers and their level; dumping industrial waste into the water and covering the ground with rock dumps; releasing harmful gases and soot from factories and factories into the atmosphere; using many chemicals in agriculture (herbicides, pesticides, arboricides and defolianil); littering the ground with waste plastic substances and construction waste, etc.
Protecting nature means knowing the laws of its development and interaction with humans. Going towards the future, man must enter into an alliance with nature and preserve it everywhere. First of all, we must protect the vegetation cover of the Earth - our green friend.
Life of plants: in 6 volumes. - M.: Enlightenment. Edited by A. L. Takhtadzhyan, editor-in-chief, corresponding member. USSR Academy of Sciences, prof. A.A. Fedorov. 1974 .
Protection of Nature- this is the rational, intelligent use of natural resources, which helps to preserve the pristine diversity of nature and improve the living conditions of the population. For nature conservation The global community is taking concrete measures.
Effective measures to protect endangered species and natural biocenoses are to increase the number of reserves, expand their territories, create nurseries for the artificial cultivation of endangered species and reintroduce (that is, return) them to nature.
The powerful human impact on ecological systems can lead to disastrous results that can provoke a whole chain of environmental changes.
The influence of anthropogenic factors on organisms
Most organic matter does not decompose immediately, but is stored in the form of wood, soil and water sediments. Preserved for many thousands of years, these organic substances are converted into fossil fuels (coal, peat and oil).
Every year on Earth, photosynthetic organisms synthesize about 100 billion tons of organic substances. Over the geological period (1 billion years), the predominance of the process of synthesis of organic substances over the process of their decomposition led to a decrease in CO 2 content and an increase in O 2 in the atmosphere.
Meanwhile, starting from the second half of the 20th century. The increased development of industry and agriculture began to determine a steady increase in the CO 2 content in the atmosphere. This phenomenon may cause changes in the planet's climate.
Conservation of natural resources
In the matter of nature conservation, the transition to the use of industrial and agricultural technologies that allow for economical use of natural resources is of great importance. To do this you need:
- the fullest use of fossil natural resources;
- recycling of production waste, use of waste-free technologies;
- obtaining energy from environmentally friendly sources by using solar energy, wind, kinetic energy of the ocean, and underground energy.
Particularly effective is the introduction of waste-free technologies operating in closed cycles, when waste is not released into the atmosphere or into water basins, but is reused.
Biodiversity conservation
The protection of existing species of living organisms is also of great importance in biological, environmental and cultural terms. Each living species is a product of centuries of evolution and has its own gene pool. None of the existing species can be considered absolutely beneficial or harmful. Those species that were considered harmful may eventually turn out to be beneficial. That is why protecting the gene pool of existing species is of particular importance. Our task is to preserve all living organisms that have reached us after a long evolutionary process.
Plant and animal species, the numbers of which have already declined or are in danger of extinction, are listed in the “Red Book” and are protected by law. In order to protect nature, reserves, micro-reserves, natural monuments, plantations of medicinal plants, reservations, national parks are created and other environmental measures are carried out. Material from the site
"Man and the Biosphere"
For the purpose of nature conservation, the international program “Man and the Biosphere” (abbreviated as MAB) was adopted in 1971. According to this program, the state of the environment and human impact on the biosphere are studied. The main objectives of the “Man and the Biosphere” program are to predict the consequences of modern human economic activity, to develop ways to wisely use the riches of the biosphere and measures to protect it.
In countries participating in the MAB program, large biosphere reserves are being created, where changes occurring in ecosystems without human influence are studied (Fig. 80).
Nature and environmental protection is currently a pressing issue. In the context of globalization, expansion of production capacity, increasing emissions of hazardous, air-poisoning waste, issues of protecting natural objects are dealt with both at the organizational level and on a national and global scale.
Over the past decades, numerous studies have been carried out to find the causes and solutions to the problems of polluted air, water, and soil. However, environmental pollution remains an important issue.
What natural objects are protected
Air, waters of the world's oceans, earth - those components without which life is unthinkable. Pollution of these objects leads to a deterioration in the quality of life of people.
The chemical composition of the atmosphere has changed during the historical development of the Earth. Industrial enterprises play a major role in determining the composition of the atmosphere. Vehicles also have a negative impact on the air. Salts of heavy metals accumulate in the atmosphere: mercury, copper, chromium, lead. The activities of large organizations in the heavy and chemical industries and thermal power plants are especially dangerous. Because of this, the atmosphere contains a lot of carbon dioxide, ash, and dust.
Soil pollution is also a huge problem. It is associated with huge turnover of mining, mining, construction, and road construction.
In addition, in agro-industrial activities there are also difficulties associated with a rational approach to the use of soils. Its beneficial properties are lost with frequent plowing, which can lead to flooding of crop areas, and then to an increase in salt levels. Then soil erosion gradually appears. Illiterate use of fertilizers and pesticides leads to the introduction of toxic substances into the soil.
Due to car exhaust, which contains a lot of lead, it also settles in the soil, disrupting the natural relationships of the ecosystem. Waste from mines causes an increase in the content of copper, zinc, and other metals in the soil. The activities and associated waste of power plants and nuclear enterprises cause the release of radioactive isotopes into the soil.
The above problems are acute due to the fact that dangerous compounds can enter the human body with food that is grown in unsafe soil. This can lead to decreased immunity and various diseases.
Oil spills, debris, pesticides, toxic salts, drugs, and radioactive elements lead to water pollution. This is all connected with the activities of fishing vessels, farming, hydroelectric, chemical, and oil companies.
Water quality deteriorates during the electricity production process, when waste liquid at elevated temperatures is released into water bodies. As a result, the water temperature rises.
In addition, as a result of mudflows and floods, magnesium is washed out of the soil and enters the ocean, which harms the inhabitants. Currently, water sources are protected using treatment facilities.
Legislation
Environmental law acts as an independent branch with a set of legal norms for regulating relations regarding the protection of natural objects, as well as the rational use of natural resources.
The fundamental normative document in the field of legislation is the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Thus, according to Article 42, any person has the right to a favorable natural environment, true information about its condition, as well as to be compensated for damage caused due to environmental violations. According to Article 58, Russian citizens are obliged to preserve nature and treat plants, animals, and other natural objects with care.
The environmental doctrine of the Russian Federation determines the goals, objectives, and directions of government measures in the field of ecology for a long period of time. In addition, there is a federal law “On Environmental Protection”, which defines the rights of citizens and government bodies in this area, as well as the principles of protecting natural objects. It is specified and supplemented by the Federal Law “On the Protection of Atmospheric Air”, the Land Code of the Russian Federation, which regulates the protection of land, as well as environmental protection from possible harmful impacts when using land resources. The Forest Code of the Russian Federation is also in force within its competencies.
The use and safety of water bodies is regulated by the Water Code of the Russian Federation. Information can also be clarified in the Federal Law “On Subsoil”, “On Wildlife”, “On Specially Protected Natural Areas”. There are also other legislative acts that regulate and explain the mutual relations of people when using natural resources.
Citizens need to remember about property, disciplinary, administrative, and criminal liability in cases of violation of rules and regulations for nature protection.
Security
Protected areas have existed in our country for a long time. This is necessary for the protection of special areas, for the study and conservation of especially valuable natural objects.
There are biosphere reserves, of which there are 16 in the country, and natural national parks, necessary for people’s recreation and the promotion of environmental knowledge. There are slightly more than 100 state nature reserves in the Russian Federation. The largest of them is the Great Arctic State Forest with an area of more than 4 million hectares, and the youngest is the Kologrivsky Forest.
Currently, there are 34 national parks in the country, some of which are included in the World Heritage List: Valdai, Samarskaya Luka, Baikal, Elbrus region, etc. The largest in area is the Udege Legend National Park in the Primorsky Territory (more than 86 km 2) .
Territories and water areas in which only individual elements are protected are called nature reserves. Currently there are 69 of them, the most famous of which are Tseysky, Priazovsky, Khingan-Arkharinsky, etc.
There are environmental organizations in Russia, the largest and most influential of which is the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation. Much attention is paid to educating citizens on ecology, drawing attention to natural problems, and monitoring how well the norms of environmental regulations are observed.
In addition to the above, there is also a Nature Conservation Team, created in 1960 at the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University. The main areas of work are explanations with the aim of increasing people's environmental awareness, holding protests against the destruction of individual objects, and helping in the fight against forest fires.
It should also be noted that scientific organizations (Russian, branch academies of sciences, government bodies for science and technology) have divisions with activities for the improvement of natural objects, rational use and reproduction of natural reserves.
Lesov
As a result of fires and garbage emissions, the number of trees, plants, and forest plantations decreases. As a result of this factor, new generations of forests will be less diverse, which will reduce their resistance to unfavorable conditions. This problem can be combated by studying the population composition of forests. The use and restoration of the number of trees must be accompanied by preserving, to the greatest possible extent, the principle of natural reproduction of this population. In 1997, the Nechkinsky Park was formed with pine forests, lakes, rivers, meadows and swamps.
A person can independently become involved in nature conservation in the city by finding an organization that deals with this. At the same time, through independent social responsibility, you can clean up trash after yourself after relaxing in the forest, preserve trees, and put out fires.
Lands and soils
Soil protection is currently a pressing issue, as it is directly related to providing people with food. Land protection is a set of organizational, economic, agronomic, technical, reclamation, economic and legal measures to prevent and eliminate processes that worsen the condition of lands, as well as cases of violation of the order of land use.
Soil fertility decreases due to erosion, destruction of soil layers during mining, construction, etc. A serious type of pollution is road transport with exhaust gases. The problem of soil contamination with radionuclides was especially acute in Belarus after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. At the same time, about 23% of the territory became contaminated with radioactive substances.
It is necessary to take preventive measures to prevent negative phenomena, for example, measuring water-salt regimes. When choosing fertilizers, try to stick to those that contain a small amount of pesticide hazard.
Land conservation is interconnected with soil conservation. Earthworms can be used to restore soils that are contaminated by industrial emissions. They neutralize dangerous compounds by absorbing it and returning it to the soil for absorption by plants in a suitable form. In addition, planting is used to maintain the optimal condition of the land.
Ecological problems
Environmental problems are relevant because they affect people’s quality of life. Emissions of industrial waste worsen the air quality. In addition, the negative impact occurs due to the combustion of coal, oil, gas, and wood. Acid rain occurs, polluting the earth and water bodies. All this affects the increase in cases of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. As a result, some animals become extinct and ultraviolet solar radiation increases.
Deforestation is also a serious problem as this deforestation is poorly controlled. Forest ecosystems are being altered to create agricultural land. As a result, the climate becomes drier, creating a greenhouse effect.
Physical pollution in the form of industrial and household waste leads to contamination of the soil, as well as surface and groundwater. There are few water treatment facilities in the country and, at the same time, outdated equipment. The seas are polluted by oil products and waste from the chemical industry. As a result, there is a shortage of drinking water, and some species of animals, fish, and birds are dying out.
Sources of pollution
The main types of pollution are the following:
- biological;
- chemical;
- physical;
- mechanical.
Biological pollution is associated with the activity of living organisms, chemical pollution is associated with a change in the natural chemical composition of the contaminated area due to the addition of chemicals. Physical and mechanical pollution are associated with human activities.
Household waste is a serious problem. On average, a resident of Russia produces about 400 kg of solid household waste annually. A measure to combat this situation is the recycling of waste types such as paper and glass. Currently there are few waste disposal organizations.
Another problem is radioactive contamination, since nuclear plants have outdated equipment, which can cause accidents. The waste of these organizations is not sufficiently utilized, and the radiation of hazardous substances causes mutation and death of cells in the human body, as well as animals and plants.
Lake Baikal is the source of about 80% of Russia's drinking water. But this water area was damaged by the activities of a paper and pulp mill, which dumped industrial and household waste. The Irkutsk hydroelectric power station also has a negative impact, as a result of which water is polluted and fish spawning grounds are destroyed.
The video below details the problems associated with air, water and land pollution. Attention is paid to household waste and its impact on the ecosystem as a whole.
Harmful enterprises
A situation has arisen where, in a market economy, the share of industrial organizations increases, benefiting the country’s economy, while the environment deteriorates.
Production in the following areas has a negative impact on nature:
- metallurgical;
- petrochemical;
- mechanical engineering;
- chemical;
- agricultural.
Organizations whose activities are related to the production of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, which results in emissions of harmful substances into the air. Such companies release huge amounts of wastewater. To eliminate the negative consequences, it is necessary to replace old treatment facilities with new ones.
Dangerous enterprises and oil plants that pollute soil and surface waters with oil products. Their mass, which enters the seas and oceans annually, according to various estimates, reaches 5-10 million tons. These harmful substances cause great damage to fish and animals.
Chemical organizations harm natural objects because in the production process they use substances that release harmful elements (nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, etc.) into the atmosphere and water. Water sources are contaminated with formaldehyde, phenols, heavy metals, hydrogen sulfide, etc. Some chemical compounds are transmitted through food chains and accumulate in the body, therefore the chemical load on the human body increases.
In agriculture, pig farming is dangerous due to pollution. Raising sheep also damages the soil as the sheep eat the grass. Organizations should engage in restoration of pastures. The use of chemical fertilizers is also dangerous, as they quickly pollute the soil.
Thus, enterprises extract natural resources, then releasing various wastes. At the same time, nature can either adapt and recover, or not recover. To maintain a balance, acceptable standards for the impact of people on the environment are established by law. Based on this, managers of industrial enterprises should be socially responsible, since the state of nature and the living creatures living in it depends on the activities of companies that involve harmful emissions.
Environmentalists
Inspections
Nature management and protection in Russia are ensured and controlled at the federal, regional, and local levels. General management bodies carry out environmental protection activities in general and in their area, and special ones - in terms of mutual interaction and cooperation between citizens and nature on special issues and individual areas. The federal bodies of general government are the President, the Federation Council, the State Duma, and the Government. Specific activities are carried out by the Committee on Ecology, the Committee on Natural Resources and Raw Materials, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection under the Government.
Special nature conservation authorities include:
- State Committee of the Russian Federation for the Protection of the Natural Environment. This committee coordinates the activities of bodies that carry out environmental functions.
- Federal Mining and Industrial Supervision of Russia. Regulates industrial safety, organizes supervision of work in the industrial sector by authorities and organizations.
- Federal Service of Russia for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. Its activities include monitoring what is around us.
- Federal supervision of nuclear and radiation safety. Monitors compliance with environmental protection standards and radiation safety of organizations that use radioactive materials.
- Committee on Land Resources and Land Management of the Russian Federation. Designed to control the use of various fertilizers by agricultural enterprises.
In general, the listed organizations are designed to monitor business activities, as well as impose fines for violations of environmental legislation.
Protected areas
Currently, taking into account the awareness of global environmental problems, measures are being developed to protect nature, prevent and eliminate harmful impacts. At the state level, they are developing specially protected natural sites through the creation of state reserves, parks, etc.
In Russia
Over the past 6 years, 14 specially protected natural areas have been created in the Russian Federation, including Beringia, Onega Pomorie, Shantar Islands, etc. They are divided into reserves, parks, sanctuaries, natural monuments, dendrological parks and botanical gardens, medical and recreational areas and resorts.
The creation of state natural reserves provided for the fact that these territories are completely withdrawn from use, since they have special ecological significance.
Parks are environmental institutions, objects that have special environmental and historical value. In addition to protection, they are used for scientific and cultural purposes.
State nature reserves include areas of particular importance for the conservation or restoration of natural complexes, as well as for maintaining ecological balance. Natural monuments are unique, irreplaceable objects of nature (for example, Lake Baikal).
Thus, to protect nature, it is necessary to remove certain objects and water areas from economic use or limit activities on them. This will ensure the safety of environmental systems.
International protection
In recent centuries, people have significantly changed the world through the development of technology and technology. As a result, the ecological balance has been disrupted and climate change is occurring. Public organizations have been created to protect the environment.
The international environmental community began its activities in 1913 with the formation of a conference in Switzerland. Natural conservation activities reached a qualitatively new level in 1945 with the creation of the United Nations. A separate council worked in the field of international partnerships for the protection of biological objects.
To date, Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund have been created, which deal with issues of environmental management, conservation of plants and animals. The first was created to protest against nuclear tests, and is currently fighting against air pollution, the preservation of rare species of animals, etc. The World Wildlife Fund covers more than 40 countries in its work, developing projects to preserve various forms of life on Earth.
To prevent air pollution and protect the ozone layer from destruction, the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents and other documents were concluded.
Antarctica is commonly called the continent of the world. To protect flora and fauna and prevent pollution, a Protocol was concluded in 1991 in Madrid.
In general, the object of international legal protection is the entire Earth, as well as outer space where man influences the world. In this regard, states and international organizations are developing environmental legal relations.
Problems of environmental protection concern individual countries and at the same time the entire Earth and can only be solved by the collective mind and with the combined efforts of all people on Earth. Based on the fact that the planet’s natural resources (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, flora, fauna) cannot be divided by state borders, the state, within its capabilities, by protecting its territory, contributes to solving pollution, preventing the disappearance of resources and maintaining the ecosystem.
Video
From the presented video you will learn more about environmental problems and ways to solve them.
