Rational use of wildlife and its protection - presentation. Theoretical and methodological foundations of nature protection and rational use of its resources Rational use of nature and its protection in brief

With the help of this video lesson, you can independently study the topic "Rational use of nature and its protection." During the lesson, you will learn that nature is not an inexhaustible resource. The teacher will talk about the need for rational use of nature and ways to protect it.

BIOLOGY

9 CLASS

Topic: fundamentals of ecology

Lesson 64

Anisimov Alexey Stanislavovich,

biology and chemistry teacher,

Moscow, 2012

Each of us, regardless of age, has the power to positively or negatively influence the future of nature. Scientists and environmentalists argue that in order to contribute to saving the future of the biosphere, it is enough not to throw away plastic bags, constantly buying new ones, to refuse goods in plastic bottles, not to throw away batteries, accumulators and equipment with the appropriate designations. Being the master of nature is harder than being its consumer. But only responsible owners care about their future.

For many centuries, mankind has treated nature as an almost inexhaustible source of well-being. Plowing more land, cutting down more trees, extracting more coal and ore, building more roads and factories was considered the main direction of progressive development and prosperity. Already in ancient times, with the beginning of agriculture and cattle breeding, human activity led to real environmental disasters: irreversible change of large ecosystems and devastation of large areas.

By the middle of the 20th century, it was already obvious that environmental disturbance was caused by anthropogenic impact, which has not only local, but also planetary significance. The question of the limits of the ecological capacity of the planet for the existence of mankind has become acute.

Population growth and the technogenic nature of the use of nature have led to the threat of environmental violations affecting not only individual states and countries, but also the biosphere as a whole. Planetary circular cycles - circulations of substances change. As a result, mankind has faced a number of environmental problems caused by anthropogenic impact on the environment.

Depletion of natural resources. The resources on which humanity lives are divided into two categories:

1. Renewable (soil, vegetation, wildlife).

2. Non-renewable (reserves of ores and fossil fuels).

Renewable resources are capable of recovery if their consumption does not exceed critical limits. Intensive consumption has led to a significant decrease in the populations of salmon, sturgeon, many herring, and whales.

Soil losses, settling and erosion, destruction and removal of the fertile layer by water and wind have acquired enormous proportions. Both arise as a result of improper agricultural exploitation of land. Tens of millions of hectares of valuable soils are lost every year.

Environmental pollution

As a result of industrial production, a huge amount of harmful substances enter the atmosphere, water and soil as waste, the accumulation of which threatens the lives of most species, including humans.

A powerful source of pollution is modern agriculture, which saturates soils with excess amounts of fertilizers and poisons to control pests. Unfortunately, the practice of using these substances is still widespread.

Rational use of natural resources and nature protection

Currently, global environmental threats have begun to be recognized by society. Environmentally competent and rational nature management is the only possible way for the survival of mankind.

It is impossible to ensure the survival of mankind without the development of environmental science, rational use and nature conservation. The science of ecology makes it possible to understand in what ways it is necessary to build relationships with nature in various areas of human activity. In addition, over many centuries, different peoples have accumulated extensive experience in caring for the natural environment and using its resources. This experience was largely forgotten with the advent of the scientific and technological revolution, but now it is again attracting attention. It gives hope that modern humanity is armed with scientific knowledge (http://spb.ria.ru/Infographics/20120323/497341921.html). The main difficulty lies in the fact that in order to prevent global environmental disasters and ensure the rational use of nature, it is necessary to maintain consistency in the activities of many environmental groups, all states of the world and individuals.

It is necessary to restructure each person from the old forms of exploitation of nature to constant care for it, the transition to new technologies of industry and agriculture. All this is impossible without large investments, universal environmental awareness and deep knowledge in every area of ​​interaction with nature.

Universal environmental education is becoming one of the main requirements of the time. The present and future generations will face an intense conscious struggle for the coordinated activity of people to preserve the biosphere (http://spb.ria.ru/Infographics/20120418/497610977.html). In the present and future, the restructuring of industry and agriculture on an ecological basis, the introduction of new legislation, new moral standards, the formation of an ecological culture in the name of further prosperity and development of mankind on Earth are inevitable.

Ecological disasters of antiquity

The first ecological catastrophes caused by man occurred several millennia ago. So, forests were cut down in Ancient Greece and Asia Minor, the territory of deserts was greatly expanded due to overgrazing, and the number of ungulates fell sharply.

Ecological catastrophes caused by the violation of natural ties have repeatedly occurred in different regions of our country.

Dust storms caused by the plowing of large areas lifted up and carried away fertile soils in the USA, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.

Because of the deforestation, navigable rivers became shallow.

In areas of dry climate, excessive watering caused soil salinization.

In the steppe regions, ravines sprawled, taking away fertile lands from people.

Polluted lakes and rivers turned into sewage reservoirs.

Species extinction

Through the fault of man, the species diversity of plants and animals is catastrophically reduced. Some species have disappeared as a result of direct extermination. For example, a passenger pigeon, sea Steller's cow and others.

Significantly more dangerous were abrupt changes in the natural environment caused by man, the destruction of habitual habitats. Because of this, death threatens 2/3 of the existing species. Now the pace of anthropogenic impoverishment of wildlife is such that several species of animals and plants disappear daily. In the history of the Earth, the processes of extinction of species were balanced by the processes of speciation. The pace of evolution is incomparable with the destructive influence of man on species diversity.

Earth Hour

Earth Hour is an annual international event organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). It takes place on the last Saturday of March and calls on all individuals and representatives of organizations to turn off the lights and other electrical appliances for one hour. Thus, ecologists seek to draw attention to the problems of climate change. The first Earth Hour took place in Australia in 1997, and the following year this goodwill action received worldwide support. To date, Earth Hour is the most massive attempt in the history of mankind to draw attention to environmental problems.

According to the estimates of the Wildlife Fund, more than a billion inhabitants of the planet participate in this action every year.

Questions:

1. When did a person begin to think about the harm caused to nature by his activities?

2. What international environmental organizations do you know?

3. How has the chemical composition of the atmosphere changed before and is changing now due to the growth of industry?

4. Suggest your own promising ways to save the natural environment from human destruction.

1. Mamontov S.G., Zakharov V.B., Agafonova I.B., Sonin N.I. Biology. General patterns. - M.: Bustard, 2009.

2. Pasechnik V.V., Kamensky A.A., Kriksunov E.A. Biology. Introduction to General Biology and Ecology: Textbook for Grade 9. 3rd ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, 2002.

3. Ponomareva I.N., Kornilova O.A., Chernova N.M. Fundamentals of General Biology. Grade 9: A textbook for students in grade 9 of educational institutions / Ed. prof. I.N. Ponomareva. - 2nd ed., revised. - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2005.

Purpose of the lecture: generalize knowledge about the environment, give the concept of diversity with different resources and instill a respect for nature.

Lecture plan:

1. The concept of nature conservation

2. Natural resources and their use

3. Conservation aspects

Basic concepts on the topic: Protection of Nature; Natural resources; exhaustible and inexhaustible resources; renewable and non-renewable resources; principles of nature conservation; regional rule; environmental legislation.

For man, nature is the environment of life and the source of existence. As a biological species, a person needs a certain composition and pressure of atmospheric air, pure natural water with salts dissolved in it, plants and animals, and earthly temperature. The optimal environment for a person is that natural state of nature, which is maintained normally by the ongoing processes of the circulation of substances and energy flows. As a biological species, a person with his life activity affects the natural environment no more than other living organisms. However, this influence is incomparable with the enormous impact that humanity has on nature through its work. The transforming influence of human society on nature is inevitable, it intensifies as society develops, the number and mass of substances involved in economic circulation increase. The changes introduced by man have now acquired such a large scale that they have become a threat to disturb the balance existing in nature and an obstacle to the further development of the productive forces. For a long time, people looked at nature as an inexhaustible source of the material goods they needed. However, faced with the negative consequences of their impact on nature, they gradually came to believe in the need for its rational use and protection.

Nature conservation is a system of scientifically based international, state and public measures aimed at the rational use, reproduction and protection of natural resources, at protecting the natural environment from pollution and destruction in the interests of existing and future generations of people.

The main goal of nature conservation is to create favorable conditions for the life of present and future generations of people, the development of production, science and culture of all peoples inhabiting our planet.

The biological, including food, resources of the planet determine the possibilities of human life on Earth, while the mineral and energy resources serve as the basis for the material production of human society. Among the natural wealth of the planet, inexhaustible and exhaustible resources are distinguished. Inexhaustible resources. There are not so many inexhaustible natural resources. They are subdivided into space, climate and water. This is the energy of solar radiation, sea waves, wind. Taking into account the huge mass of the air and water environment of the planet, atmospheric air and water are considered inexhaustible. Selection is relative. For example, fresh water can already be considered as an exhaustible resource, since in many regions of the globe there is an acute shortage of water. We can also talk about the uneven distribution of it, and the impossibility of its use due to pollution. Atmospheric oxygen is conventionally considered an inexhaustible resource.

Modern environmental scientists believe that with the current level of technology for the use of atmospheric air and water, these resources can be considered as inexhaustible only in the development and implementation of large-scale programs aimed at restoring their quality.

Exhaustible resources. They are divided into renewable and non-renewable. Renewable include flora and fauna, soil fertility. Non-renewable resources include minerals. Their use by man began in the Neolithic era. The first metals to be used were gold and copper. They knew how to extract ores containing copper, as well as tin, silver, lead already 4 thousand years BC. e.

At present, man has drawn into the sphere of his industrial activity the predominant part of the known mineral resources. More and more various ores, coal, oil and gas are being extracted from the earth's interior. Scientific and technological progress opens up new areas of application of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, various non-metallic raw materials. As a result, the development of ore deposits is expanding, and the extraction of oil from the bottom of the sea is increasing. New territories are involved in the economic turnover, the use of timber and game animals is growing. Significant areas of land are being cultivated in order to grow plant foods and create a forage base for livestock.

In modern conditions, a significant part of the Earth's surface is plowed up or is fully or partially cultivated pastures for domestic animals. The development of industry and agriculture required large areas for the construction of cities, industrial enterprises, the development of minerals, and the construction of communications. Thus, to date, about 20% of the land has been converted by man.

Significant areas of the land surface are excluded from human economic activity due to the accumulation of industrial waste on it and the impossibility of using areas where the development and extraction of minerals is carried out. In the adjacent territories, dumps, quarries, waste heaps are created - earthen cones, failure funnels that appear in places of voids underground.

Of the renewable natural resources, the forest plays an important role in human life, which is of no small importance as a geographical and environmental factor. Forests prevent soil erosion, retain surface water, i.e., serve as moisture accumulators, and help maintain the level of groundwater. Animals of material and aesthetic value to humans live in the forests: ungulates, fur-bearing animals and other game. In our country, forests occupy about 30% of all its land and are one of the main natural resources.

Natural resources are the objects and forces of nature used by man to maintain his existence.

These include sunlight, water, soil, air, minerals, tidal energy, wind power, flora and fauna, internal heat, etc.

Natural resources are classified according to a number of criteria:

- on their use- for production (agricultural and industrial), health (recreational), aesthetic, scientific, etc.;

- by affiliation to certain components of nature - to land, water, mineral, as well as flora and fauna, etc.;

- by substitutability- for replaceable (for example, fuel and mineral energy resources can be replaced by wind, solar energy) and irreplaceable (there is nothing to replace air oxygen for breathing or fresh water for drinking);

- by exhaustibility- into exhaustible and inexhaustible.

To the inexhaustible natural resources can be conventionally attributed to sunlight, atmospheric air, water, wind energy, tidal energy, and intraterrestrial heat.

Exhaustible Resources divided into renewable, relatively renewable and non-renewable

non-renewable resources- these are resources that are not recoverable at all or the rate of their recovery is so low that their practical use by a person becomes impossible. These include, for example, minerals located in the bowels of the earth.

To relatively renewable resources include soil and forest resources that have the ability to self-heal, but this process takes place over many decades and even centuries.

Renewable resources- these are resources capable of being restored through various natural processes in a time commensurate with the timing of their consumption. These include vegetation, wildlife and some mineral resources that are deposited on the bottom of modern lakes and sea lagoons.

In 1957, P. Dansereau formulated the law of irreversibility of the interaction "Man - the Biosphere", according to which a part of renewable natural resources (animals, plants) can become exhaustible, non-renewable, if a person, with irrational agricultural, hydrotechnical, industrial and other measures, makes their vital activity and reproduction impossible. For example, the uncontrolled hunting of the Steller's cow has led to its extinction as a biological species. The same thing happened with some other animal species.

In general, over 160 species of mammals and birds have disappeared from the face of the Earth over the past 400 years. Currently, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as a result of human activity, one species of animals and plants disappears annually.

The process of exploiting natural resources in order to meet the material and cultural needs of society is called nature management.

IV Komar proposed the concept of so-called resource cycles. The resource cycle is a cycle of transformation of natural substances, which sequentially includes the identification, extraction, processing of a particular resource and the reverse return to nature of the waste of these processes. IV Komar singled out six following resource cycles: energy resources; metal resources; non-metallic fossil raw materials; forest resources; soil and climatic resources; resources of wild fauna and flora. As you can easily see, the first three cycles are associated with non-renewable, and the rest - with renewable natural resources.

As for non-renewable resources, their depletion over time is inevitable, and the task is not so much to stretch these resources over a longer period, but to find a substitute for natural or artificial origin before the exhaustion of one or another natural resource, or to find the possibility of its regeneration through the use of secondary raw materials.

Depending on the interaction between man and nature, the following parties, or aspects, of its protection are distinguished.

Economic and economic aspect- the most important side of nature conservation, because any products consumed by people are created at the expense of natural resources. A lot of natural substances are involved in the economic turnover, and the reserves of many of them are small (for example, mercury, copper, silver, tin, lead), so they are rapidly depleted. The search for new sources, the enrichment of poor ores require large economic costs. It is necessary to carefully use natural resources in order to extend the period of their use. Particularly acute is the question of the rational use of minerals, fertile soils, fresh water, flora and fauna.

Socio-political aspect. The results of human impact on nature must be considered not only in the light of technological progress and population growth, but also depending on the social conditions in which they manifest themselves. Modern society is characterized by a predatory attitude towards nature; its negative impact on the environment increases in connection with the concentration and internationalization of monopoly capital. Developing countries serve as an important source of raw materials for developed countries, which seek to place their extractive industries in them, to use their mineral and agricultural raw materials.

health aspect. Clean water, air, forest - the necessary conditions for the normal life of people, which have a beneficial effect on human health, are widely used for recreational purposes. It is in places with well-preserved nature that sanatoriums, rest houses, and tourist camps are located. Pollution of the environment with harmful substances causes great damage to human health. In this regard, the health aspect of nature protection is of utmost importance.

Aesthetic aspect. Nature is a source not only of material wealth, but also of satisfying the aesthetic needs of man. Since ancient times, it has evoked positive emotions in people, inspired poets and artists to create. The aesthetic needs of man in nature are no less important than the material ones. Special attention should be paid to the protection of aesthetically valuable places on Earth.

educational aspect. Communication with nature has a positive effect on a person, makes him kinder, softer, awakens the best feelings in him. The role of nature in the education of young people is especially great.

Love for nature, the skills of careful handling of it, caring for living beings develop positive character traits, kindness, curiosity, patriotism.

Scientific and educational aspect associated with the need to preserve natural, undisturbed territories for research. The study of nature while preserving its diversity makes it possible to find out the patterns of changes introduced into nature by human activity, to make predictions of these changes, and to develop practical measures for nature protection.

The general interconnections and interdependencies existing in nature determine the basic rules and principles of nature protection.

1. All natural phenomena have multiple meanings for man and must be evaluated from all points of view.

Each phenomenon should be approached taking into account the interests of various branches of the economy and the preservation of the restorative forces of nature itself. Thus, the forest is considered primarily as a source of timber and chemical raw materials. However, the global role of the forest in the biosphere is associated with its photosynthetic capacity. The climate-forming, soil-protective, and water-regulating role of the forest is great. Forests are important as places for people's recreation, especially in spa areas and green areas around cities. In this case, it is not necessary to speak of wood as an industrial raw material for the woodworking and chemical industries. However, the idea of ​​it as an object of industrial felling still prevails. The same can be said about reservoirs. A wide and full-flowing river cannot serve only as a transport artery, much less as a runoff for industrial wastewater. Rivers are of great planetary importance: they deliver nutrients to the seas, thereby providing them with a richness and diversity of organic life, including fish resources. To use the river in the interests of only one branch of the economy, as is often the case, is irrational. This is especially clearly evidenced by the consequences of the construction of a cascade of hydroelectric power stations on the flat rivers of European Russia. It is necessary to find opportunities for the integrated use of rivers in the interests of various sectors of the economy, health care, and tourism, taking into account the restorative forces of nature itself.

2. When using natural resources, it is necessary to be guided by the rule of regionality.

This rule must be taken into account when using the subsoil, water resources, forests, wildlife. It is inexpedient to extract minerals where their reserves are small, it is economically unprofitable. It is indicative that the United States mothballed oil production on its territory, considering it profitable to buy it from oil-rich countries. There are many places on Earth where fresh water is scarce. Excess water in other places does not change this situation. There is nothing more damaging than overexploiting a resource where it is scarce, on the grounds that there is an abundance of that resource elsewhere. The wealth of the country in any resource and its use without taking into account the rule of regionality leads to its complete depletion just where it is scarce and it is especially needed. The rule of regionality also applies to the animal world. One and the same species of commercial animal in one area needs strict protection due to its extremely low abundance; in other areas, its intensive fishing is possible. Thus, according to the rule of regionality, the treatment of the same natural resource should be different depending on the specific conditions of the area and how this resource is represented in it.

3. The rule arising from the interconnection of phenomena in nature is that the protection of one natural object can mean simultaneously the protection of other objects closely related to it.

So, the protection of water from pollution is at the same time the protection of animals living in this reservoir. Protection with the help of the forest of a normal hydrological regime is also the protection of the soil from water erosion and leaching of mineral salts from it. The protection of insectivorous birds, red forest ants is, to some extent, the protection of the forest from insect pests. Knowledge of trophic, topical relationships, patterns of coupled dynamics of predator and prey make it possible to predict the results of environmental protection measures in the case of indirect protection or protection of one natural object through the protection of another.

There are relations in nature of an opposite nature, when the protection of one object harms another. For example, the protection of ungulates, in particular the elk, which in some places leads to overpopulation, causes significant damage to the forest due to damage to the undergrowth. One can recall the significant damage caused to the vegetation of some specially protected areas of Africa by elephants, which are concentrated in excess in these areas. Therefore, the protection of each natural object should be correlated with the interests of protecting other natural components.

Thus, nature protection should always be considered as a complex problem, and not as a sum of separate natural components that are independent of each other. A departmental approach to the protection of nature is unacceptable, ignoring its integrity and the many-sided and numerous natural connections between objects and phenomena.

In 1974, B. Commoner's popular book "The Closing Circle" was published in Russian, where the principles and rules of nature conservation were defined in a brief and vivid form, which in popular science and methodological literature often began to be called "Commoner's environmental laws." Here are some of these well-remembered formulations: everything is connected with everything; everything has to go somewhere; nature "knows" better; nothing is given for free, etc.

Conclusions:

The protection and use of nature are, at first glance, two oppositely directed actions of man. However, the contradictions between these actions should not be antagonistic. These are two sides of the same phenomenon - the relationship of man to nature. Therefore, the question that is sometimes asked - to protect nature or use it - does not make sense; nature must be protected and used.

It is important to have a reasonable balance between the use and protection of nature, which is determined by the quantity (number of resources, their distribution), socio-economic conditions, and the culture of the population. Therefore, the basic principle of nature conservation is protection during use.

Test questions:

1. Define the concept of "environmental protection".

2. What is the difference between renewable and non-renewable natural resources?

3. Explain the meaning Law of irreversibility of interaction "Man-Biosphere"

4. Give examples of inexhaustible natural resources.

5. What is the meaning Life Cycle Concepts?

6. List the main aspects of nature protection, depending on human impact.

7. Name the basic rules and principles of nature conservation.

8. List the non-renewable minerals, the reserves of which will be more than half exhausted in the first half of the 21st century.

The teacher informs that it is possible to understand the importance of the problem of nature protection only if we consider it in a historical aspect.

It is necessary to emphasize the importance of the forest for the creation of recreation centers, to show their locations using specific examples. Then the teacher notes that only a reasonable, planned use of natural resources can satisfy the needs of mankind. Students know that the number of plants and animals of many species from year to year is catastrophically decreasing. Nature protection is a nationwide and nationwide affair. Given the above, the teacher asks to independently select and prepare specific examples of plants and animals living in the territories of the Republic of Kazakhstan, subject to protection.

The ultimate goal of nature conservation is to provide favorable conditions for the life of the present and future generations of people; Concern for the protection of the environment is a matter of national importance.

Rational use of natural resources

At the end of the last century, the attention of scientists turned to the impact of economic and other human activities on the biosphere. Increasing the pace of material production has a negative impact on the state of the environment, producing an unequal exchange of valuable resources for waste and toxic substances that cannot be disposed of. This poses a direct threat not only to human existence, but also to the entire ecosystem of the planet, therefore a rational approach to nature management, natural resources freed from negative impacts as much as possible and environmental protection are the only optimal solution to the problem.

The rational use of water resources is one of the main problems, the solution of which lies in the following processes:

• the use of single-stage production processes instead of multi-stage ones;
• transition from liquid to gas processing processes;
• replacement of water in industry with other solvents;
• extraction of useful substances from wastewater;
• transfer of industrial enterprises to waste-free production technology;
• transition to complex processing of raw materials.

The rational use of soil resources is also one of the main problems in connection with the activation of soil salinization and the destruction of perennial plants due to the use of excessive amounts of pesticides and fertilizers. Deforestation is also a significant problem due to the increased demand for wood fuel, leading to their degradation and reduction of forest areas. The main goal of environmental protection is to ensure the safety of the population and reduce deforestation in order to prevent the threat of a total lack of oxygen and, as a result, a growing incidence of respiratory diseases.

Basic principles of protection and rational use of natural resources

The principles of protection and rational use of natural resources include:

1. The principle of complexity, meaning the widespread and organized use of natural resources in various economic sectors.
2. The principle of regionality, which implies taking into account the peculiarities of local conditions in the use and protection of natural resources.
3. The principle of unity of conservation activities and the use of natural resources, which refers to the protection of nature simultaneously with the use of natural resources.
4. The principle of forecasting, which implies the prediction of possible negative consequences of economic and other activities for nature and their timely prevention.
5. The principle of increased intensity of the development of the natural environment, which means an increase in intensity, along with taking into account the characteristics of the territories being developed and the elimination of significant losses of minerals during their extraction and processing.
6. The principle of the significance of natural phenomena and objects, which implies the use of natural resources, taking into account the interests of various economic sectors.
7. The principle of indirect protection, which implies exclusive attention to the indirect protection of natural objects along with the main protection and the elimination of the possibility of causing harm to them.

Measures for the protection of natural resources

The use and protection of natural resources in Russia require the implementation of certain measures to restore and improve them.

Article 23 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Subsoil" dated February 21, 1992 states that the main directions for the rational use of subsoil are:

• complete extraction of minerals from them, both basic and co-occurring;
• a progressive method of geological study of the subsoil for a correct assessment of the presence of minerals, their quantitative and qualitative composition, as well as for studying the characteristics of territories not intended for mining.

Subsoil protection includes activities, the main of which are:

• protection from fires, flooding, flooding and other negative factors of minerals;
• protection of valuable deposits from a decrease in the quality of extracted resources or from complications in their processing;
• prevention of pollution during subsoil use.

Article 1 of the Water Code of the Russian Federation states that the protection of water bodies is the activity aimed at their conservation and restoration. The main need, which is indicated by Article 11 of the same code, is prevention and maximum elimination of possible negative consequences of the use of water bodies. Ignoring this need leads to legal consequences.

The Forest Code of the Russian Federation in Article 2 establishes the rational use of forest resources, their protection and reproduction as the main direction of the legal activity of forest legislation.

The main measures for the protection of forests:

• carrying out forest work in ways that limit the negative impact on the territories used;
• application of reforestation measures;
• clearing woodlands.

Protection of wildlife objects The Federal Law "On the Wildlife" of April 24, 1995 is defined as an activity aimed at the stable existence of the wildlife and the preservation of the animal gene pool, associated with the creation of legal conditions for the use of wildlife objects without negative consequences.

Land protection, according to Article 12 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation, has the following goals:

• prevention of degradation, littering, disturbance and pollution of lands under the influence of human economic activity;
• restoration and improvement of lands that have been adversely affected by human activities.

According to Article 1 of the Federal Law "On the Protection of Atmospheric Air", the protection of atmospheric air is a set of measures to improve the properties of atmospheric air in order to prevent its harmful effects on the environment.

Summarizing the provisions of environmental legislation on the protection and use of the environment, we can conclude that measures for the protection of natural resources are aimed at preserving and improving the specific, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of renewable and non-renewable natural resources and preventing harm to them.

Introduction.

The protection of nature is the most important task of mankind. The current scale of human impact on the natural environment, the commensurability of the scale of human economic activity with the potential ability of modern landscapes to assimilate its adverse effects.

The term "environmental protection" refers to all economic, legal, socio-political and organizational-economic mechanisms that bring the environment to the "strength limit". But you can't wait until pollution reaches its highest level. It is necessary to prevent the threat of destruction of the world.

Objects and principles of environmental protection

Environmental protection is understood as a set of international, state and regional legal acts, instructions and standards that bring general legal requirements to each specific polluter and ensure its interest in meeting these requirements, specific environmental measures to implement these requirements.

Only if all these components correspond to each other in terms of content and pace of development, i.e., they form a single system of environmental protection, can one count on success.

Since the problem of protecting nature from the negative impact of man was not solved in time, now the task of protecting man from the influence of the changed natural environment is increasingly becoming. Both of these concepts are integrated in the term "protection of the (human) natural environment".

Environmental protection consists of:

legal protection, formulating scientific environmental principles in the form of legal laws that are binding;
material incentives for environmental activities, seeking to make it economically beneficial for enterprises;
engineering protection, developing environmental and resource-saving technology and equipment.

In accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation "On Environmental Protection", the following objects are subject to protection:

natural ecological systems, the ozone layer of the atmosphere;
land, its subsoil, surface and underground waters, atmospheric air, forests and other vegetation, fauna, microorganisms, genetic fund, natural landscapes.

State natural reserves, natural reserves, national natural parks, natural monuments, rare or endangered species of plants and animals and their habitats are specially protected.

The main principles of environmental protection should be:

the priority of ensuring favorable environmental conditions for life, work and recreation of the population;
scientifically substantiated combination of ecological and economic interests of society;
taking into account the laws of nature and the possibilities of self-recovery and self-purification of its resources;
prevention of irreversible consequences for the protection of the natural environment and human health;
the right of the population and public organizations to timely and reliable information about the state of the environment and the negative impact on it and on people's health of various production facilities;
inevitability of liability for violation of the requirements of environmental legislation.

Human impact on nature

The biosphere of the Earth is characterized in a certain way by the existing circulation of substances and the flow of energy. Human impact on nature disrupts these processes.

The circulation of substances is the repeated participation of substances in the processes occurring in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere, including those layers that are part of the Earth's biosphere.

Depending on the driving force, with a certain degree of convention, within the circulation of substances, one can distinguish geological, biological and anthropogenic cycles.

Before the appearance of man on Earth, only two cycles of matter were carried out - geological and biological. The geological cycle is the circulation of substances, the driving force of which is exogenous and endogenous geological processes. The geological cycle of substances is carried out without the participation of living organisms. The biological cycle is the cycle of substances, the driving force of which is the activity of living organisms.

With the advent of man, an anthropogenic cycle or metabolism arose. Anthropogenic circulation (exchange) - circulation (exchange) of substances, the driving force of which is human activity. Two components can be distinguished in it: biological, associated with the functioning of a person as a living organism, and technical, associated with the economic activity of people (technogenic circulation (exchange)).

Unlike the geological and biological cycles of substances, the anthropogenic cycle of substances in most cases is not closed. Therefore, they often talk not about the anthropogenic cycle, but about the anthropogenic metabolism. The openness of the anthropogenic circulation of substances leads to the depletion of natural resources and pollution of the natural environment.

Pollution is the introduction into the environment or the occurrence in it of new (usually not characteristic of it) harmful chemical, physical, biological agents. Pollution can occur as a result of natural causes (natural) or under the influence of human activities (anthropogenic pollution).

In addition to influencing the circulation of substances, a person has an impact on energy processes in the biosphere. The most dangerous is the thermal pollution of the biosphere associated with the use of nuclear and thermonuclear energy.

Thus, the impact of man on nature consists in the redistribution of matter in the environment and the change in its physical, chemical and biological characteristics.

Human impact on nature is:

destructive;
stabilizing;
constructive.

Destructive (destructive) impact - human activity, leading to the loss of the natural environment of its useful human qualities. An example of destructive human activity is the reduction of rainforests to pastures or plantations, as a result of which the biogeochemical cycle of substances is disturbed and the soil loses its fertility in 2-3 years.

Stabilizing impact - human activity aimed at slowing down the destruction (destruction) of the natural environment as a result of both human economic activity and natural processes. Soil protection measures aimed at reducing soil erosion are an example of stabilizing human activity.

Constructive impact - human activity aimed at restoring the natural environment, disturbed as a result of human economic activity. An example of constructive human activity is the reclamation of landscapes, the restoration of the number of rare species of animals and plants, etc.

direct (immediate);
indirect (mediated).

Direct (immediate) impact - a change in nature as a result of the direct impact of human economic activity on natural objects and phenomena. Indirect (mediated) impact - a change in nature as a result of chain reactions or secondary phenomena associated with human economic activity.

deliberate;
unintentional.

An unintended impact is unconscious when a person does not anticipate the consequences of his activity. Intentional impact is conscious when a person expects certain results of his activity.

The impact of nature on man

Man (society) is connected with nature by his origin, existence, his future. All human life and activity, territorial settlement and distribution of production forces depend on the quantity, quality and location of natural resources.

The natural environment surrounding a person has influenced and still influences the formation of ethnic groups. Ethnogenesis - the emergence and development of the peoples of the world under the influence of internal socio-economic mechanisms and the surrounding social and natural environments. The historical development of ethnic groups is divided into 3-4 phases: the phase of historical formation, the phase of historical existence (with a flourishing subphase), the phase of historical inertia and the phase of ethnic relics.

The history of the relationship between society and nature

Man appeared on Earth about 4.6 million years ago. At first it was a man-collector. About 1.6 million years ago, man learned to use fire. This allowed him to populate areas with a temperate climate and engage in hunting. The use of fire and the invention of weapons led to the mass destruction (fishery) of large mammals in the middle latitudes. This was the cause of the first ecological crisis (crisis of consumers).

This crisis forced a person to move from an appropriating type of economy (hunting and gathering) to a producing type (cattle breeding and agriculture).

The first agricultural civilizations arose in areas of insufficient moisture, which required the creation of irrigation systems. As a result of soil erosion and salinization, local ecological disasters occurred in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins, and the deforestation led to the emergence of the Sahara desert in place of fertile lands. This is how the crisis of primitive agriculture manifested itself.

Later, agriculture advanced in areas of sufficient moisture, in areas of forest-steppe and forest, as a result of which intensive deforestation began. The development of agriculture and the need for wood to build houses and ships led to the catastrophic destruction of forests in Western Europe.

Deforestation causes a change in the gas composition of the atmosphere, climatic conditions, water regime, and soil conditions. The mass destruction of the Earth's plant resources is characterized as a crisis of producers.

Since the 18th century, as a result of the industrial and then scientific and technological revolutions, the pre-industrial era has been replaced by the industrial one. Over the past 100 years, consumption has increased 100 times. At present, about 20 tons of raw materials are mined and grown every year per inhabitant of the Earth, which is processed into final products weighing 2 tons, i.e. 90% of raw materials turn into waste. Out of 2 tons of the final product, at least 1 ton is thrown out during the same year. The appearance of a huge amount of waste, often in the form of substances unusual for nature, led to another crisis - the crisis of decomposers. Decomposers do not have time to clean the biosphere from pollution, often they are simply not capable of this. This leads to disruption of the circulation of substances in the biosphere.

In addition to pollution of the biosphere with various substances, its thermal pollution occurs - the addition of thermal energy to the surface layer of the troposphere as a result of the burning of a huge amount of combustible minerals, as well as the use of atomic and thermonuclear energy. This could result in global warming. This crisis is called the thermodynamic crisis.

Another ecological crisis is the decrease in the reliability of ecological systems, in particular as a result of a decrease in their species diversity, the destruction of the ozone layer, etc.

The increasing impact of man on nature as a result of population growth and scientific and technological progress has not only environmental consequences. The increase in environmental tension is also manifested in social consequences. Negative social consequences include: the growing shortage of food in the world, the increase in the incidence of the population in cities, the emergence of new diseases, the ecological migration of the population, the emergence of local environmental conflicts due to the creation of environmentally hazardous enterprises in the eyes of the population, environmental aggression - the removal of toxic technological processes and waste to other countries, etc.

Evolution of attitude towards nature. Earth climate change

Consider the history of the relationship between nature and man: pre-industrial society (before the beginning of the technical revolution at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century) is characterized, if not by complete harmony with the environment, then at least by the minimum ability of man to influence the ecosystem. Until that time, nature was self-regulating: warmings were replaced by ice ages, and nature was constantly self-renewing. At the beginning of the 19th century, the beginning of warming was recorded, which continued until the first half of the 19th century. The time of this warming is considered to be the beginning of the influence of industrial society on the ecological balance of nature.

The man of an industrial society seeks to use nature: the rapid development of the economy requires more and more energy and raw materials, while the technical possibilities for extraction become more and more. Unfortunately, at this stage of human development, in which we are now, the economy dominates the ecology, and in a few decades the ecosystem will be in danger of destruction. Only the onset of the post-industrial era, when the noosphere begins to prevail over the technosphere, can prevent an inevitable catastrophe.

Some might say that at the moment we are in the post-industrial period: purification plants are being installed, the consumption of near-depletion resources is being limited, endangered animals are being bred, dirty water bodies are being cleaned. But after all, all this is not carried out everywhere, and under the guise of cleansing the environment, on the contrary, the situation is aggravating.

Types of environmental pollution and directions of its protection

Until the 60s of our century, the protection of nature was understood mainly as the protection of its animal and plant life from extermination. Accordingly, the forms of this protection were mainly the creation of specially protected areas, the adoption of legal acts restricting the hunting of individual animals, etc. Scientists and the public were primarily concerned about the biocenotic and partially stationary-destructive effects on the biosphere. Ingredient and parametric pollution, of course, also existed, especially since there was no talk of installing treatment facilities at enterprises. But it was not as diverse and massive as it is now, it practically did not contain artificially created compounds that were not amenable to natural decomposition, and nature coped with it on its own. So, in rivers with undisturbed biocenosis and normal flow rate, not slowed down by hydraulic structures, under the influence of mixing, oxidation, sedimentation, absorption and decomposition by decomposers, disinfection by solar radiation, etc., polluted water completely restored its properties over a distance of 30 km from pollution sources .

Of course, separate centers of nature degradation were observed earlier in the vicinity of the most polluting industries. However, by the middle of the XX century. the rates of ingredient and parametric pollution have increased and their qualitative composition has changed so dramatically that in large areas the ability of nature to self-purify, i.e., the natural destruction of the pollutant as a result of natural physical, chemical and biological processes, has been lost.

At present, even such full-flowing and long rivers as the Ob, Yenisei, Lena and Amur are not self-purifying. What can we say about the long-suffering Volga, the natural flow rate of which is several times reduced by hydraulic structures, or the Tom River (Western

Siberia), all the water of which industrial enterprises manage to take away for their needs and drain it back contaminated at least 3-4 times before it gets from source to mouth.

The ability of the soil to self-cleanse is undermined by a sharp decrease in the number of decomposers in it, which occurs under the influence of the immoderate use of pesticides and mineral fertilizers, the cultivation of monocultures, the complete harvesting of all parts of grown plants from the fields, etc.

Human and nature

Everything in the world is interconnected, so you can't use one without damaging the other. So, for example, gaseous compounds of the environment have always been present in the atmosphere, but today almost half of its total amount is introduced by industry. In the air of industrial regions, the volume of sulfur emissions of industrial origin is many times greater than the amount of its natural compounds. Sulfur dioxide, formed from the combustion of coal and some types of oil, is the most important environmental pollutant. In moist air, sulfur dioxide combines with water to form sulfuric acid. Acid rain falling on the ground destroys all living things. Falling out with rain or floating in the atmosphere with droplets of fog, sulfuric acid corrodes not only the lungs of people, but also metals, paints, stones, causing damage to sculptures ...

Especially dangerous is the pollution of the atmosphere by carbon monoxide or carbon monoxide. In total, the atmosphere contains 2.3 * 1012 tons of this gas, of which almost half falls on the gas of anthropogenic origin, which forms during the combustion of fuel. Carbon monoxide is dangerous for humans because when it enters the blood during breathing, it combines with hemoglobin 200-300 times faster than with oxygen, which can cause severe poisoning, even death.

Washed out from the fields, nitrogen fertilizers enter the water bodies, causing the rapid development of algae, making it difficult to supply water. Nitrogen, entering the human body, after a series of reactions binds to blood hemoglobin and sharply reduces its ability to carry oxygen.

The most dangerous pollution of the environment is radioactive. Containers of buried radioactive waste are gradually destroyed and radiation is released. Radiation, when it appears in the air, quickly accumulates in organisms, gradually killing a person and distorting his DNA.

It would seem that harmless air pollution is noise pollution. But especially often, an overestimated noise level (starting from 60-70 decibels) causes hearing impairment that occurs in children already at a level of 45 decibels. Noise of 80 decibels reduces mental performance, increases the range of fluctuations in blood pressure, and sharply worsens the perception of what is happening. A long time of noise causes steady shifts in the autonomic nervous system, disorders of the peripheral circulation, and hypertension. Noise above 90 decibels damages the middle ear, and around 120 decibels causes deafness. Therefore, noise is a significant threat to the living.

Pollution such as soot, smoke, soot can penetrate into the lungs of a person and be deposited on the surface of the alveoli. As a result, lung diseases arise or worsen: chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, cancer. All these diseases can have every person who has a car, works at an oil factory, and just a passer-by. Even more dangerous are emissions of lead in exhaust gases. With chronic exposure, they have a depressing effect on red blood cells and the nervous system, causing insomnia and nightmares.

Currently, the problem of pollution of water bodies (rivers, lakes, seas, groundwater, etc.) is the most relevant, because. Everyone knows the expression "water is life". A person cannot live without water for more than three days, but even realizing the importance of the role of water in his life, he still continues to exploit water bodies, irrevocably changing their natural regime with discharges and waste. There is a lot of water on Earth, but 97% is the salt water of the oceans and seas, and only 3% is fresh. Of these, three-quarters are almost inaccessible to living organisms, since this water is "conserved" in the glaciers of the mountains and polar caps (glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic). This is a reserve of fresh water. Of the water available to living organisms, the bulk is contained in their tissues. The need for water in organisms is very high. For example, for the formation of 1 kg of wood biomass, up to 500 kg of water is consumed. And so it must be spent and not polluted. The water cycle in the biosphere before the development of civilization was balanced, the ocean received as much water from the rivers as it consumed during its evaporation. If the climate did not change, then the rivers did not become shallow and the water level in the lakes did not decrease. With the development of civilization, this cycle began to be violated, as a result of irrigation of agricultural crops, evaporation from land increased. The rivers of the southern regions became shallow, the pollution of the oceans and the appearance of an oil film on its surface reduced the amount of water evaporated by the ocean. All this worsens the water supply of the biosphere. Droughts are becoming more frequent, sources of ecological disasters are emerging, for example, a long-term catastrophic drought in the Sahara zone.

In addition, fresh water itself, which returns to the ocean and other bodies of water from land, is often polluted. The water of many rivers became practically unfit for drinking.

A previously inexhaustible resource - fresh clean water - is becoming exhaustible. Today, water suitable for drinking, industrial production and irrigation is in short supply in many parts of the world. Already, thousands of people die every year due to dioxin pollution of water bodies. As a result of living in a dangerously poisoned habitat, cancer and other environmentally dependent diseases of various organs are spread. In half of the newborns who received even a slight additional exposure at a certain stage of the formation of the fetus in the mother's body, mental retardation is found.

Just as we need water, air, food, we need soil, especially the top layer. Plants grow on the ground, water filters through the soil. It is from the soil that man received the materials for our present life. Soil bacteria decompose the garbage we throw away. All homes and businesses are built on soil. Soil is also a necessary component of our life, so we should take care of its conservation.

Since the dawn of land ownership, we have misused this vital resource. Of course, the soil can be restored, but this process will take hundreds of years. For example, it will take from 200 to 1000 years to renew 3 cm of soil, depending on the climate and soil. At present, the abuse of the soil has reached unprecedented proportions.

The first problem, which, by the way, concerns not only the soil, is acidity. The acidity of the soil determines the presence of a particular vegetation, since its value affects the absorption of nutrients by plants. And, as everyone already knows, in our time, the amount of acid rain has increased markedly. Lime is added to neutralize acidity in the soil. However, the addition of lime accelerates the decomposition of organic matter in the soil, so manure and other organic fertilizers are added along with lime to maintain fertility.
etc.................

GEOGRAPHICAL FACULTY

Department of Geographical Ecology

E. I. Galai

USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND NATURE PROTECTION

Course of lectures for students of the specialty

G 31.02.01 Geography»

Minsk 2005

Lecture 1. Introduction

Lecture 2. Theoretical and methodological foundations of nature conservation and rational use of its resources

1. Basic concepts of the course

2. Basic geoecological laws, rules and principles

3. Classification of natural resources

4. Research methods

Lectures 3.4. Use and protection of lithosphere resources

1. Classification of minerals

2. The impact of mining on the natural environment

3. Comprehensive measures for the rational use of minerals and protection of subsoil

Lectures 5.6. Use and protection of atmospheric resources

1. The impact of climate on humans and their economic activities

2. Sources and composition of air pollution

3. Consequences of atmospheric pollution

4. Measures for the protection of atmospheric air

Lectures 7, 8. Use and protection of hydrosphere resources

1. Water reserves on the planet

2. World water consumption

3. Sources of pollution of the hydrosphere and consequences

4. Anthropogenic change in surface runoff

5. Water protection measures

Use and protection of biosphere resources

Lectures 9, 10. Use and protection of land resources

1. Global functions of soils

2. Land fund of the world

3. Anthropogenic impact on soils

4. Land reclamation

Lecture 11. Plant resources, their use and protection

1. Biodiversity of the planet

2. The value of plants in nature and human life

3. Variety of forest vegetation

4. Anthropogenic impact on vegetation

5. Measures for the protection of vegetation

Lecture 12

1. The importance of animals in human life

2. Anthropogenic factors of change in the animal world

3. Measures for the protection of animals

Lecture 13

Lecture 14. Economic aspects of nature conservation

Lecture 15. International cooperation in the field of nature conservation

Lecture 1. INTRODUCTION

Nature conservation is a complex intersectoral discipline that develops general principles and methods for the conservation and restoration of natural resources. Nature protection is an integral part of nature management. Nature management explores the general principles of rational (for a given historical moment) use of natural resources by human society. The development of general principles of nature management involves the study and generalization of the historical experience of mankind's activities in the development, transformation and protection of nature. To do this, it is necessary to study the anthropogenic change in the natural environment in various geographical and social conditions. At the same time, the patterns of interaction between society and nature are clarified.

In the history of the development of mankind, several periods are distinguished, different in time and the strength of the impact of people on nature.

The first period covers the Stone Age, this is the period of the primitive communal system. Small human tribes were widely settled on the earth and their impact on nature was limited to fishing and hunting wild animals. How active then was the influence of man on nature is difficult to judge. It is difficult to name the beginning of this period. It was the longest period of human interaction with nature.

The second period corresponds to the time since the beginning of land use, i.e. from 8th - 7th centuries BC before the establishment of industrial production in the 15th century AD. This is the period of the slave-owning and feudal system, the period of active development of cattle breeding and agriculture. Lands were successfully irrigated in Egypt (lower reaches of the Nile), in Central and Asia Minor, India, China, South and Central America. Surface and underground waters were used for land irrigation. As a result of irrigation, high crop yields were obtained. These areas were distinguished by high population density (on the irrigated lands of Turkmenistan in the II-I centuries AD - 80-90 people per km 2).

Intensive agricultural development of land, the use of wood as fuel and building materials led to a reduction in forest area. Up to 400 oak trees were required to build one sailing ship. In Spain, half a million ancient trees were used for these purposes. Cutting down trees on the slopes of the mountains has activated erosion processes.

The development of navigation contributed to the expansion of marine fishing, primarily whale hunting. This fishery has led to a decrease in the number of marine mammals.

The third period covers the 16th-19th centuries. This is the time of the formation and development of capitalism, which is characterized by a gradual concentration of productive forces, the development of private enterprise, constant wars of conquest. This period is characterized by intensive development of mineral resources, development of relevant industries. The development of the mining and processing industry has led to a redistribution of chemical elements between the bowels of the earth and its surface, to a violation of the geochemical balance of the biosphere. According to Vernadsky V.I. in the 19th century alone, more than 54 thousand tons were extracted from the bowels of the Earth. non-ferrous and noble metals, coal (in the second half of the 19th century - 15 billion tons). To extract the specified amount of useful components, a volume of rock is processed that exceeds the removal of solid material by the rivers of the world from the continents to the oceans.

The expansion of production in the capitalist countries took place against the background of its concentration in industrial regions and population growth. An intensive process of urbanization began. The use of coal as a fuel, the lack of smoke and water treatment facilities led to the rapid pollution of the air basin, rivers, and in some places to the degradation of vegetation, a decrease in soil fertility. Such an impact was experienced by the mining regions of Great Britain, Central Europe (the Ruhr region, Silesia), the South Urals, and the USA.

The fourth period of human interaction is the period of imperialism and social revolutions. Resource consumption covers almost all land and all natural components. The states of the world process three times more rock per year than natural geological processes on earth.

The geochemical impact on nature is determined by three circumstances:

1. The synthesis of many (more than a million) substances that were absent in natural conditions and have qualities that are not characteristic of natural compounds.

2. The construction of a wide network of communications (gas and oil pipelines, roads), which, together with the specialization of production, led to the transportation of raw materials from production areas to processing areas, to the redistribution and dispersion of pollution.

3. Intensification of agricultural production. The consequences of the use of fertilizers, pesticides are revealed after a long time after application.

The development of productive forces required an increase in energy production, which led to environmental pollution. During this period, oil and gas production increased. When oil is extracted from the bowels of the earth and transported, there is a corresponding pollution of the natural environment.

In industrialized areas, geological processes have significantly intensified. The reason for this is a radical transformation of landscapes: the appearance of powerful anthropogenic deposits, a change in the groundwater regime, which caused subsidence of soils. Under these conditions, the processes of suffusion, karst formation, erosion, and landslides are most widespread.

Often people and nature are contrasted. However, man is part of nature. The formation of human society is a natural phenomenon in the process of human evolution.

One of the main principles of the relationship between human society and the natural environment is the principle of ecological self-sufficiency. The essence of the principle is as follows:

The process of material production should constitute a single chain of transformations, where any product (or waste of "production") of the first level is used as a "raw material" at the lower level;

In this process, there should be no end products that are alien to natural cycles, as a result of which they turn into pollution and progressively accumulate;

As a result of the self-development of the anthroposphere, environmental conditions should generally improve.

The operation of the principle of ecological self-sufficiency can be seen on the example of Lake Baikal. Lake Baikal is an inexhaustible source of clean water. In order to preserve the clean water of Lake Baikal, economic activity in its basin should not disturb many equilibria. If the pollution of the rivers flowing into Baikal is completely eliminated, then the result will be the oppression of the fauna, because. biogenic pollution is the source of its nutrition. If water pollution is greatly increased, then the biota will be oppressed by the progressive accumulation of pollutants. It is important not only the amount of these substances in the reservoir, but also the qualitative composition so that they can participate in natural cycles. If pollutants do not participate in natural cycles, then even a small amount of them has a toxic effect on biota.

Each period of interaction between man and nature is characterized by the presence of several environmental crises. An ecological crisis (according to V.I. Danilov-Danilyan) is a state of violation of the stability of the global biosphere, as a result of which there are rapid (during the lifetime of one generation of people) changes in the characteristics of the environment. Sustainability is the ability of nature to withstand environmental disturbances.

The first is the crisis of gathering and primitive craft. It is assumed that human activity has led to the depletion of the resources available to him. There are no traces of global or regional environmental change. During this period, one type of person - the Neanderthal - is replaced by another - the Cro-Magnon. Some people began to engage in hunting and fishing.

The next crisis is considered to be the depletion of hunting resources at the end of the last ice age and the beginning of the Holocene. Large vertebrates begin to disappear. This crisis is called the consumer crisis. According to the existing hypothesis, the cause of the crisis is the overhunting of large herbivorous animals by humans. Along with the disappearance of these animals, predators also disappeared. The crisis did not have a global scale.

The next crisis is soil salinization and degradation of irrigated agriculture 3-4 thousand years ago. This is a consequence of the emergence of agriculture and animal husbandry. The crisis was local in nature and was characteristic of areas with irrigated agriculture.

The fourth crisis is the crisis of "producers". The crisis is associated with the massive destruction of forests to free up areas for agricultural land for the use of wood as fuel and building materials. Traces of deforestation are visible all over the globe. This process began to develop approximately 3-4 thousand years ago at the beginning in the Middle East, in China, India, Greece, in the Middle Ages - throughout Europe. After the Great geographical discoveries, the destruction of forests began on all continents. In the middle of the 19th century, this process acquired a global character.

For the twentieth century a global ecological crisis is characteristic: rapid changes in the environment occurring at the global, regional, local levels and covering all natural components and spheres of the Earth. In general, three centers of environmental destabilization have formed on the continents. In each of them, a single space was formed with almost completely destroyed ecosystems with an area of ​​several million km2. All of them are in the Northern Hemisphere.

North American Center includes mainly the United States, parts of Canada and Mexico. Forests and prairies, mountain ecosystems have been destroyed in this territory. The total area of ​​the territory, on which less than 10% of the area occupied by natural ecosystems has been preserved, exceeds 6 million km 2.

European center includes Western, Central and Eastern Europe (including the republics of the former USSR). Here, forests and steppes have been destroyed or anthropogenically changed, on the territory of which no more than 1-8% of natural ecosystems have been preserved. The total area of ​​this center exceeds 7 million km2.

Asian Center includes the countries of Hindustan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Burma, Indonesia (without the island of Sumatra), China with Taiwan (with the exception of Tibet and the Takla Makan and Gobi deserts), Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. The total area of ​​this center exceeds 7 million km2. Less than 5% of natural ecosystems have been preserved here.

On the rest of the land there are spots of territories with disturbed ecosystems, the size of which ranges from 0.1 to 1 million km 2.

For 8-10 thousand years (from the beginning of agricultural revolutions to the end of the 19th century), man destroyed natural ecosystems on 20% of the land, of which the main part was forest and forest-steppe. During the 20th century, natural ecosystems were destroyed on another 40% of the area of ​​the continents (excluding Antarctica).

There are 94 million km 2 of territories left on the planet with undisturbed ecosystems. If we subtract from this area areas covered with glaciers, exposed rocks and lands, then 52 million hectares remain. The undisturbed territories are characterized by natural vegetation cover and very low population density (less than 10 people per 1 km2).

Human economic activity in the transformation of land has led to two huge changes. Firstly, man began to withdraw for his own benefit from the natural circulation in ecosystems about 40% of net primary production, of which about 7% is used directly. Over the centuries, man has changed the redistribution of energy in ecosystems. Secondly, as a result of the destruction of vegetation, man reduced the production of photosynthetic products by 12%.

The environmental crisis is evidenced, for example, by the following changes in the environment from 1972 to 1990:

1. An increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases from tenths to a few percent annually.

2. Depletion of the ozone layer by 1 - 2% annually. A decrease in the thickness of the ozone layer by 1% leads to an increase in the flux of ultraviolet radiation by 2%, an increase in the incidence of skin cancer in humans by 4%.

3. Growth of soil erosion - 24 billion tons annually, decrease in their fertility, salinization, acidification, accumulation of pollutants. In the 20th century, compared to the 19th century, heavy metal pollution increased 10-15 times.

4. Expansion of the area of ​​deserts (60 thousand km 2 per year), growth of technogenic desertification. Over the historical period, desert areas have increased by more than 9 million km2.

5. Reduction of forest area at a rate of 180 + - 20 thousand km 2 per year (1989).

6. Rise in the level of the World Ocean by 1-2 mm per year.

7. The rapid disappearance of species of living organisms.

8. Increasing incidence of the population. In large cities, the incidence of pollutant nature is from 25 to 50%, etc.

The ecological crisis is characterized by environmental pollution. Pollution is the entry into the environment of any solid, liquid and gaseous substances, microorganisms, energy in quantities harmful to human health, biota, ecosystems. According to the objects of pollution, pollution of surface and ground waters, soils, air, etc. is distinguished. Allocate natural and anthropogenic sources of environmental pollution. Natural sources include dust storms, volcanic ash, etc. Sources of anthropogenic pollution are industry, agriculture, transport, public utilities, etc. According to the types of pollution, chemical, physical and biological are distinguished. Physical pollution includes thermal, noise, radioactive, electromagnetic. Accumulation of heavy metals, pesticides, plastics, individual chemicals and elements leads to chemical pollution. Biological pollution includes biogenic, microbiological and other types.

The current global environmental crisis necessitates nature conservation. The object of study of the course "Use of Natural Resources and Nature Protection" as a complex science is natural resources.

The main tasks of nature protection are the rational use of natural resources, the protection of nature from pollution, and the conservation of biological diversity.

The development of measures for the rational use of natural resources involves the following stages of scientific research:

1) The study of natural resources in the region under study, their qualitative and quantitative accounting, mapping of identified natural resources.

2) Establishment of the natural resource potential (NRP) of the territory, i.e. aggregates of natural resources acting as means of production or commodities within the boundaries of the NTC.

3) Economic evaluation of natural resources in the PTC.

4) Establishment of priority directions in the economic development of natural resources of the territory, development of a scheme for the most rational development of the PRP, i.e. economically efficient and at the same time environmentally safe, excluding the development of negative natural and anthropogenic processes and the degradation of the natural environment.

5) Organization of the protection of individual natural objects and measures for the restoration and expanded reproduction of natural resources.

To solve these problems, specialists of various profiles are required: physical geographers, economic geographers, economists, etc. So, physical-geographic research is necessary at the first, second, partly at the fourth and fifth stages of research, economic-geographic research at the third, partly fourth and fifth stages. A scientifically substantiated solution to the problem of the rational use of the natural resource potential of the territory is possible only on the basis of comprehensive studies of various branches of knowledge.

LECTURE 2. THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL BASES OF NATURE PROTECTION AND RATIONAL USE OF ITS RESOURCES

Basic concepts of the course

The main concepts of the course include: geographic envelope (GO), geographic environment, environment, nature management, nature conservation, natural conditions, natural resources.

The geographic shell is an area of ​​direct contact, comprehensive and deep interaction and conjugated development of the near-surface spheres of the Earth. It is characterized by the presence of organic life. GO consists of the troposphere, hydrosphere, earth's crust and biosphere, and is distinguished by the complexity of its composition. Within its limits, the substance is in three states of aggregation, all natural components closely interact, processes occur under the influence of cosmic and terrestrial energy sources.

The environment is what surrounds the body. The geographical environment is the nature of the Earth, included at this historical stage in the sphere of human activity and constituting a necessary condition for the existence and development of society (N.F. Reimers). According to other scientists, the geographical environment is only the environment of the geographical shell.

The natural environment is a combination of natural and slightly modified abiotic and biotic natural factors that affect a person (this is the environment that surrounds a person, natural, regardless of direct contact with a person). The natural environment can be considered in relation to animals, plants.

The natural environment, considered in relation to a person, is called the environment, i.e. it is the habitat and production activity of mankind.

The environment performs the following functions:

1. Resource-reproducing - the ability of natural systems to reproduce natural resources used by human society. The preservation of this function in relation to renewable resources ensures their inexhaustibility. Violation of this function turns inexhaustible resources into exhaustible.

2. Environment-reproducing - the ability of natural systems to maintain, in a certain range of values, environmental parameters that are essential for humanity or resource reproduction. An environmental problem is associated with the preservation of this function.

3. Conservation - preservation of mechanisms for regulating relationships between natural components, preservation of the structure of natural complexes. This is a necessary condition for environmental reproduction.

4. Medical-geographical, sanitary-hygienic, aesthetic-psychological functions that characterize the suitability, safety, and attractiveness of the environment for human life and activity. These functions have been little studied.

Natural resources are natural objects and phenomena used for direct and indirect consumption, contributing to the creation of material wealth, the reproduction of labor resources, maintaining the conditions for the existence of mankind and improving the quality of life (quality of life is the correspondence of a person’s living environment to his needs) (R.F. Reimers ). Natural resources are used as means of labor (land, irrigation water, waterways), energy sources (hydropower, nuclear fuel, fossil fuels, etc.); raw materials and materials (minerals, forests), as commodities (drinking water, wild plants, mushrooms, etc.), recreation (places of recreation in nature, its health-improving value), genetic fund bank (breeding of new varieties and breeds ) or sources of information about the surrounding world (reserves - standards of nature, bioindicators, etc.)

Natural conditions are the bodies and forces of nature that are essential for the life and economic activity of society, but are not directly involved in the material, industrial and non-productive activities of people (N.F. Reimers). A clear line between the concepts of natural conditions and natural resources cannot be drawn. One and the same natural component acts as natural conditions and at the same time is a natural resource.

Nature management is a set of all forms of exploitation of natural resource potential and measures for its conservation. Environmental management considers the use of natural resources; the totality of the impacts of mankind as a whole on the geographical envelope, nature protection.

The concept of nature management implies the existence of an object and a subject of use. The geographical shell, biosphere, geosystems, landscapes act as an object. They are considered as natural conditions, receptacles or producers of natural resources, receivers and reducers of household waste. The subject of use is mankind, the state, enterprises, individuals.

The concept of "protection" of nature at different times was invested with different meanings. Almost until the middle of the 20th century, it was widely believed that the main purpose of nature conservation was the protection of flora and fauna (mainly through the creation of reserves). Therefore, this branch of knowledge was considered biological. In the second half of the 20th century, the multidimensional nature of the problem of nature protection became apparent.

Nature conservation is a set of international, state, regional and local, administrative, economic, technological and other measures aimed at the conservation, rational use and reproduction of the nature of the Earth and the outer space closest to it (N.F. Reimers).

There are the following forms of environmental protection. The people's guard originated in the primitive communal system and exists in underdeveloped countries. The state form of environmental protection arose during the period of the slave system. Currently, this is the main form of nature conservation in most states. The public form was formed in the 20th century in the era of capitalism as an important addition to the state. International environmental protection arose in the 20th century and aims to preserve natural resources on the territory of several states or regions. This form of protection is implemented by interstate agreements and is under the control of states.

When considering the problem of nature protection, several aspects stand out. The philosophical aspect of nature conservation is to clarify the contradictions between nature and society and the possibilities of overcoming them. The social aspect is manifested in a different approach to the use of natural resources and protection in states with different social systems.

The economic aspect of nature protection consists in the economic assessment of the use of natural resources, the determination of the damage caused by their depletion and environmental pollution, and the identification of the effectiveness of environmental measures. The technological aspect is closely related to the economics of nature management. The technological aspect is the development of environmentally friendly technologies, methods of cleaning the biosphere from pollution, methods of waste disposal.

The medical and hygienic aspect of the problem of nature protection is to determine the impact of various pollutants on the biosphere and the human body, to establish the maximum permissible concentrations of harmful impurities in water, air, and soil.

The natural-science aspect consists in the development of the scientific foundations for the rational use of natural resources and the transformation of nature, as well as the management of the processes of nature management.

The educational aspect of nature conservation lies in the need to educate people in the spirit of caring for nature.

No single science is able to solve all the problems of nature protection. Both branch physical geography (geology, soil science, hydrology, climatology, geobotany) and complex physical geography (landscape science, etc.) are engaged in the study of nature. Ecology, geoecology and other sciences make a great contribution to solving the issues of nature protection.

Basic geoecological laws, rules and principles

Rational use of natural resources is based on laws, rules and principles.

Law of internal dynamic balance- substance, energy, information and dynamic qualities of individual natural systems and their hierarchy are interconnected so much that any change in one of these indicators causes concomitant changes in others (N.F. Reimers). These changes are aimed at returning the system to its original equilibrium state. The indicators of the natural system include matter, energy, information and dynamic qualities. Information is an energetically weak influence perceived by an organism as a coded message about a change in environmental factors or about the influence of other organisms. Dynamic qualities - the ability of natural systems to change and maintain structural and functional characteristics over time (dynamic qualities include reliability, isolation, stability, etc.) As soon as one indicator changes, others also change. The following consequences follow from this law:

1. Any change in the environment leads to the development of natural chain reactions. These reactions are aimed at neutralizing the changes made or the formation of new natural systems.

2. A weak impact or change in one of the indicators can cause strong deviations in others and in the entire system.

3. Changes made in large ecosystems are relatively irreversible.

4. Any local transformation of nature causes responses in the biosphere as a whole and its large subdivisions. The responses of the biosphere are aimed at preserving the ecological and resource potential. To maintain the potential, additional energy investments are needed.

Law of Optimality- with the greatest efficiency, any system functions within certain space-time limits (N.F. Reimers). The size of any system must match its functions. According to the law, any large system breaks down into functional parts (subsystems) with different sizes. A seemingly monotonous ecosystem can occupy vast spaces, but the repetition of elementary components in it is rare (two trees of the same species in a tropical forest side by side as an exception). Huge areas of forest and agricultural crops created by man lead to the monotony of systems and reduce their stability. Cultivation of some agricultural crops in one area depletes the soil, affects the microclimate, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the optimal dimensions of all exploited natural systems.

The law of the development of a natural system at the expense of its environment- this is any natural system that can develop through the use of the material, energy and information capabilities of its environment (N.F. Reimers). The law is important because of its consequences:

1. Absolutely waste-free production is impossible. A person can count on low-waste production, the stages of technology development are as follows: low resource intensity (thrift and low emissions - the first stage); creation of a production cycle (waste of one production - raw materials of another - the second stage); organization of reasonable disposal of waste.

2. Any highly organized system, using and modifying the environment of life, poses a potential threat to lower organized systems. Human impact on the natural environment requires environmental protection measures.

3. The Earth's biosphere is developing not only at the expense of the planet's resources, but also at the expense of space systems (solar energy). Therefore, when predicting changes in the natural environment, it is necessary to take into account space impacts.

Law of evolutionary-ecological irreversibility- an ecosystem that has lost some of its elements or has been replaced by another cannot return to its original existence if evolutionary changes have occurred in ecological elements (N.F. Reimers). Since it is impossible to return the ecosystem to its previous state, it must be considered as a new natural formation.

Law of ecological correlation- in an ecosystem, all types of living things and abiotic ecological components functionally correspond to each other (N.F. Reimers). The loss of one part of the system leads to the exclusion of other parts associated with it and the functional change of the whole. For example, the accumulation of pollutants in the atmosphere up to a certain level does not affect the state of living organisms; exceeding this level can lead to their death.

Integral resource rule − different sectors of the economy using one natural resource inevitably cause damage to each other, the more they change this resource or the ecosystem as a whole (N.F. Reimers). In the water sector, hydropower, transport, public utilities, irrigated agriculture, and the fishing industry are interconnected in such a way that the fishing industry suffers to a greater extent. The more fully hydropower uses water, the more difficult it is for other sectors of the water economy.

The rule for the measure of transformation of natural systems is during the operation of natural systems, it is impossible to cross certain limits that allow the system to retain the property of self-maintenance (self-organization and self-regulation) (N.F. Reimers). A number of main conclusions follow from the rule:

1. A unit of a renewable resource is created in a certain period of time.

2. It is impossible to step over all the phases of the consistent development of a natural system.

3. Transformative activity should not bring the natural system out of balance.

4. The transformation of nature gives a local or regional gain due to the deterioration of indicators in adjacent areas or in the biosphere as a whole.

The one percent rule a change in the energy of the natural system within 1% brings the natural system out of equilibrium. All large-scale phenomena (powerful cyclones, volcanic eruptions, etc.), as a rule, have a total energy that does not exceed one percent of the energy of solar radiation. A change in the energy of a natural system within 1% leads to sharp climatic deviations, changes in vegetation, large forest and steppe fires, etc. However, much depends on the state of the natural system itself. This makes the one percent rule plausible.

Development Acceleration Rule - the faster the human environment and the conditions of managing the economy change under the influence of anthropogenic causes, the sooner changes in the economic and technical development of society occur. For example, the duration of each subsequent socio-economic formation is shorter than the previous one, but this acceleration covers not only society, but also the biosphere as a whole.

The principle of integrated use of natural resources and concentration of production is to create territorial production complexes (TPC) on the basis of the natural resources available in the area. The objective basis for the creation of the TPK is the territorial combination of production and technological processes and stages that develop in accordance with the natural and environmental conditions of the TPK and its transport and economic situation. So, in East Kazakhstan and the North Caucasus, lead and zinc are produced according to the same technological scheme. The main process is represented by the extraction, enrichment and metallurgical processing of raw materials, supplemented by the production of sulfuric acid and other products through the integrated use of polymetallic ores and industrial waste disposal. Ferrous metallurgy of the full cycle is represented by coal coking, production of ammonia, benzene, cement, etc. With the joint location of production, significant savings in land for industrial development are achieved, it is possible to reduce land acquisition by about 25-40% compared to the option of dispersed location of production.

Classification of natural resources

At different stages of the development of society, a person used different types of resources. In a primitive communal society, the needs of man and his ability to develop natural resources were modest and were limited to hunting wild animals, fishing, and gathering. Then agriculture and cattle breeding appeared, the soil cover and vegetation were included in the composition of natural resources - a fodder base for livestock. Wood was mined in the forests for the production of dwellings and for firewood, and the development of minerals (coal, ores, building materials) gradually began. Man has learned to master the energy of wind and water. With the development of production, the volume of developed natural resources expanded, and new territories were involved in the economic turnover. Intensive development of natural resources began to increase significantly in the era of the emergence and development of capitalism. The volume of extracted natural raw materials increased, new types of minerals were mined. Natural resources are subjected to a deeper and more complex processing. In the twentieth century, resource consumption covers almost the entire land and all natural components.

Bodies and objects of nature act as a certain resource in the event that they are needed. But needs appear and expand with the development of technical capabilities for the development of natural resources. For example, oil was known as a combustible substance as early as 600 BC, but as a fuel on an industrial scale it began to be developed only from the 60s of the 19th century. Since then, oil has become a really accessible natural resource. However, until the second half of the twentieth century. oil deposited in the shelf zone of the World Ocean was not considered as a resource, since the state of technology did not allow to extract it. Only in the 1940s, for the first time in water areas, oil began to be developed on an industrial scale, and oil deposits in the shallow zones of the seas and oceans acquired a resource value.

According to the provision of society in a specific period of development, natural resources are divided into real and potential. Real resources- these are resources that are explored at this stage of the development of society, their reserves are quantified and actively used by society.

With the development of production, science, real resources are changing. For example, energy resources were significantly replaced in the process of improving one or another branch of human activity. At the first stage of the emergence of industrial enterprises (manufactory), whale oil was widely used as fuel. Active mining of whales led to a reduction in their numbers, which began to slow down the development of manufactory. There was a need to replace energy raw materials. Wood became fuel, which led to a sharp reduction in forest vegetation. Deforestation made this resource uneconomical, then coal was discovered, then gas, oil. The growth rate of industry, the emergence of new energy-intensive industries stimulates the search for other energy resources (the use of solar energy, wind energy, etc.).

To potential resources include those that are explored at a given stage in the development of society, often quantified, but not currently used. For example, in the Stone Age, metal was not a potential natural resource because a person did not know the technology for obtaining it, and in the Bronze Age such a resource was iron ore, etc.

Potential land resources are represented on the planet by desert, mountainous, marshy, saline territories, permafrost zone. Currently, people cannot use these lands for agriculture due to the fact that large capital investments are needed for drainage in wetlands, for flushing and laying drains in saline areas, or water cannot be provided (in deserts) or technology has not been developed land development in the permafrost zone.

Potential natural resources are the energy of the Sun, sea tides and tides, wind.

N.F. Reimers classifies natural resources according to the following criteria: 1. according to sources and location (energy, atmospheric gas, water, lithosphere resources, producer plant resources, consumer resources, decomposer resources, climatic resources, recreational-anthropoecological - these are natural conditions for people's lives and recreation resources in nature; cognitive-informational; resources of space (territorial, water and air spaces) and time; 2 by the rate of exhaustion: exhaustible and inexhaustible; 3. by the possibility of self-healing and cultivation: renewable and non-renewable; 4. by the rate of economic replenishment (due to search for new sources and new extraction technologies): renewable and irreplaceable, 5. if possible, replacing some resources with others (for example, metal is replaced by plastic or ceramics) and irreplaceable (atmospheric oxygen for breathing).

Natural resources vary in origin. Natural resources (objects or phenomena of nature) arise in natural environments (in the hydrosphere, atmosphere, etc.) and form certain combinations in space. On this basis, they are divided into two groups: resources of natural components and resources of natural-territorial complexes.

Each type of natural resource is formed in one of the components of the landscape shell. By belonging to the components, resources are distinguished: mineral, climatic, water, land, soil, flora, fauna. This classification is widely used in domestic and foreign literature. This classification focuses on the regularities of the spatial and temporal formation of certain types of resources, their quantitative and qualitative characteristics, the features of their regime, and the volumes of natural replenishment of reserves.

In addition to the resources of natural components, there are resources of natural-territorial complexes. Each NTC has a certain set of diverse types of natural resources. Depending on the properties of the landscape, the combination of types of resources, their quantitative and qualitative characteristics change significantly. Often there are such conditions when one or several resources determine the direction of development of the whole region. On this basis, natural resource territorial complexes are distinguished according to the most preferred type of economic development. They are divided into: mining, agricultural, water management, forestry, residential, recreational, etc.

The use of only one classification of types of resources by origin is not enough, because does not reflect the economic value of the resources. To reflect the role of natural resources in the system of social production, their economic significance, resources are classified according to the types of economic use of resources. The main criterion for the division of resources in this classification is their assignment to different sectors of material production. On this basis, natural resources are divided into industrial and agricultural production resources.

Industrial production resources include all types of natural raw materials used by industry. Due to the presence of various industries, natural resources are differentiated into energy and non-energy. Energy resources include various types of resources currently used for energy production:

1) combustible minerals: oil, coal, gas, uranium, oil shale, etc.;

2) hydropower resources: energy of river waters, energy of ebbs and flows;

3) sources of bioconversion energy: use of fuel wood, production of biogas from agricultural waste;

4) nuclear raw materials used to produce atomic energy;

Non-energy resources are natural resources that supply raw materials for various industries or are involved in production due to technological necessity. These resources include:

1) minerals that do not belong to the group of caustobioliths;

2) water used for industrial water supply;

3) lands occupied by industrial facilities and infrastructure facilities;

4) forest resources supplying raw materials for wood chemistry and the construction industry;

5) fish resources are referred to this subgroup of resources conditionally, because At present, the extraction of fish and the processing of the catch have acquired an industrial character.

Agricultural production resources combine all types of resources involved in the creation of agricultural products. These resources include the following: 1) agro-climatic - heat and moisture resources necessary for the growth of cultivated plants or grazing; 2) soil and land - land and its top layer - soil - are considered as a natural resource and as a means of production in crop production; 3) plant food resources - resources of biocenoses that serve as a food base for grazing livestock; 4) water resources - water used in crop production for irrigation, and in animal husbandry for watering and keeping livestock.

Quite often, natural resources are allocated to the non-productive sphere or direct consumption. These are, first of all, resources withdrawn from the natural environment (hunting animals, wild medicinal plants), as well as recreational resources, resources of protected areas, etc.

Natural resources are classified by exhaustibility into two groups: exhaustible and inexhaustible. Exhaustible Resources formed in the earth's crust or landscape over a long geological time. At the same time, the demand for such resources on the part of production significantly exceeds the volume and rate of natural replenishment, as a result of which their reserves are depleted.

Exhaustible resources on the basis of the intensity and speed of natural formation are divided into non-renewable, relatively renewable, renewable.

Non-renewable are those natural resources that are not restored or are restored more slowly compared to use in certain periods. Non-renewable resources include almost all types of mineral resources, land resources. Mineral non-renewable resources are oil, coal and other minerals. The age of hard coals is more than 350 million years; Minerals are formed over geological time, and are consumed in historical time. Land resources are non-renewable. Land resources are the material basis on which the life of human society takes place. Once disturbed lands (for example, by quarries) in their natural form are no longer restored.

Renewable natural resources are resources that, under certain natural conditions, can be constantly restored as they are used. These include flora and fauna, some mineral resources (salt accumulating in lakes, peat deposits), and partly soils. For their restoration it is necessary to create certain conditions. Recovery of renewable resources occurs at different rates. It takes 300-600 years for the formation of 1 cm of the humus layer of the soil, dozens of years for the restoration of a cut down forest, and years for the population of predatory animals.

Many natural resources recover very slowly. Such resources are classified as relatively renewable. Their recovery takes a little longer than the duration of a human life. Relatively renewable resources include:

1. productive arable soils;

2. forests with mature stands;

3. water resources in the regional aspect.

There are relatively few productive arable soils (according to various estimates, their area does not exceed 1.5 - 2.5 million hectares). They form very slowly, for example, it takes more than 100 years to form a 1 mm layer of chernozem soils. Due to erosion, several centimeters of the arable layer can be destroyed in a year. Due to the intensive anthropogenic destruction of soils in recent decades, it is reasonable to classify soil resources as relatively renewable.

Forests with stands of mature age (to the greatest extent meeting the requirements of the timber industry) are intensively cut down. For the complete restoration of coniferous forests, 80-100 years are needed, for deciduous forests - 100-120 years.

Relatively renewable resources include water resources on a regional scale. Some regions are experiencing a lack of water suitable for drinking and household needs. Arid and subarid regions are particularly affected by water shortages, where irrational water consumption is accompanied by a rapid depletion of water reserves.

Inexhaustible resources These are resources that are practically inexhaustible. These include space and climatic, as well as water resources of the Earth. Space resources are solar radiation, tidal energy, etc. Climatic resources are the reserves of heat and moisture that a certain area has. The water resources of the Earth have colossal volumes - 1.5 billion km.

Research methods

Modern methods of environmental research include a systematic approach, modeling, forecasting, monitoring, GIS.

Systems approach involves the allocation of blocks, elements, backbone links. Any system consists of elements connected with each other by certain relationships. The natural-territorial complex is a system consisting of interconnected natural components, the links between which can be direct and reverse. Considering, for example, the state of the atmosphere from the point of view of a systematic approach, we note that the atmosphere consists of gases, solid and liquid particles. We single out the sources of gases and aerosols: natural and anthropogenic. We consider them in detail, identify the impact of these sources on the state of the atmosphere, the consequences of changes in the composition of atmospheric air on the environment: natural components and human health.

Modeling- this is the creation of models, to one degree or another similar to the original. Modeling is of great importance, which is associated with three properties of models:

1) the model changes the size of natural systems to a convenient size using a scale;

2) modeling makes it possible to study the dynamics of natural processes characterized by low or high flow rates;

3) modeling makes it possible to simplify complex geographic systems, highlight a limited number of elements and their relationships.

Modeling consists of several stages. The first stage of modeling is a qualitative analysis. On its basis, tasks are formed and the type of model is selected. The model must meet two requirements: reflect those features of the original that act as the subject of knowledge and must be adequate to the original. The second stage of modeling is the mathematical implementation of the logical structure of the model. Dependences in the model are derived using mathematical methods. The third stage of modeling involves checking the conformity of the model to the original. To do this, an empirical test is carried out - a comparison of the obtained data with the results of observations of the original. The fourth stage of modeling is the study of the model, experimentation with the model. The main goal of the stage is to identify new patterns and study the possibilities of optimizing the structure and controlling the behavior of the simulated system, as well as the suitability of the model for forecasting.

Forecasting (environmental) is a prediction of the possible behavior of natural systems, determined by natural processes and the impact of mankind on them. The main purpose of the forecast is to assess the expected reaction of the environment to human impact, to solve the problems of the future rational use of natural resources in connection with the expected states of the environment.

Forecasts are classified by time, by the scale of the predicted phenomena and by content. The following types of forecasts are distinguished by time: ultra-short-term (up to one year), short-term (up to 3-5 years), medium-term (up to 10-15 years), long-term (up to several tens of years), ultra-long-term (for millennia and more).

According to the scale of predicted phenomena, forecasts are divided into four groups: global, regional, national (state), local.

When forecasting, three types of changes must be taken into account simultaneously:

1. purposeful changes in the natural environment, which are consciously produced by man;

2. non-targeted changes that occur due to relationships in nature;

3. natural background changes that occur without human intervention.

The main principles of landscape-ecological forecasting are:

1. complexity of the forecast, i.e. the need to anticipate changes in natural components or complexes;

2. dynamic approach to the predicted object;

3. spatio-temporal unity of the forecast, reflecting the simultaneity of system changes in time and space;

4. qualitative and quantitative nature of the forecast.

The concept of "monitoring" in translation from the Latin monitor means "the one who reminds, warns." Monitoring is a system of observations, assessment and forecast of the state of the environment under the influence of anthropogenic impacts. The purpose of monitoring: to identify changes in the state of the environment under the influence of anthropogenic impact.

There are many types of monitoring, both by the nature of environmental pollution, and by the methods and objectives of observation. In accordance with the three types of pollution, global, regional, and impact pollution are distinguished.

Global monitoring provides for tracking global processes and phenomena in the biosphere and forecasting their possible changes.

Regional monitoring covers individual regions, within which processes and phenomena differ in natural character or anthropogenic impacts from the general baseline background.

Impact monitoring provides for the implementation of observations in especially dangerous zones and places, usually directly adjacent to sources of pollutants. The so-called basic (or background) monitoring. The task of this monitoring is to monitor the state of natural systems and natural processes in the absence of regional anthropogenic influences. For basic monitoring, territories remote from industrial regions are used, incl. biosphere reserves.

According to the methods of conducting, the following types of monitoring are distinguished:

Biological (using bioindication);

Remote (aviation and space);

Analytical (chemical and physico-chemical analysis).

The objects of observation are:

1. Monitoring of individual components (soil, water, air);

2. Biological monitoring (flora and fauna).

When monitoring, the state of air, water, soil cover, flora and fauna, climate changes are characterized qualitatively and quantitatively.

When organizing monitoring, tasks of different levels are solved. I.P. Gerasimov proposed to distinguish three stages of monitoring:

At the first stage, the main attention is paid to monitoring the state of the environment in terms of its impact on the health of the population. At this stage, indicators such as morbidity, mortality, fertility, life expectancy, etc. are used. This stage can be based on a system of observation posts and the work of sanitary and hygienic services.

At the second stage, the main objects of observation are natural, natural-technical geosystems. For this stage, indicators of bioproductivity, the ability of geosystems to self-purify, and the values ​​of maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants are essential. Observations should be carried out on the basis of hospitals, key sites.

The task of the third stage is to observe, evaluate and forecast global environmental parameters, namely, pollution of the atmosphere and the World Ocean, the global moisture balance, and changes in the bioproductivity of land and ocean. The purpose of this stage of monitoring is to assess the consequences of these changes for the health and activities of people. The system of biosphere polygons should form the basis of the global monitoring network.

The general structure of the ground measurement network hardware in the integrated monitoring system includes:

for the lower level of the monitoring network:

1. fixed posts by air and water;

2. mobile and stationary laboratories for the state of the atmosphere, water, soil, snow;

3. mobile stations for monitoring emissions and discharges;

4. inspection services;

5. services for obtaining data from the population.

for the middle layer of the network:

centers for collecting and processing information received in low-level networks (which differ from each other in the specifics and complexity of the tasks being solved)

for the highest level of the network:

users of information received in the centers of its collection and processing. The direct users of the data are environmental inspectors.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are computer systems designed to collect, store, process and distribute spatially coordinated information. GIS consists of several subsystems: information input, information processing, information output.

The information input subsystem includes devices for converting spatial information into digital form and entering it into databases. Such devices are digitizers and scanners. With the help of a digitizer, contours are traced on the original map, lines and other designations are traced, and the current coordinates of these contours and lines are entered into the computer's memory in digital form. Scanners automatically read information across the entire map. All digital information is entered into databases. Databases are a collection of data on a topic in digital form in compliance with certain rules for storage and issuance.

The information processing subsystem consists of the computer itself, the control system and software. Various programs allow you to analyze the territory, simulate phenomena and processes, compare and evaluate options for solving tasks, etc.

Information output subsystem is a complex of devices for visualization of processed information. These are screens, printers and other devices that display simulation results and solutions in the form specified by the user.

The structure of specialized cartographic GIS includes a map publishing subsystem that allows you to make and print maps; GIS oriented to work with aerospace information may include a specialized image processing subsystem.

GISs use two principles for organizing spatial information: layered and objective-orienting. The essence of the layered principle is that information about a certain territory is organized in the form of a series of thematic layers that meet specific needs. Each layer can contain information related to only one or a few topics. For example, for the purposes of studying natural resources, such topics can be data on the geology of bedrocks and Quaternary deposits, on soils, types of land use, elevation, terrain slopes, etc.

In the objective-oriented approach, the grouping of objects occurs in accordance with the logical relationships between them, with the construction of a hierarchy. One of the important properties of GIS is to obtain new information on the basis of existing information.

GIS is used to solve a wide range of tasks, the main of which are the following:

Search and rational use of natural resources;

Monitoring of environmental situations and natural hazards, assessment of environmental impacts and their consequences, ensuring the environmental safety of the country and regions;

Control of living conditions of the population, health care, etc.;

Creation of thematic maps and atlases, operational mapping, etc.

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