Environmental issues in Russia
Encyclopedia
There are numerous environmental issues in Russia
. Many of the issues have been attributed to policies during the Soviet Union
, a time when officials felt that pollution control was an unnecessary hindrance to economic development and industrialization
. As a result, 40% of Russia's territory began demonstrating symptoms of significant ecological stress by the 1990s, largely due to a diverse number of environmental issues, including deforestation
, energy
irresponsibility, pollution
, and nuclear waste.
s, such as zapovedniks and natural parks, which are made to preserve the natural state of environments. There are currently 101 zepovedniks that cover a total of over 33.5 million hectares. However, some animals, such as the Amur tiger, polar bear
and Caucasian leopard
, are facing extinction
. The Russian government is attempting to revive those populations. A tiger summit was held in St. Petersburg in 2010 to discuss how to save the dwindling tiger population, which is threatened by deforestation and poaching
.
is causing the widespread deforestation
of certain areas of Russia. Despite efforts of Russian authorities to preserve forests using nature reserve
s and parks, funding for park ranger
s is lacking, limiting the protection of forests. Illegal logging
is also widespread, especially in the north-west and in the Far East parts of Russia. It is estimated that Russia loses $1 billion every year due to illegal logging. According to the Center for Russian Environmental Policy, 16 million hectares of forest are lost each year to a variety of causes, including logging, pollution and fires. Inefficient logging and clearcutting
strategies result in 40% of harvested trees never being used, and the implementation of forest protection policies has been slow.
and the use of fossil fuel
s is another environmental issue that Russia faces. The Ministry of Fuels and Energy stated that upgrading energy sector equipment could cut carbon emissions
by 25%, and the Energy Research Institute predicts that such measures could save up to $1 billion of fuel every year. 68% of Russia's energy
is produced by polluting fossil fuels, and it is a large producer of those fuels.
is a serious problem in Russia, and 75% of surface water
and 50% of all water in Russia is now polluted. This has caused health issues in many cities as well as in the countryside, as only 8% of wastewater
is fully treated prior to being returned to waterways. Obsolete and inefficient water treatment facilities
, as well as a lack of funding, have caused heavy pollution, and has also resulted in waterborne disease spread, such as an outbreak of cholera
spread by the Moskva River
in 1995. Industrial and chemical waste is often dumped into waterways, including hydrogen sulfide
, which has been linked to the large-scale death of fish in the Black and Caspian seas. Lake Baikal
was previously a target of environmental pollution from paper plants, but cleanup efforts since then have greatly reduced the ecological strain on the lake.
in the world, although its quality has been improving since the 1990s. 43.8 million tons of pollutants
were released into open air in 1993, of which 24.8 million came from industry and 19 million came from vehicles. Moscow
, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg
and Volgograd
, as well as other major industrial and population centers, are the highest concentrations of air pollution. Overall, over 200 cities in Russia exceed pollution limits, and this is increasing as more vehicles appear on the roads. Before the 1990s, most air pollution came from industries. When industrial production declined, emissions of air pollutants from those sources also declined, although the amount of motor vehicles on the roads skyrocketed. Currently, vehicle emissions exceed industry emissions in most Russian cities. Air pollution is attributed to 17% of childhood and 10% of adult diseases, as well as 41% of respiratory
and 16% of endocrine disease
s.
, are past their lifespan and have a higher probability of nuclear accidents
. Instead of being decommissioned
, they are still being used, although some additional safety measures are being taken to prevent accidents. The disposal of nuclear waste is also an issue, due to a lack of funding. Unsafe dumping methods are sometimes used to get rid of nuclear waste
, which was dumped into the Sea of Japan
until 1993. The Commission of Ecological Security, founded in 1994, helped bring the dumping of nuclear waste into ocean to the public's attention. It is estimated that bringing nuclear safety levels to official standards would cost $26 billion.
The testing and production of nuclear weapon
s also had an effect on the environment, such as at the Mayak
nuclear weapons production plant near Chelyabinsk
.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Many of the issues have been attributed to policies during the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, a time when officials felt that pollution control was an unnecessary hindrance to economic development and industrialization
Industrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
. As a result, 40% of Russia's territory began demonstrating symptoms of significant ecological stress by the 1990s, largely due to a diverse number of environmental issues, including deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
, energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
irresponsibility, pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, and nuclear waste.
Issues
Conservation
Russia has many protected areaProtected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
s, such as zapovedniks and natural parks, which are made to preserve the natural state of environments. There are currently 101 zepovedniks that cover a total of over 33.5 million hectares. However, some animals, such as the Amur tiger, polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
and Caucasian leopard
Persian Leopard
The Persian leopard , also called Caucasian leopard, is the largest leopard subspecies, and is native to eastern Turkey, the Caucasus mountains, northern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, and parts of western Afghanistan...
, are facing extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
. The Russian government is attempting to revive those populations. A tiger summit was held in St. Petersburg in 2010 to discuss how to save the dwindling tiger population, which is threatened by deforestation and poaching
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
.
Deforestation
Extensive loggingLogging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
is causing the widespread deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
of certain areas of Russia. Despite efforts of Russian authorities to preserve forests using nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
s and parks, funding for park ranger
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
s is lacking, limiting the protection of forests. Illegal logging
Illegal logging
Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the...
is also widespread, especially in the north-west and in the Far East parts of Russia. It is estimated that Russia loses $1 billion every year due to illegal logging. According to the Center for Russian Environmental Policy, 16 million hectares of forest are lost each year to a variety of causes, including logging, pollution and fires. Inefficient logging and clearcutting
Clearcutting
Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Clearcutting, along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that...
strategies result in 40% of harvested trees never being used, and the implementation of forest protection policies has been slow.
Energy
Inefficient energy usageEfficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
and the use of fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
s is another environmental issue that Russia faces. The Ministry of Fuels and Energy stated that upgrading energy sector equipment could cut carbon emissions
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
by 25%, and the Energy Research Institute predicts that such measures could save up to $1 billion of fuel every year. 68% of Russia's energy
Energy policy of Russia
The Energy policy of Russia is contained in an Energy Strategy document, which sets out policy for the period up to 2020. In 2000 the Russian government approved the main provisions of the Russian energy strategy to 2020, and in 2003 the new Russian energy strategy was confirmed by the government...
is produced by polluting fossil fuels, and it is a large producer of those fuels.
Pollution
Water pollution
Water pollutionWater pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
is a serious problem in Russia, and 75% of surface water
Surface water
Surface water is water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, wetland, or ocean; it is related to water collecting as groundwater or atmospheric water....
and 50% of all water in Russia is now polluted. This has caused health issues in many cities as well as in the countryside, as only 8% of wastewater
Wastewater
Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations...
is fully treated prior to being returned to waterways. Obsolete and inefficient water treatment facilities
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
, as well as a lack of funding, have caused heavy pollution, and has also resulted in waterborne disease spread, such as an outbreak of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
spread by the Moskva River
Moskva River
The Moskva River is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.-Etymology:...
in 1995. Industrial and chemical waste is often dumped into waterways, including hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...
, which has been linked to the large-scale death of fish in the Black and Caspian seas. Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
was previously a target of environmental pollution from paper plants, but cleanup efforts since then have greatly reduced the ecological strain on the lake.
Air pollution
Russia's air is among the most pollutedAir pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
in the world, although its quality has been improving since the 1990s. 43.8 million tons of pollutants
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
were released into open air in 1993, of which 24.8 million came from industry and 19 million came from vehicles. Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
and Volgograd
Volgograd
Volgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River...
, as well as other major industrial and population centers, are the highest concentrations of air pollution. Overall, over 200 cities in Russia exceed pollution limits, and this is increasing as more vehicles appear on the roads. Before the 1990s, most air pollution came from industries. When industrial production declined, emissions of air pollutants from those sources also declined, although the amount of motor vehicles on the roads skyrocketed. Currently, vehicle emissions exceed industry emissions in most Russian cities. Air pollution is attributed to 17% of childhood and 10% of adult diseases, as well as 41% of respiratory
Respiratory disease
Respiratory disease is a medical term that encompasses pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange possible in higher organisms, and includes conditions of the upper respiratory tract, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleura and pleural cavity, and the...
and 16% of endocrine disease
Endocrine disease
Endocrine diseases are disorders of the endocrine system. The branch of medicine associated with endocrine disorders is known as endocrinology.-Types of endocrine disease:Broadly speaking, endocrine disorders may be subdivided into three groups:...
s.
Nuclear
Nuclear energy is widely used in Russia, and there are currently 31 operating nuclear reactors. However, several of these, such as the one at the Kola NPPKola Nuclear Power Plant
The Kola Nuclear Power Plant also known as Kolsk NPP or Kolskaya NPP, is a nuclear power plant in northern Russia.- History :The Phase 1 at the Kola NPP went online in 1973 and 1974, respectively, and are part of Russia’s first generation of PWR reactors . The Phase 2 The Kola Nuclear Power Plant...
, are past their lifespan and have a higher probability of nuclear accidents
Nuclear and radiation accidents
A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility...
. Instead of being decommissioned
Nuclear decommissioning
Nuclear decommissioning is the dismantling of a nuclear power plant and decontamination of the site to a state no longer requiring protection from radiation for the general public...
, they are still being used, although some additional safety measures are being taken to prevent accidents. The disposal of nuclear waste is also an issue, due to a lack of funding. Unsafe dumping methods are sometimes used to get rid of nuclear waste
Radioactive waste
Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
, which was dumped into the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
until 1993. The Commission of Ecological Security, founded in 1994, helped bring the dumping of nuclear waste into ocean to the public's attention. It is estimated that bringing nuclear safety levels to official standards would cost $26 billion.
The testing and production of nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s also had an effect on the environment, such as at the Mayak
Mayak
Mayak Production Association refers to an industrial complex that is one of the biggest nuclear facilities in the Russian Federation. It housed plutonium production reactors and a reprocessing plant...
nuclear weapons production plant near Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...
.
See also
- Energy policy of RussiaEnergy policy of RussiaThe Energy policy of Russia is contained in an Energy Strategy document, which sets out policy for the period up to 2020. In 2000 the Russian government approved the main provisions of the Russian energy strategy to 2020, and in 2003 the new Russian energy strategy was confirmed by the government...
- Renewable energy in RussiaRenewable energy in RussiaRenewable energy in Russia mainly consists of hydroelectric energy. The country is the fifth largest producer of renewable energy in the world, although it is 56th when hydroelectric energy is not taken into account. Some 179 TWh of Russia's energy production comes from renewable energy...
- Environment of RussiaEnvironment of Russia-Treaties and international agreements:Russia is a signatory to a number of treaties and international agreements:Party to:Signed, but not ratified:-Environmental issues:...
- Climate change in RussiaClimate change in RussiaClimate change in Russia describes the global warming related issues in Russia. This includes the climate politics, contribution in the global warming and the influence of the global warming in Russia. In 2009 Russia was ready to decline emissions 20-25 % from 1990 level to 2020.-Kyoto...