Abstract
Issues related to protection of the Arctic environment are becoming increasingly urgent, as arctic ecosystems are vulnerable to increasing anthropogenic pressures. The problem of protecting Northern nature from the effects of persistent organic pollutants, which are dangerous for both biota and human health, is particularly acute. This case study analyses the existing normative acts regulating monitoring activities in the Russian Arctic. The paper emphasizes gaps in legal regulation, which are particularly prominent with regard to monitoring the quality of traditional food consumed by indigenous peoples. The author introduces proposals to change the current legislation to improve the efficiency of the state monitoring system in the Russian Arctic. Such changes will also help to harmonize monitoring activities in Russia with other Arctic States and to fill in the gaps in the Global Monitoring Reports and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) reports on persistent organic pollutants in traditional indigenous food.
Highlights
IntroductionHaving ratified the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants in 2011 (Law No 164-FZ 2011), the Russian Federation recognized that these pollutants possess toxic properties, resist degradation, bioaccumulate and are transported (through air, water and migratory species) across international boundaries and deposited far from their place of release, where they accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
Having ratified the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants in 2011 (Law No 164-FZ 2011), the Russian Federation recognized that these pollutants possess toxic properties, resist degradation, bioaccumulate and are transported across international boundaries and deposited far from their place of release, where they accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.It is no secret that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) enter nature through different pathways and subsequently enter the human body, where they can accumulate for years, leading to irreversible health consequences for both individuals and the population as a whole (Dudarev 2012)
Due to the fact that POPs are found both in natural objects and in the human body, the data must be accumulated from two completely different monitoring subsystems: the environmental monitoring subsystem, headed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology and the subsystem of social and hygienic monitoring, headed by the Ministry of Health
Summary
Having ratified the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants in 2011 (Law No 164-FZ 2011), the Russian Federation recognized that these pollutants possess toxic properties, resist degradation, bioaccumulate and are transported (through air, water and migratory species) across international boundaries and deposited far from their place of release, where they accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. As the planet undergoes the process of climate change, the rise in temperature of the worlds oceans is simultaneously causing the melting of glaciers, exposing this area to previously unknown chemical and infectious agents (90 People 2016) It is air, land and water bodies (Kosyakov et al 2017) that are subject to such pollution, animals (Savinov et al 2011), fish (AMAP 2018), birds (Lucia et al 2015) and even humans are adversely affected (AMAP 2015; Dudarev 2012). The indigenous peoples, among others, living in the Northern regions are at greatest risk, as their whole lifestyle, food culture and way of life are built on close cooperation with the wild nature of the Arctic In this regard, the problem of a timely response to emerging threats to the life and health of the population living in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is of particular importance. It is needed to identify possible ways to solve these problems
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