Nature Protection Activities Research Articles

Research of the opportunity to use sludge wastes of ferrovanadium production as pigments for silicate paints

The article considers the urgent problem of formation, storage and recycling of sludge materials of various compositions, generated as a result of industrial enterprises wastewater treatment and sanitation. It is pointed out that in spite of a lot of designs concerning the wastewater neutralization sludges recycling, the share of their efficient usage is still negligible. So, one of the most relevant trends of nature protection activity and the rational use of natural resources is developing a technology of these wastes reclamation and applying them for useful products manufacturing. The research of chemical, mineral and grain composition of ferrovanadium production sludge wastes, generated at waste waters neutralization at the «EVRAZ Vanadii Tula», Tula, Russia, has been carried out. A method of obtaining pigments for silicate paints on the basis of these sludges has been considered. The influence of the sludges' thermal treatment conditions on their mineral composition and the properties of paints based on them has been evaluated. The pigments content varies from 1 to 3 %. It has been demonstrated that the most promising is the usage of initial sludges and heat-treated at temperature 1000°С sludges as pigments for high-performance silicate paints.

РОЛЬ ЕКОЛОГІЧНИХ ПРАКТИК У ФОРМУВАННІ ЕКОЛОГІЧНОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ ФАХІВЦЯ З ВИЩОЮ ОСВІТОЮ

На засадах компетентнісного підходу та основ теорії соціальної практики обґрунтовано можливість використання поняття екологічна практика для вирішення актуальної проблеми формування у процесі навчання діяльнісної (поведінкової) складової компетентності майбутнього фахівця, а також її діагностики як результату навчання. У контексті концепції сталого розвитку запропоновано теоретичну інтерпретацію поняття екологічна практика, підходи до структурного аналізу екологічних практик, що застосовують у різних сферах життєдіяльності людини. Наведено результати соціологічного аналізу конкретних виявів екологічної активності студентів. Згідно з концепцією дослідження, зміни у поведінці відбуваються під впливом екологізації навчання, індикаторами цих змін є обізнаність студентів зі спектром екологічних практик, готовність їх використовувати та набутий у процесі навчання досвід їх застосування. Окреслено можливості методу портфоліо як засобу формування та оцінювання рівня екологічної компетентності студента. Доведено необхідність педагогічної підтримки використання студентами екологічних практик, яка полягає у підвищенні рівня обізнаності студентів про ефективні практики ресурсозбереження та природоохоронної діяльності, застосуванні спеціальних форм організації самостійної роботи студентів та їх практичної підготовки, використанні різних форм суб'єкт-суб'єктної взаємодії викладача і студента, реалізації принципу навчання спільною дією – від спільної дослідницько-інноваційної діяльності до спільної громадської, волонтерської роботи, спрямованої на захист природи та покращення стану довкілля.

Regional environmental programs of Dnipropetrovsk region: analysis, mapping, degree of implementation

The article is devoted to the geographical analysis of environmental problems and regional targeted environmental programs implemented in Dnipropetrovsk region. Geographical location, natural resources and human potential of the region contribute to the development of large enterprises in the extractive, metallurgical and chemical industries, which relate not only to material and energy-intensive industries, but also to environmentally hazardous facilities. As a result of the analysis, groups of environmental problems in the region were identified. Among them, the main ones are: pollution of the atmosphere and hydrosphere; violation of the natural water and hydrobiological regime of rivers; formation and accumulation of large volumes of industrial and domestic waste; storage of radioactive waste on the territory of the region and urban agglomerations; spread of dangerous exogenous geological processes; protection, use and reproduction of wild fauna and flora and a low level of conservation. These types of environmental problems are inherent in other regions, but in Dnipropetrovsk region they are of a higher level and therefore require special attention. It especially concerns accumulation of huge volumes of industrial wastes, including toxic wastes, as well as the storage of large volumes of radioactive waste on the territory of the Dnieper-Kamyansk agglomeration, which are a threat to the health of millions of people. It has been established that the largest number of nature protection measures is implemented within the framework of the program for eliminating the consequences of territorial flooding, but the largest amounts of funding are provided for under the solid waste management program. In the framework of these programs, nature protection activities are financed mainly from regional funds (48-50%), while other sources account for almost 30%. Environmental protection measures implemented in the region are grouped into five groups: organizational and management; engineering; engineering-geological; bio-meliorative; educational. A series of maps reflecting the severity of environmental problems in the region, the amount of funding and the degree of environmental measures implementation has been created. The study shows that the environmental situation in the region has improved both due to the implementation of regional environmental programs, and reduction of the negative impact on the environment due to a decrease in industrial production. Inadequate financing of environmental measures is exacerbated by the lack of a systematic approach to solving environmental problems of different nature and level.

Neo-Industrial Base for Sustainable Development of Raw-Materials Cluster

Today the issues of overcoming the environmental consequences of the negative structural shift of the Russian economy, accelerating the rate of economic growth, reducing the technological and social-and-economic separation from developed countries are becoming strategically in demand for extractive clusters. The need for methodological and theoretical support of the neo-industrialization of the Russian economy raises the urgency of analyzing ways to solve environmental problems, relying on reducing the share of raw materials production in the gross regional product. The emergence of an innovative paradigm raises environmental requirements for industry, raises the priority of interaction institutions between the state, science and business in the process of reducing environmental damage. The leading role is played by the analysis of innovative nature protection activities in extractive clusters and structuring the competitive advantages of the economy, not related to the export of raw materials.

Legal regulation of environmental protection, management of natural resources, and environmental safety in construction sector

The current state of the environment in general, including the construction sector, is experiencing an excessive technogenic impact. Therefore, the authors consider the process of ecologization as an important condition for ensuring the sustainability of the development of construction production. The paper concludes that innovative approaches in the development and implementation of environmental protection programs for construction based on fundamentally new methods of natural resource use, resource saving, transition to new technologies for the production of building materials and structures determine the main directions for improving technological and other processes in this area. The authors determined that the increase in the efficiency of environmental measures in construction sector depends mainly on the location of construction sites and the specific feature of this production. In this regard, at each level of the construction process, there is a danger of pollution of the natural environment, which entails negative consequences of anthropogenic nature. Developing and introducing organizational and economic methods of innovative nature protection activities into the construction production aimed at improving the environmental safety of construction process and upgrading the quality of the surrounding environment on adjacent territories to construction sites is an urgent task.

ЕКОНОМІЧНЕ РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ ПРИРОДОКОРИСТУВАННЯ І ОХОРОНИ НАВКОЛИШНЬОГО ПРИРОДНОГО СЕРЕДОВИЩА

The necessity of forming a new economic mechanism of nature management and financing of environmental measures in the conditions of formation market relations and processes of globalization as an organic component the system of management and regulation of the economy is determined. The constituent elements the economic mechanism of environmental protection are considered. The importance of environmental management and environmental management is determined on the basis of administrative methods. The necessity of a close combination of administrative and economic methods in the field of nature management is indicated. The main elements, goals and features of the economic mechanism of regulation of nature management in Ukraine are considered. The main elements of the financial mechanism of ecological use in the developed countries are presented. The necessity of improving the economic and legal levers of nature management and nature protection activities, which should take into account the properties of natural objects of the state, is substantiated.

Внутрипроизводственное стимулирование природоохранной деятельности: административно-правовой и экономический аспекты

Effective environmental management creates prerequisites for involving all categories of enterprise personnel in the adoption and implementation of high-quality solutions for environmental protection so that the interests of the enterprise do not damage the national economy. The interest of enterprises in carrying out effective environmental protection activities can be ensured on the basis of its intra-industrial incentives. The economic aspect of the system of intra-productive incentives is the development of mechanisms and specific indicators of incentives. The administrative and legal aspect of the system of intra-industrial stimulation of nature protection activities is to consolidate the developed mechanisms in local regulatory acts.

Concept of steady development and the Olympic movement

The main approaches to formation of steady development concept in the Olympic sport have been considered; components and structure of nature protection activities in the process of preparation for and holding the Olympic Games have been singled out and analyzed. Theoretical notions about the peculiarities of nature protection activities with respect to the Olympic sport subjects, and the negative consequences of human intervention in natural ecosystems have been supplemented and expanded.

The Use of Ferrovanadium Production Sludge Wastes in Claydite Gravel Technology

The paper affirms that, despite the number of works in the sludge neutralization of waste water containing heavy metal compounds, the proportion of their use remains marginal. Therefore, one of the important directions of nature protection activities and the natural resources rational use is developing a technology for processing these wastes and their involvement in the production of useful products. The research of chemical, mineralogical and granulometric composition of wastewater slurry waste neutralization in production of vanadium pentoxide and ferrovanadium alloys by OJSC "EVRAZ Vanadium Tula" has been carried out. It is proposed to use a slurry waste in the claydite gravel production technology. The introduction of 1% sludge makes it is possible to obtain the following characteristics of claydite gravel: strength brand P 25, a packed density mark - 250. The 3% increase of the sludge provides a claydite gravel with the strength brand P 15 with the packed density of 250 kg/m3.

Problem of environmental protection and nature conservancies of Halychyna region (20-30s of the XXth cent.)

The article highlights the issues of nature protection in Halychyna region that have been arising since ancient times till1939. Inthe 20-30s of the XXth century the solution of this problem was considered in the search of separate valuable objects of nature, their expropriation from the sphere of economic usage and complete protection. In the hard interwar period, the Polish government, scientists and some land owners were doing their best to protect nature. This intense activity had a significant public basis, as the main legislative basis of Poland of that time facilitated development and distribution of nature-protective activity in Halychyna region.Poland had a significant public legislative foundation for environmental protection and isolation of valuable natural areas/objects. First of all, since 1852 Halychyna had the valid Austrian law on forest conservation, according to which all forests, regardless of ownership form, had to be supervised by the State Forest Administration. In 1900 the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture issued the Circular concerning conservation of natural tracts and old trees. Later on, in 1927 the President of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth issued the Decision on the protection of forests that were not owned by the state; in1934 anew public law about monuments of nature was adopted in Halychyna, which greatly simplified and facilitated the procedure of conserving valuable natural objects in the country. In addition, Poland had a number of other valid laws on nature usage with the elements of environmental protection.In the 1920-1930s, nature conservation and isolation of national parks in Halychyna were performed by both the government authorities of Poland and numerous Polish academic-social entities, such as the State Council for Nature Conservation of Poland, Polish Committee for Nature Protection in Lviv city, the Polish League for Nature Protection, Department of Reserves of the Research Institute of State Forests, Nature Conservation Commission of the State Geological Institute. Apart from that, Poland also had various public nature protection societies of local history and natural sciences, such as the Copernicus Society of Naturalists, Society of Tree-Lovers, Society of Planting Local Hylads, Zoological and Botanical Society, Society for Animal Protection, 'Stowarzyszenia c.k. straznikow lasowych i dozorcow skladow', 'Straz Lesna w Kosowie', "Akademickiego kola Przyrodnikow wszechnicy Lwowskiej' and others. A number of protected state reserves have been created. In addition to the public ones, there were a lot of community nature reserves, which were bought by the Polish scientific-cultural societies and organizations, as well as private reserves, created on private lands by some land owners.Thus, in Halychyna region the issue of nature conservation was developing very actively in those years, yet under the auspices of the Austrian (and later Polish) environmental organizations. Correspondingly, the new protected objects became Austrian or Polish state property. No Ukrainian natural reserves existed, and no national societies for nature protection. Therefore, the problem of nature protection in the 1920-1930s in the society turned from the purely ecological problem into the ecological-national one. Ukrainian patriots, uniting around their spiritual leader - the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), started a broad nature protection activity in Halychyna, focusing at conserving and multiplying the natural resources. First of all, they founded the Permanent Commission for Nature Conservation at the Taras Shevchenko Scientific Society, which was carrying out an active nature conservation activity in the given region.

THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF LEGAL REGULATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITY: THE CONCEPT "ENSURING ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY" IN RELATION WITH THE CONCEPT OF "ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION"

The paper discusses the current problems of the Russian environmental law related to the need of improving the mechanism for the legal regulation of environmental activities in the Russian Federation. The authors emphasize importance of environmental problems and need for serious systematic work of state bodies, as well as participation of civil society to solve them. The need for an organizational and legal framework, which should be the foundation of all nature protection activities, is noted. Analyzing the state of environmental legislation, the authors conclude that, despite a large number of regulatory acts, the environmental and legal mechanism of the Russian state is not entirely effective. Justifying their position, the authors focus their attention on technical, legal and theoretical problems of the mechanism of legal regulation of nature protection activities. Among the existing problems, the authors highlight systemic problems of environmental legislation, the essence of which is the duplication and absence of internal unity of regulatory material. The reasons for this are chaotic work of the legislator and the lack of a single long-term plan for his work in the field of environmental protection. In addition to the above-mentioned problem, there is another problem of interpretation of such terms as "environmental safety", "ensuring environmental safety" and " environmental protection". All have been well analyzed. The need for resolving these issues for the practice of environmental activities, as well as their academic significance, is explained. The paper presents doctrinal points of view, as well as the author's position on the causes of some debatable issues in the scientific environment. The authors propose a solution. The features of the legislative consolidation of the terms of "environmental protection" and "ensuring environmental safety" are noted. According to the authors, it does not contribute to the development of a unified opinion on their correlation and creates the prerequisites for further discussions. In general, the authors conclude on imperfection of the legal mechanism regulating relations in the sphere of environmental protection.

THE PROBLEM OF DETERMINING PRIORITIES OF ECOLOGICAL AND LEGAL PROTECTION: NATURE AND HUMAN HEALTH AS OBJECTS OF LEGAL

The paper is devoted to the problematic issues of the legal regulation of nature protection activities in the Russian Federation. The author notes that a sharp deterioration of the ecological situation indicates a crisis of the previously existing paradigm of human-environmental interaction. Therefore, the situation requires full-scale measures within the state's environmental strategy. However, the change of the environmental state policy as a whole and the improvement of the legal mechanism of environmental relations in particular encounters a number of theoretical and practical problems, which have not been solved. The author pays attention to the problem of determining the priorities of environmental and legal protection, which is very important in the process of establishing the optimal ratio in the "human-nature" relations. The result of solving the problems influences the objectives of the state environmental policy, as well as the objectives of the Environmental Safety Strategy. The author analyzes the main aspect of the considered problem, the essence of which is ambiguity of the fundamental object in ecological relations. It is noted that today there are two points of view on this issue in the Russian legal science. According to the first one, the object of legal protection is exclusively environmental interests of a man. Accordingly, the protection of nature must be carried out exclusively in the interests of his life and health. Supporters of the second point of view believe that the nature as a whole should be a priority in legal protection. The author notes that the choice of a particular conceptual position (and, accordingly, the priority of environmental and legal protection) depends on the world outlook on the role and place of a man in the world. At the same time, problems of a technical and legal nature, connected with internal logic and subordination of legal norms regulating ecological relations worsen the situation. The author concludes that there are internal contradictions in the mechanism of legal protection of the environment.

Modeling of Wind Regime in Disturbed Areas Restorable for Urban Development

Territory is one of the main values of any nation. Its value is even higher as it is not renewable; meanwhile the growth of productive power, population and construction of cities all over the world keep developing at quick paces.Nowadays, the high level of scientific and technological progress, civil engineering and mineral production leads to the decreased balance of lands and recreation resources while there is a steady rise in demand for out-of-town vacations among big cities residents, and therefore the necessity to implement nature protection activities. These factors make the problems of ecodevelopment and utilization of disturbed areas more and more topical. Under the conditions of the Soviet development in 1961-1970, built-up areas of cities had increased by almost 30 %, principally as a result of alienation of farmlands. Under modern conditions, the expansion of urban areas solely by the account of farmlands becomes impossible.Therefore, one of the principal ways to reduce the territories alienated for housing development is their rational use. As a result of the Soviet urban planning policy in the CIS, the proportion of out-of-use urban territories in the boundaries of modern urbanized areas amounts to about 50 %. The disturbed areas are also considered unsuitable, because they are useless for public economic activities (considering the condition they are in), and also they have a negative impact on human life and activities.In this paper, the experimental results of the airflow process of technogenic relief forms in disturbed areas, in particular of a partially planned refuse heap and of a circular in plan terraced excavation, are given. The obtained results can be used while drawing maps of aeration mode, when the disturbed areas after field mining are used in urban development or for other purposes (housing construction, parks, leisure area etc.).

Systematic evaluation of environmental and economic effectiveness of the best available technologies: Regional dimension

The paper considers the effects of changes in legislation regulating the nature protection activities of enterprises based on best available technologies (BATs). A hierarchical classification of the most important factors that determine the level of eco-economic effectiveness of BATs is proposed. The interaction of these factors is shown, and the type of metrics used at this level is presented. The effectiveness of BATs is analyzed from the standpoint of how regional natural factors impact the technology, with case studies from the coal, oil, and gas industries as vital areas of nature protection activity. Studies on the replacement of existing technologies with BATs are summarized in order to reduce damage to natural complexes of Siberian coal-mining regions using preventive damage assessment methodologies. It is concluded that the specifics of the regional natural background indisputably affect the amount of this reduction and BAT effectiveness. It is found that the greatest environmental effect is possible for the coal mines of southern Yakutia, the Far East, and the Kuznetsk Basin. It is shown that achievement of design BAT effectiveness in the coal, oil, and gas industries largely depends on the availability and proper use of basic elements of the eco-economic management system, especially environmental impact assessment and monitoring. Recommendations on the use of sustainable development indicators to measure the impact of natural factors on the BAT effectiveness are given.

Methodological Bases Formation of Ecological Culture for Students of Pedagogical High School

In article the methodology of teaching of some ecological disciplines which provide ecological safety of the population is considered examined. In particular are resulted specificity and features of methods and forms of teaching of disciplines: «Ecology of water systems», «Ecology of the person», «Legal bases of ecology». In formation of ecological culture of rising generation the leading part is played by the teacher. Teachers during lessons and during after-hour time are called to form at schoolboys system of scientific knowledge, sights and valuable representations that danger of approaching ecological accident can be prevented only immediate and cardinally improved nature protection activity. To carry out nature protection activity is means to possess the whole complex of ecological skills which the person can master during special training.

Opportunity costs of establishing nature reserves in selected forest districts of the Mazowieckie Province

Abstract The article presents the results of research on the opportunity costs related to establishing nature reserves in four randomly-selected forest districts located in the Mazowieckie Province: Celestynów, Grójec, Płońsk and Zwoleń. Our analysis included calculation of profits forgone by forest districts due to the cessation of timber harvesting in nature reserves and an estimation of work places lost as a result of introduction of new limitations, as well as the expenses incurred by municipalities related to their establishment of forest tax concessions in nature reserves. The establishment of nature reserves incurred losses related to timber harvest of about 246 thousand m3 during the period of 10 years, which is equivalent to between 4.1% and 19.8% of the planned timber harvest stated in the forest management plans of the studied forest districts. Total opportunity costs were equal to 25.5-27.2 million PLN during these 10 years or 1502-1605 PLN/ha of nature reserve annually. Annual opportunity costs calculated per unit of forest area were equal to 56-60 PLN/ha. The estimated loss in work places was 98.8 working days annually per 1000 ha of forest area in forest districts. Total expenses incurred by municipalities related to establishment of forest tax concessions in nature reserves reached about 18.1 thousand PLN in 2011. The research results show that the economic and social costs of nature protection activities are concentrated in their places of their origin. Those costs are felt the most by the owners of the affected forests and local communities. We recommend that possibilities are explored for the introduction of instruments to allow the mitigation of negative effects resulting from restrictions in forest use. Restructuring of forest and nature protection policy, to take into account the interests of all stakeholders would provide an improved model for the use of these forests

ВИКОРИСТАННЯ WEB-РЕСУРСІВ У НАВЧАЛЬНОМУ КУРСІ «ЕКОЛОГІЧНЕ ПРАВО УКРАЇНИ»

Подано короткий огляд важливих для вивчення екологічного права спеціалізованих ресурсів Інтернету. Описано основні можливості та деякі нюанси роботи із сайтами правових баз даних, що надаються державними структурами і приватними організаціями. Акцентовано на можливостях розширеного пошуку на порталах Верховної Ради України, систем «Ліга-закон» та «НаУ-онлайн», у Єдиному державному реєстрі судових рішень. Наведено низку посилань на ресурси громадських організацій, що займаються природоохоронною діяльністю. Окреслено орієнтовну тематику й подано приклади формулювання конкретних практичних та індивідуальних занять, що спираються на використання тематичних веб-ресурсів. Оцінено методичне значення застосування інтернет-технологій для вивчення і викладання еколого-правових дисциплін.

Environmental and economic problems in the oil-extracting industry of north territories

The purpose of this article is substantiation of environmental and economic problems in the sphere of nature protection activities of oil-extracting industry of north territories (on the example of the Komi Republic) and development of proposals for decreases a negative effect on the environment and population health. The authors have made the analysis of nature protection activities of the Komi Republic oil-extracting enterprises. Strengthening negative impact on the environment was established despite growth of expenses for environmental measures. It is related to the fact that enterprises invest in the elimination of consequences of man-made impact technogenic influence and man-made accidents, instead of for their consecutive reduction and prevention. In the work, the assessment of socio-economic effects from oil waste disposal is carried out. Proposals for regional integrated programs of an environmental orientation are developed.

A STUDY OF STAKEHOLDERS' PERSPECTIVES ON MULTI-FUNCTIONAL FORESTS IN EUROPE

ABSTRACT This paper explores major opportunities and challenges of the development of multi-functional forestry in Europe by analysing existing attitudes of forestry stakeholders from Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the UK. The research applies a combination of qualitative social science (participatory) approaches and quantitative tools as a means for understanding of a sensitive system of interactions between manifold socio-economic and nature protection activities in European forests that are managed for multiple purposes. Heterogeneity of attitudes of forestry stakeholders, concerning wood production, biodiversity conservation and provision of other ecosystem services, as well as of practical issues and benefits of multi-functional forestry to local communities are analysed by using the Q-methodology. Stakeholders' perspectives regarding multi-functional forests and their sustainable management are identified through characterization of attitudinal groups and discursive analysis. Key factors influencing the attitudinal diversity are examined. Research outputs reveal the diversity of existing perspectives, together with stakeholder's overall realisation of multifunctional forestry and their general support of sustainable forest management.

Forecasting hotspots of forest clearing in Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya

Kakamega Forest is the last remaining rainforest in Kenya and the easternmost remnant of the Guinean-Congolian rainforest belt. As such, it is home to a large number of endemic fauna and flora species. Yet the remaining natural forest is under imminent threat of degradation due to a rapidly growing population in its vicinity and a poverty rate far above the national average. The growing demand for forest resources and ecosystem services will continue to exert great pressure on the remaining forest fragments. In this paper, we predict future hotspots of forest clearing of the remaining natural and old-growth secondary forest in Kakamega Forest. We parameterized an artificial neural network model using resilient backpropagation to simulate the likelihood of forest clearing for each location. Input variables into the network included historic information on forest clearings together with variables capturing the status of forest protection, accessibility to roads and markets, as well as topography and forest density. Simulation results were used to predict future clearings based on observed rates of change. Hotspots of forest clearing were derived by assessing the neighborhood density of predicted clearings. Our results indicate that forest clearings occurred across all forest fragments. Hotspots of future forest clearing tended to occur near roads and market centers. Most future hotspots were found in areas with a lower protection status, where some forest use is allowed. But our model also predicted considerable pressure on remaining old-growth forest resources in the strictly protected National Reserve. Our predictions of deforestation hotspots contribute to a better geographic targeting of nature protection activities and forest management investments in Kakamega Forest. Thus, it will hopefully help policy makers and land managers to strike a balance between satisfying the needs of local livelihoods and preserving the unique ecological values of Kakamega Forest for future generations.