Natural Resources, 2002, No.3

PRIRODNYE RESURSY (Natural Resources) Published by The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus & The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Protection of the Republic of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus

Number 3; 2002

CONTENTS

1997 National Sustainable Development Strategy Analysis

Summary: The paper deals with the national strategy of reduction of atmospheric air pollution by different sources. Special attention has been paid to ecology-friendly development of power engineering. It is noted that management structure, legislation basis and financial mechanisms of energy saving have been created lately in Belarus. As a result of these measures, specific energy consumption has decreased though the present GDP energy capacity level exceeds that of Central European states by almost 60%. The data presented in this paper show more than twofold reduction of emissions to the atmosphere from mobile sources in comparison with the total value of transport emissions in 1996. Despite considerable increase of private cars, it is due to reduction of motor fuel consumption, more strict control of transport means, distribution and improvement of electrical transport, a greater amount of foreign cars with better ecological indicators for emission. However, the problem of car provision with catalytic exhaust gas neutralizers has not been solved yet. Considerable decrease of pollutant emissions from stationary sources was observed (by 25% if compared to 1996). This is due to increase of natural gas consumption, introduction of gas and dust filters and improvement of technological processes. Inventory was made, as well as assessment of GHG and substances affecting the ozone layer and precipitation acidity in the Republic. Issues of atmospheric air pollution in cities and transborder air pollution have been considered. To sum up, unsolved tasks of NSDS have been enumerated and the structure of a new concept of the National Sustainable Development Strategy regarding "Atmosphere Protection" section has been presented.

M. Kalinin
PROTECTION AND RATIONAL USE OF WATER RESOURCES OF BELARUS: ANALYSIS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELEPMENT. pp. 13-24

Summary: "The Plan for the ХХI century" accepted at the UN Conference on the environment and development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 is still topical 10 years after. The Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development Strategy 2002 recommended national governments to pay special attention to aqueous problems of their states. The paper presents the results of assessment of completeness and sufficiency of the section of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development for the Republic of Belarus (NSDS) 1997 related to the rational use of water resources. Special attention was given to conformity of this section to the main principles of Rio+10 with the purpose of further correcting NSDS till the year 2020. It is stated that one of the shortcomings of NSDS-97 was that the influence of the climate change on water resources was not taken into account. Some of the tasks were not fulfilled because of the limited funds for financing the suggested measures. The author gives some proposals for correcting this section of NSDS 2020.

V. F. Baginsky
CONSERVATION OF FOREST RESOURCES AND THEIR ECOLOGICAL POTENTIAL WITHIN THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: REALIZATION AND WAYS OF IMPROVEMENT. pp. 25-35

Summary: Analysis of tasks and objectives set forth in the 1997 national strategy for sustainable development (NSSD) shows that the adopted strategy for conservation of forest resources complies in essence with modern requirements. However, in the context of the present Forest Code and other normative acts a number of principles of the 1997 NSSD are not longer adequate and thus should be updated. In the course of the 1997 NSSD realization indices of the forest fund improved markedly: the total forest area extended; the percentage of ripe and ripening stands increased by 78% and 43%, respectively; the amount of woodland in Belarus increased from 35,5 to 37,8%; the total growing stock increased by 23% and thus amounts to as much as 1 340 million m³, including 137 million m³ of ripe and overmaturity stands. Other positive changes can also be observed. At the same time a sharp decrease in the number of young-growth stands, particularly those of the 1st age class, has caused concern. The amount of reforestation appeared to be smaller than that envisaged in the 1997 NSSD. But the transfer of abandoned and uncultivated lands to the state forest fund will permit to improve the situation. The extent of timber export envisaged in the 1997 NSSD has not been attained owing to the worsening of the world timber market situation. Therefore these figures should be adjusted. The paper reports indices of the current forest protection, side usage of forest and other aspects of forest management. It has been suggested that modifications and addenda (enclosed) which stem from the analysis of the 1997 NSSD ultimate results, recent normative documents for forest management and modern requirements be introduced to the 2020 NSSD. The paper also contains basic points that were keenly debated, including organizational structure of forestry and methods of assessment of work, problems of specially guarding natural territories and stands of the 1st group, forest utilization and reforestation, forest certification, etc.

A. S. Pomelov, V. M. Yatsukhno
LAND RESOURCES OF BELARUS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE. pp. 36-44

Summary: Land resources and soils as their main component are irreplaceable natural formations and national heritage of the Republic of Belarus. They serve not merely as spatial basis for accommodation of economic complexes, bus as a productive facility for agriculture and forestry. Moreover, they realize ecological function in biosphere. The analysis of land resources structure, their changing trends along with the factors of land structure transformation is given in the article on the basis of generalization of statistical materials, scientific projects, current state of land use in the Republic. High level of agricultural land use in the Republic is stressed. Parameters characterizing a wide range of land/soil quality values for different territorial levels are given. It requires a differentiated territorial approach to the use of land resources for agricultural purposes including withdrawal of low productive lands from rotation. Basic principles of efficient land use in terms of social and economic conditions of Belarus with the objective of sustainable development were defined. They are the following: sustainability of land use and farming types; priority of more efficient land use; complex development of territories; consensus with private and society interests; priority of ecological criteria above the economic ones; development of economic and legal mechanisms of land use regulation; interconnection with land and agrarian reform; interconnection and regulation of location of agricultural lands and lands intended for other types of nature use.

A. V. Tomashevich
MINERAL RESOURCES IN THE NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF REPUBLIC OF BELARUS.. pp. 45-50

Summary: Analysis of fulfillment of the tasks of the National sustainable development strategy worded in 1997 for the perspective till 2000 has been provided (NSDS-97). NSDS-97 tasks regarding oil, brown coals, potassium salts, common salt, dolomite, construction materials, fresh underground waters, iron ores, gypsum and other minerals were fulfilled. The production dynamics of the most significant products on the basis of domestic mineral resources has been presented. Exploitation of iron ores and davsonite deposits has been suggested as not reasonable. The trends of further exploration of the bowels of the earth aimed at the provision of mineral-resources potential for sustainable development of Belarus for the perspective has been substantiated. Basic directions and research targets, investment priorities to seek new deposits have been worded.

I. A. Zastenskaya
CHEMICAL: PROBLEMS OF A SAFETY OF THEIR USE FOR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT IN REPUBLIC OF BELARUS. pp. 51-56

Summary: Wide spread of chemical substances raises the task of their rational and safe use for the health of people and environment. Safe control of the use of toxic chemicals is an integral part of the principles of stable development and improvement of the population living quality. During the past years, some tasks have been solved: such as evaluation of chemicals danger for the health of people and environment, prevention of illegal import and use of toxic and dangerous products, safe transportation of dangerous freights, safety if used in industry and agriculture, prevention of big industrial accidents. The essential progress has been noted in formation of the national legislative basis for the rational use of chemicals. On the basis of the legislative documents all chemically dangerous objects have been declared and the system of information collection, prevention and liquidation of emergency situation has been set up in the republic. This enabled to reduce the rate of mortality and protect people's lives in emergencies. A mechanism of registration of accident hazardous chemicals has been set up excluding any possibility of uncontrolled use and import of dangerous chemical compounds and enabling to make a prognosis of possible emergency situations. The essential progress has been achieved in the state registration of means for protection of plants. Critical analysis of the achieved progress has made it possible to determine main strategic directions of further actions. They will be related to the establishment of the national coordination mechanism, development of legislative basis in other priority fields such as danger and risk assessment, information provision for the population, etc. Establishment of the network and mechanisms for information exchange, substantiation of mechanisms of responsibility enhancement for manufacturers, importers and industrial consumers for evaluation of danger of chemicals is also very important. Creation of the Register of potentially dangerous chemicals, development of a network of specialized toxicological centers, development of economical mechanisms enabling safe life conditions for the population and control over the use of dangerous chemicals is also one of priority tasks.

A. Yermishin
ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY IN BIOTECHNOLOGY. pp. 67-64

Summary: Analysis of NSSD-97 section, devoted to environmental safety in biotechnology, has shown that the proposed program concerns mainly the use of traditional biotechnology. However, environmental risks are associated to a greater extent with new, genetic engineering biotechnologies. Such biotechnologies and organisms, produced by their means were practically unknown in Belarus at the time when NSSD-97 was developed. Therefore, some items of the program, in particular, provision of mechanisms of safety in biotechnology, development of international cooperation in biological safety are not clear, their content is not specified. Nevertheless, some important measures in this area meeting present day requirements were taken in Belarus. The establishment of the National Biosafety Coordination Centre should be mentioned first of all. The officials of the Centre in collaboration with leading lawyers justified the concept of state regulation in biosafety in Belarus, developed draft Act of the Republic of Belarus "On Safety in Genetic Engineering Activity" and the package of appropriate normative documents. Belarus joined Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety of the Convention on Biological Diversity in May 2002.This will allow to facilitate the activity in this area. The following issues should be reflected in the new edition of NSSD: main directions of biotechnology use in Belarus, the prospects of their progress; possible environmental risks associated with biotechnologies. The main objective of the Republic of Belarus in the area of safe use of biotechnologies in the context of sustainable development is to develop conditions for better use of biotechnology achievements, for accelerated development of genetic engineering as a priority scientific direction, as well as to ensure safety in genetic engineering, in application of new biotechnologies, in consumption of their products. These aims can be implemented by the development of mechanisms of state regulation of safety problems in genetic engineering in Belarus, participation of Belarus in international cooperation in the area of biosafety.

A. Senko, N. Lysukha
GENERATION, PROCESSING AND DISPOSITION OF WASTE. pp. 65-70

Summary: The article analyzes the Section "Waste Generation, Processing and Storage" of the National Sustainable Development Strategy of Belarus (NSDS)-1997 for the purpose of completeness and truthworthiness, Also the results of NSDS-1997 implementation are given for the period 1997-2000. The main activity directions in the waste management are (according to the priority): Prevention of waste generation, use of waste in other industries, waste energy use, environmentally safe burial of waste. To perform these stages of waste management the appropriate legislative and standard base is continually being developed and perfected: "The Waste Law of the Republic of Belarus.(adopted on 26 October 2000 ), "The Waste Handling Regulations" (The Order of the Minister of Nature Resources and Environment Protection of the Republic of Belarus from 24 February 1999 № 34) and other legislative documents and programs. The article deals also with waste generation volumes: After the NSDS-1997 the volume of waste generated in 2000 had been anticipated to be 20 million tons, but it made out really 23,3 million ton of industrial waste. Consumer waste had been expected to be 9 million, but in actual fact - 9,8 million cubic meters. When developing new version of the Waste Management Strategy the same priorities from the NSDS-1997 should been taken into consideration. But the set of implementation activities needs to be extended.

H. V. Vysochenko, G. A. Kapilevich
ROLE OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS IN SUPPORT OF ECOLOGICAL SAFETY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE. pp. 71-79

Summary: For on-line acquisition of information on the current state of the environment, monitoring of its stable development and creation of information basis were stipulated in NSSD-97. Alongside with other data, the system should include classified bodies of information on nature protection. The developed system of indicators of rational use of natural resources and environment protection is implemented in the National Environmental Monitoring System of the Republic of Belarus (NEMS). It includes 13 types of monitoring which provide information on the environment, phenomena and medical-biological responses to the environment change caused by natural and anthropogenic factors. The main purpose of NEMS is integration of information on ecological situation and its presentation to government institutions, experts and public. A list of participating organizations is given, as well as the structure of information on some programs of monitoring. The main problems of NEMS development for the nearest future are defined. The possibility of NEMS information use is shown for the solution of a number of nation-wide nature protection tasks. The social value of NEMS development consists in information support of administrative solutions in medical-biological, social-economic, social-psychological and political spheres.

V. M. Burak, A. N. Rachevski
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION TO ENSURE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN BELARUS. pp. 80-88

Summary: All the History of Mankind is marked by changes in the environment of its habitat. While carrying out activities, however, Mankind strives to assess the scope of its interference in the environment and take certain restrictive measures of that impact. For this reason of great importance are measures of legislative nature. Due to rapid technical progress and aggravation of the environmental situation, the 20th Century itself proved that fact. Since the middle of the 20th Century the process of adopting environmental laws has been launched in most of European countries, including New Independent States. This article outlines state-of-the-art in the Belarusian Environmental Legislation at the beginning of the 21st Century as well as describes in detail laws on different environments (land, air, water, natural resources, fauna and flora), ecological examination, wastes, protected areas, etc. The paper focuses on issues connected with designing legal acts and norms to solve the problems of sustainable development. Also analyzed are the content of and implementing the section of the 1997 National Strategy for Sustainable Development in Belarus within a five-year period regarding legal ensuring of environmentally friendly conditions for living. Also shown is the Republic of Belarus' legal integration into the World Community in the environmental sector through international conventions and intergovernmental agreements as well as outlined are the proposals on further development of the environmental legislation in the Republic of Belarus in the light of developing the National Strategy within the period up to 2020. The article points to the fact that it is crucial to ecologize other sectors of Law in Belarus.

Water Resources

Summary: At present assessment of the influence of anthropogenic activity on natural ecosystems is a very urgent problem. Since surface and underground waters represent a single natural system, anthropogenic activity in river valleys can result in the change of qualitative structure of underground waters. It is especially dangerous if they are used for drinking water supply. The work is devoted to the decision of a boundary problem of geomigration taking into account the most essential factors: convection, hydrodynamic dispersion, molecular diffusion and sorption. Surface flows are set here as borders with variable pressure. The differential equation describing unsteady movement of underground waters taking into account polluting substances transfer is received by a balance method based on the study of water balance change of the flow of underground waters. The formulated boundary problem represents a nonlinear system of parabolic equations having a number of specific features. The problem belongs to difficult for solution equations of mathematical physics, as the system of multidimension equations with partial derivatives in areas with difficult geometry and in complex composite areas is solved. For the decision of this problem a special class of algorithms is developed. Non-iterative and iterative methods of implicit algorithm realization in subareas are built on the principle of area decomposition. The suggested algorithms of initial problem solution in subareas are related to the schemes of complete approximation and they are absolutely stable and considerably increase accuracy of algorithms. The proposed model a enables to predict the level of underground waters, as well as migration of polluting substances in underground waters. The example demonstrating the capacity of the proposed model is considered.

Biological Resources

Summary: This article considers the questions concerning estimations of primary efficiency and parameters of nutrient cycling (of the stock of organic substance and intensity of the process) of mire geoecosystem and their territorial and local variability. The received by means of the model MOOR complex multiparametrical territorial distributed estimation of efficiency and nutrient cycling is an objective model of genesis, structure and evolution of a marsh geosystems variety, it demonstrates spatial-temporary phytocoenosis conjugation and ecotope. The basic part of parameters has a similar spatially distributed structure. They are lower values in the central part of the territory of the country and increased values in its southern and southeast parts, with some growth of values in the direction from North to South. In some cases the distribution essentially differs at the expense of occurrence of new factors, such as a stock of wood phytomass, property of a peat deposit. In mire landscapes of Belarus the distribution of organic substance stocks and of chemical elements is characterized by significant variability both at the level of geoecosystems of administrative district and their structural blocks. On the average, in the country the surface phytomass stock is 6,0 tons per hectare, below the ground - 4,4 tons per hectare. According to the accepted values of transformation factors of phytomass on the destructive branch of cycling, the value of surface mortmass (mire litter) makes up 6,5 tons per hectare. Its value below-the ground (size of peat - 0,3 m) is 284,0 tons per hectare, the average content of P and N is 0,12 and 0,66 tons per hectare in vegetative substance.

Nature Management

Summary: The article analyzes the state of development in the field of state inventory of natural resources, appropriate information systems and data bases, their development and operation both in the Republic of Belarus and abroad. Purposes and tasks to be fulfilled by branch and complex territorial inventories of natural resources are defined. Building principles of the automated system (A/S) on inventory and its separate components (information maintenance, software, GIS-technologies, institutional information networks, etc.) are described, as well as methods and recommendations for AS use to support decision taking. The authors also consider principles and theoretical approaches to decision taking process in conditions of risks and uncertainties based on the stage by stage procedure of tasks solution and analysis of alternatives. Main institutions and their efforts to develop and operate the system of inventory are described. Concerning the structure and composition of the information maintenance, the system includes the data based on following inventories: "Hydrologic Resources", "Atmospheric Air", "Animal and Plant World", "Mineral resources", "Waste", "Peat Stocks". It will have informational interaction with other inventories: "Climate Resources", "Forest Resources", "Lands". The article shows that the purpose of the automated system is to support decision taking process in the field of nature management and environmental protection through information supply and annalysis.

S. Golovaty, D. Giris
MECHANISMS OF HEAVY METAL ACCUMULATION IN PLANTS AND ОRGANISMS OF ANIMALS. pp. 120-125

Summary: Heavy metals are highly toxic compounds. The overwhelming part of these elements gets into оrganism of animals with vegetative forages, in plants - from soil. The levels of heavy metal accumulation in plants and animals depend on biological features of plants and types of contaminants acting with forages in the body of animals. The results of our research have shown that plants absorb and accumulate heavy metals in different ways. The content of Cd in green forages changes from 0,025 up to 0,088 ppm of weight at natural humidity. By the ability to accumulate Cd agricultural cultures are divided into three groups with low, average and high content of element. The authors observed direct dependence between Cd accumulation by species and increase of its concentration in soil. The content of Pb in forages makes up 0,40 ppm of green weight. This element is more intensively accumulated by grass. Its transition from soil into generative organs of grain species occurs to a much smaller degree than in grass. Among grain species the greatest stability to accumulation of Pb is revealed in oats and the lowest one in buckwheat. The concentration of Zn in forages makes up on the average 5,10 ppm. It passes from soil into plants rather intensively and concentrates in superfluous quantities in all ground bodies even at insignificant levels of soil pollution. The greatest ability to accumulate Zn is marked in fodder grass, corn, clover white. Concentration of Cu in various types of fodder makes up 0,56...2,86 ppm. The plants have considerably smaller ability to accumulate Cu in comparison with other elements. At various levels of Cu content in soil its concentration in all investigated cultures is lower than maximum allowable level. The distribution of agricultural species by the level of heavy metal accumulation is the following: Cd - 17 times, Pb - 21, Zn - 7 and Cu - 2,8 times. The receipt and accumulation of heavy metals in various organs of animals depends on the type of element (mineral or organic). Heavy metals from natural forages are accumulated in muscles of animals in the following quantities: Pb - 25,0...52,0%, Cd - 20,0...33,3%, Zn - 32,0...41,0% from their concentration in forage of diet. High concentration of heavy metals in forages as a result of introduction of mineral salts of elements did not promote their accumulation in animals. Thus, the metal content in muscles c of animals was: Pb - 1,4...3,0%, Cd - 0,5...2,0, Zn - 5,8...9,1% from the forage of diet. In liver and kidneys the highest concentration of heavy metals is marked. It is not dependent on the kind of forage. These features are necessary account for the establishment of hygienic norms of heavy metals content in plants, forages and production of animal industries, by development of technological measures directed to decrease heavy metal accumulation in agricultural products.

Protected Territories

Summary: The comparative analysis of the carabid beetles' ecological diversity in pine plantations of three protected territories: Berezinsky biosphere reserve, National parks "Belowezhskaya pushcha" and "Pripyatsky" has been carried out. The beetles were collected by means of pitfall trapping. Margalef, Shannon, Simpson, Berger-Parker indices and ( parameter of log-series were used for estimation of ecological diversity. The correspondence of species abundance distributions to the log-normal model, log-series and broken stick models has been tested. Species richness of carabid beetles was practically equal in all territories. The most significant differences concerned the dominant structure of beetles communities. Two species, Carabus intricatus and Carabus marginalis, existing in Belarus on the border of their area were common in pine plantations of Belarusian West (Belowezhskaya pushcha) and South (National park "Pripyatsky"), respectively. These species can be subdominants or even dominants in plantations. The highest species diversity was found in the plantations of Berezinsky reserve, the lowest - in the plantations of Belowezhskaya pushcha. Pine plantations of the Belowezhskaya pushcha were noted for the most distinctive species composition and the least evenness of species abundance. The widest spectrum of life forms and ecological groups with different hydrological preferences were found in the pine plantations of the Belowezhskaya pushcha too. The greatest differences in life forms ratio were registered for the plantations of the National park "Pripyatsky". The displacement of life form spectrum of carabids have been found here, which was expressed by rising of the part of species, inhabiting the soil surface and forest litter ("cursorial epigeobionts" and "walking epigeobionts", "stratobionts, inhabiting the soil and litter chinks") on the one hand, and decreasing of the part of species, inhabiting mostly the litter and having ability to bury into soil to hide and for egg-laying ("burying stratobionts, inhabiting the litter and soil") on the other hand.