By Svetlana Zadera (Usinsk)
(rg.ru) - The main accumulated environmental damage in the Arctic is associated with wartime waste: reactors, flooded boats, barrels. This is the conclusion reached by the participants of the All-Russian Forum-Festival "The Arctic. The Ice Has Broken".
“These are the remains of the previous development of the Arctic, when tractors and barrels with fuel were delivered there. Nothing was taken out from there, as it is very expensive. So, they have been left there for decades,” said Nikolai Doronin, head of the project office for the development of the Arctic.
At the same time, he noted that metal is already a basic item for cleaning. And the disease of the 21st century for the Arctic has become microplastics. "These are small fibers, barely visible particles. They sometimes do not differ from algae. Why is it dangerous? Animals do not distinguish it in composition and begin to eat. This phenomenon is quite new," Doronin said. The debris brought here by the current from the countries of the North Atlantic is contributing to the contamination, he said.
According to the UN and the UN Environment Program, by 2050 the proportion of plastic in the oceans will exceed the weight of all its fish resources, water acidity may increase by 150%, by 2100 up to 70% of corals, which are the most important ecosystems for many species of commercial fish, may be destroyed and the rise in the level of the World Ocean is predicted in the range from 62 to 238 centimeters. Experts also noted that the oceans may lose their ability to maintain climate balance and protect more than 200,000 living organisms from negative human impacts.
Vadim Petrov, chairman of the public council at Roshydromet ( Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring), noted that volunteers who come to clean up the Arctic, including as part of the Clean Arctic project, are helping to solve the problem of the accumulated harm of previous years. "Volunteer work gives, in fact, the opportunity to taste the Arctic. The taste may not always be pleasant, as it is associated with waste," Petrov said ironically.
Climate change is also having a strong impact on the Arctic. Infrastructure is damaged, viruses and infectious diseases appear, which are preserved in the ice. The expert recalled that there have already been outbreaks of diseases in a number of Arctic regions, including smallpox.
According to Svetlana Lipina, Deputy Chairman - Head of the "World Ocean and the Arctic" Department of the Council for the Study of the Productive Forces of the Higher Aeronautics and Technical Department of the Ministry of Economic Development, the environmental situation in the Arctic is also threatened by the development of natural resources and a high degree of depreciation in the main industries.
It is impossible not to pay attention to the development of dangerous hydrometeorological and ice processes, which increase the risk and damage from man-made accidents and disasters. "The North is our "ecological donor", and the nature of the North is recovering extremely slowly, or not recovering at all. This means that all the efforts of scientists and society should be directed to studying the extent of pollution of Arctic ecosystems, paying more attention to potential sources of pollution, with an assessment of risks to the health of the local population and the environment," Lipina said.
The expert noted that it is important to introduce into any Arctic projects an assessment of risks associated with the impact of new technologies and materials on the environment. At the same time, according to Lipina, the technologies, which may appear in the future, may help solve the problem with garbage, but the issue of preserving the ecosystems of the Arctic has come to us forever.
Volunteers have been clearing islands in the Arctic for more than a decade. Since the time of the development of the North during the years of the USSR, a "legacy" has been left on uninhabited lands, which is painful to look at - rusty barrels, old dilapidated buildings.
The "Clean Arctic" team includes volunteers from around the world. Today, for example, guys came to Yamal not only from all over the country, but also from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Today, work has been completed on Bely Island in the Kara Sea. This is the traditional habitat of polar bears. The island was in a deplorable state for many years. The cleaning lasted four years, during which time more than 52 hectares of land were cleared, about a thousand tons of scrap metal were collected. All work was carried out by volunteers without the use of heavy equipment, so as not to damage the fragile Arctic nature.
Volunteers cleared the world's largest walrus rookery at Cape Kharasavey in the Kara Sea from rusty barrels.
It is significant that walruses did not appear at this place for some time, but already a month after the end of the expedition, almost four thousand pinnipeds again raided the cape. Lots of females with babies. Fortunately, now they do not have to huddle among rusty barrels and broken bricks.
