Problems of ensuring environmental safety and efficient use of natural resources are priority areas of state policy. Considering that the technogenic load on environmental systems is constantly increasing, economic development must be ensured by a set of measures to preserve the natural environment, the state of which determines the environmental safety and health of the region’s population. The socio-economic development of the Republic of Kalmykia, ensuring a high quality of life for the population and environmental protection in a broad sense involves the approval of environmental priorities, which are implemented by environmental and control and supervisory federal and regional authorities, public organizations and the population.
The Republic of Kalmykia is one of the most extreme regions of Russia for living and doing business. This extremeness is determined, first of all, by the geographical location of the republic in the arid and semiarid zones of the northwestern Caspian region. It is characterized by flat landforms, the almost complete absence of a natural hydrographic network and increased mineralization of soils, surface and groundwater, caused by fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea, which in the relatively recent past has repeatedly covered most of the current territory of the republic with its waters.
The territory of Kalmykia is rich in natural resources, which are a national property. One part of natural resources (oil, gas, etc.) is limited, their reserves are large, but are not restored, which requires special methods for regulating rational consumption.
In this regard, one of the environmental problems that will become relevant for Kalmykia in the near future will be related to the exploration and development of oil and gas fields on the Caspian shelf in the immediate vicinity of the Kalmyk coast. World experience in the exploration and development of oil and gas fields indicates that even if all established norms and rules are observed, marine industries are sources of chronic pollution of the environment with petroleum products, emulsifiers, surfactants and lubricating oils (Matishov, 2006). Therefore, compensation measures for marine and coastal fisheries should also be developed here.
On the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia there are 41 hydrocarbon deposits, including 19 oil, 11 gas, 6 oil and gas and 5 oil and gas condensate.
According to the degree of industrial development, the deposits of the Republic of Kalmykia are divided into those that are: in development - 26 deposits, in exploration - 5 deposits, in conservation - 10 small deposits.
In total, 15 subsoil user companies operate in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the search, exploration and production of hydrocarbons.
Of these, oil production is carried out by 6 companies:
LLC "Management Company "Kalmneft";
CJSC NK Kalmpetrol;
CJSC Ilmenskneft;
Promresurs LLC;
JSC "RITEK";
OJSC Nizhnevolzhskneftegaz.
Gas production is carried out by 2 companies:
OJSC Kalmgaz;
LLC Gazprom Dobycha Krasnodar.
Search and exploration of hydrocarbons is carried out by 7 companies:
OJSC Kalmyk Oil and Gas Company;
CJSC NK Kalmrost;
CJSC KalmTatneft;
LLC "Mezhozernoe";
ZAAB Invest LLC;
Shell OilGas Development LLC (III);
LLC "NK-Alliance";
As a result of the control and supervisory activities of the Office of Rosprirodnadzor in the Republic of Kazakhstan, there is a downward trend in significant violations. Almost all companies currently have the permitting documents necessary for the extraction of hydrocarbons: licenses for the right to use subsoil, a project for field development, approved mining allotment acts, permits for the release of pollutants into the air, etc.
The trend of small (area less than 5-10 m 2) oil spills continues at Management Company Kalmneft LLC (due to the length and dilapidation of the oil pipeline) and at Ilmenskneft CJSC (due to work on reactivation and development of the field).
For companies involved in the search and exploration of hydrocarbon deposits, the main violations identified are failure to conduct geological exploration in accordance with the license agreement.
Groundwater intake is carried out by 28 subsoil users under 29 licenses. Basically, water is taken from single artesian wells - 23 licenses and 6 licenses for the extraction of drinking groundwater at water intakes and fields to supply large settlements of the republic.
There are 28 oil, oil and gas, and oil and gas condensate fields in operation (NE licenses).
On the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia, there are currently 9 prospecting and exploration areas in the distributed fund (licenses NR and NP), most of the areas in the republic are in the undistributed fund.
Currently, 15 subsoil user enterprises operate in the Republic of Kalmykia:
|
№ |
Subsoil users |
NE |
NP |
HP |
Total |
|
1 |
Shell Oil&Gas Development LLC (III) |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
LLC "Management Company Kalmneft" |
15 |
15 |
||
|
3 |
OJSC Kalmgaz |
2 |
- |
- |
2 |
|
4 |
CJSC KalmTatneft |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
|
5 |
CJSC NK Kalmpetrol |
3 |
- |
3 |
|
|
6 |
Branch of OJSC "Nizhnevolzhskneftegaz" "Kalmnedra" |
1 |
- |
- |
1 |
|
7 |
Gazprom dobycha Krasnodar LLC |
1 |
- |
- |
1 |
|
8 |
JSC "RITEK" |
2 |
- |
- |
2 |
|
9 |
OJSC Kalmyk Oil and Gas Company |
1 |
1 |
- |
2 |
|
10 |
CJSC NK Kalmrost |
- |
2 |
- |
2 |
|
11 |
LLC "Ilmenskneft" |
1 |
- |
- |
1 |
|
12 |
LLC "ZAAB Invest" |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
13 |
Promresurs LLC |
1 |
- |
- |
1 |
|
14 |
LLC "NK-Alliance" |
1 |
- |
1 |
2 |
|
15 |
LLC "Mezhozernoe" |
2 |
2 |
||
|
TOTAL: |
28 |
3 |
6 |
37 |
Types of licenses:
NE - Hydrocarbon production. Issued for 20 years or until reserves are completely depleted.
NP - Geological study of the subsoil for the purpose of searching and evaluating hydrocarbon deposits. Issued for 5 years.
NR - Geological study, exploration and production of hydrocarbons. Issued for 25 years.
In 2007, licenses were issued for almost the entire territory of the Republic of Kalmykia (according to the types of licenses NR and NP), but, unfortunately, some of them did not comply with the license conditions. In 2008-2009, through the joint efforts of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Office of Rosprirodnadzor in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Subsoil Use Administration in the Republic of Kazakhstan, systematic work was carried out to get rid of such companies. As a result, today more than 70% of the territory of the republic is in an undistributed fund and is waiting for potential subsoil users.
In 2010, total oil production in the republic amounted to about 215 thousand tons, which is about 40% of the 1995 level, and has shown positive dynamics since 2008.
The level of production in the Republic of Kalmykia is significantly lower than that of neighboring regions (Volgograd region - more than 3 million tons, Stavropol Territory - more than 1 million tons, Chechen Republic - more than 2 million tons, Dagestan - about 400 thousand tons).
Currently, the state of the oil and gas industry is characterized by:
1. A drop in the level of oil production from 403 thousand tons in 1995 to 156 thousand tons in 2008 and its stabilization at the present time;
2. Natural “aging” and deterioration of the technical condition of wells;
3. High wear of technological equipment;
4. Depletion of developed deposits;
5. Extremely difficult financial condition of a number of mining enterprises.
All fields in Kalmykia are at the 3-4 stage of development, i.e. 70 percent or more have been depleted and are at the stage of declining production. At the same time, we have a very high percentage of inactive wells, inflow stimulation methods are practically not used, and geological and production work is virtually not carried out. And, unfortunately, the republic does not have any leverage over subsoil users. According to the current legislation, control over them is exercised only by federal bodies (Rostechnadzor, Rosprirodnadzor, Federal Tax Service), the region does not have the opportunity to somehow participate in subsoil licensing, drawing up license conditions and monitoring their implementation.
Without the discovery of new fields and an increase in reserves, according to available data, the growth of oil production is very difficult.
Currently, oil production in the Republic of Kalmykia is carried out by 5 enterprises: Kalmneft Management Company LLC, Kalmpetrol Oil Company CJSC, RITEK OJSC, Kalmnedra branch of Nizhnevolzhskneftegaz OJSC, and Ilmenskneft CJSC. Another 2 enterprises have licenses for oil production (type NE), but to date they have not yet begun to exploit their fields, these are: PromResurs LLC (Dvoynoye field), NK Alliance LLC (Yuzhno-Plodovitenskoye field).
Natural gas consumption in the Republic of Kalmykia is 300 – 310 million m3 per year. Sources of gas supply can be divided into internal and external. Approximately 20% of the republic's needs, or about 60 million m3 per year, are met through internal sources. The northern part of Kalmykia is supplied mainly with its own gas, using gas produced by Kalmgaz OJSC at the Sovkhoznoye field. The rest of the gas (more than 80%) comes to Kalmykia from outside. External suppliers are two organizations, LLC Mezhregiongaz and LLC Stavropolregiongaz, which supply 10% and 70% of the gas, respectively.
Gas consumption dynamics are relatively calm. In the consumption structure, the population and municipal consumers have the greatest weight.
Natural gas reserves are listed in 19 fields, including 12 gas, 4 oil and gas and 3 oil and gas condensate fields. Industrial production of natural gas is carried out at 4 fields. More than 90% of the gas is produced by Kalmgaz OJSC, the rest is produced by Gazprom Dobycha Krasnodar LLC (Radykovskoye field) (gas is supplied to consumers in the Stavropol Territory) and Kalmneft Management Company LLC (gas is used for the needs of the republic). OJSC Kalmyk Oil and Gas Company has not started producing gas from the Khongor gas field they discovered.
But, unfortunately, due to the passive position of Kalmgaz OJSC in the development of existing gas fields, the republic is not provided with gas, although all the geological possibilities for this exist.
The Republic of Kalmykia belongs to the regions with proven industrial oil and gas potential and is a highly promising territory for searching for oil and gas deposits both on land and in the adjacent waters of the Caspian Sea. The initial resources of the republic are estimated at 2.81 billion tons. oil and gas. But at the same time, only a small part of it has been explored today, only about 3% of all resources.
The territory of the Republic of Kalmykia is divided into prospecting and exploration areas (licenses NR and NP); there are currently 9 areas in the distributed fund. Most of the plots are in the undistributed fund.
At the moment, 15 organizations are supposed to conduct geological exploration work on the territory of the republic, but, unfortunately, due to the high cost of geological exploration work, the activity of enterprises is not high.
Common minerals:
The Republic of Kalmykia has a very diverse mineral resource base of common minerals, which are the basis of construction production. The main common mineral resources of the Republic of Kalmykia are: limestone-shell rocks for saw stone, cement production and lime burning, construction sands, loams for the production of ceramic bricks, clays for the production of expanded clay gravel and agloporite, clay-gypsum, sandstones and other raw materials for the construction industry.
64 deposits of natural building materials classified as common minerals have been explored in the republic, but the industrial development of these types of minerals in the republic has not yet received proper development.
Number of deposits of common minerals in the Republic of Kalmykia:
|
№ |
Types of minerals |
Number of deposits |
Inventories as of 01/01/2011 |
|
1. |
Brick and tile raw materials, thousand m 3 |
29 |
51754 |
|
2. |
Sands for construction work and sand-lime bricks, thousand m 3 |
12 |
67097 |
|
3. |
Expanded clay, thousand m 3 |
5 |
20617 |
|
4. |
Limestone-shell rocks for saw stone, thousand m 3 |
3 |
42391 |
|
5. |
Clay - gypsum, thousand tons |
5 |
5825 |
|
6. |
Construction stones-sandstones, thousand m 3 |
6 |
361 |
|
7. |
Agloporite raw materials, thousand m 3 |
2 |
3922 |
|
8. |
Carbonate rocks for lime production, thousand m 3 |
1 |
1450 |
|
9. |
Limestones for cement production, million tons |
1 |
46,2 |
Brick raw materials
The republic does not experience a shortage of raw materials for the production of ceramic bricks. Based on unlimited reserves of loam, 29 deposits of brick and tile raw materials have been discovered.
Licenses for their development have been obtained for two deposits. The Elistinskoye-II deposit (subsoil user - Elistinsky Brick Plant LLC) and the area with category A reserves of the Troitsky brick loam deposit (subsoil user - Troitsky Brick Plant LLC) are under development.
Construction sands
On the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia there are significant deposits of natural quartz sands, but the sands have been studied and found to be suitable only for construction needs. Sand deposits have been discovered in almost all regions of the republic; 12 deposits are taken into account in the balance of reserves.
Licenses for sand development have been issued for eight fields and individual areas: the Salynskoye and Gashunskoye fields, three areas at the Troitsky and three areas at the Arshanskoye field. Sand mining in 2010 was carried out in five areas, the remaining areas were not developed and are at the stage of registration of land documents and project development.
Total balance reserves as of 01/01/2011 for the distributed and undistributed fund, in categories A+B+C 1 - 67,097 thousand m 3.
9 sand deposits are in the undistributed fund of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy Development of the Republic of Kalmykia.
Shell limestones for saw stones
On the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia as of 01/01/2011. Three deposits of limestone-shell rocks suitable for producing saw stone have been explored: Cholun-Khamurskoye, Chograyskoye and Zunda-Tolginskoye deposits. Currently, licenses for sawstone extraction have been issued for all deposits. The Cholun-Khamurskoye and Zunda-Tolginskoye fields are being exploited; the Chograyskoye field is in preparation for development.
In total, for three deposits of the distributed fund, the reserves of limestone-shell rocks for saw stone amounted to 42,391 thousand m 3 for categories A+B+C 1, and 1968 t.m 3 for category C 2.
Expanded clays
On the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia, 5 deposits of expanded clay clay have been discovered.
Licenses have been issued for two Gashunskoye deposits and a section of the Arshanskoye deposit for the development of expanded clay clay; the remaining deposits are in the undistributed fund of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy Development of the Republic of Kalmykia. The reserves of the distributed fund for two fields amount to categories A+B+C 1 - 963 thousand m 3.
Three deposits: “Voskhod” (Oktyabrsky district), Maloderbetovskoye (Maloderbetovsky district), Voznesenovskoye (Tselinny district) and a separate area with reserves of categories B, C 1 and C 2 of the Arshan deposit (on the lands of the city of Elista), are in the undistributed fund of the Republic Kalmykia. Expanded clay reserves of the undistributed fund of the Republic of Kalmykia amount to categories A + B + C 1 - 19654 thousand m 3, category C 2 - 3829 thousand m 3 and off-balance - 207 thousand m 3.
Clay - plaster
Five clay-gypsum deposits have been discovered on the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia. Mineral reserves have been approved for two deposits (Yashkulskoye and Leninskoye), while three deposits (Bashantiskoye, Sukhotinskoye and Zapadno-Oktyabrskoye) with unapproved reserves require additional exploration. The total approved reserves of clay-gypsum in categories A+B+C 1 are 5456 thousand tons, unapproved balance reserves are 179 thousand tons. Balance reserves in categories A+B+C 1 – 5825 thousand tons and off-balance reserves – 822 thousand tons.
A license has been issued for the development of the Yashkul deposit, but mining has not begun. The remaining clay-gypsum deposits are in the undistributed fund of the Republic of Kalmykia:
Construction stone (sandstone)
On the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia, 6 deposits of building stones and sandstones have been discovered. Two fields (Arshanskoye and Balkovskoye) with approved reserves, the total reserves of which amount to 254 thousand m 3. The Arshanskoye field was previously exploited; the residual reserves of this field amount to 140 thousand m 3.
Four fields are small (Ar-Kharskoye, Kamenskoye, Tselinnoye and Troitskoye-II) with unapproved reserves; reserves for these fields amount to 131 thousand m 3. These deposits require exploration with additional study of raw materials.
All deposits of construction stones - sandstones - are in the undistributed fund of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy Development of the Republic of Kalmykia.
Agloporite raw materials
On the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia, two deposits of agloporite raw materials have been identified and explored: Bashantinskoye and Iki-Burulskoye, with balance reserves in categories A+B+C 1 - 3922 t.m 3 and C 2 - 728 t.m 3. The deposits are not currently being developed; balance reserves have been approved and prepared for exploitation. The deposits are in the undistributed fund of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy Development of the Republic of Kalmykia.
Carbonate rocks for construction lime
A deposit of carbonate rocks for construction lime, Zunda-Tolginskoye-II, has been explored in the republic. Balance reserves for categories A+B+C 1 are calculated in the amount of 1450 t.m 3, reserves are not approved. The deposit requires additional exploration.
In addition, at the Cholun-Khamur deposit of limestone-shell rocks for saw stone, an area with approved reserves as a raw material for lime production has been explored in the amount of 5,413 thousand tons.
Cement raw materials
On the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia, the Cholun-Khamurskoye-II deposit of cement raw materials was explored, its reserves were calculated as a carbonate component for the production of Portland cement, the reserves were not approved and amount to categories C 1 - 46.2 million tons and C 2 - 128.6 million tons To organize cement production, it is necessary to conduct geological exploration to study the clay component.
The Ministry of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy Development of the Republic of Kalmykia, which is entrusted with solving the problems of subsoil use and licensing of subsoil areas containing deposits of common minerals and subsoil areas of local importance, puts at the forefront the task of further development and use of new consumer opportunities for minerals. One of the important tasks of the Ministry is also to prevent unauthorized, unlicensed development of subsoil. Such developments not only lead to the theft of mineral resources, destruction of the soil and vegetation layer, and cause damage to the environment - development sites turn into garbage dumps, creating a dangerous zone for animals, people and vehicles, and also entails a decrease in tax revenues to the budget of the republic .
Ministry inspectors conduct regular raids on unauthorized mining sites.
Atmospheric air
The main objects that have a negative impact on the state of the atmosphere are gas and oil production enterprises, the fuel and energy complex, motor transport, motor transport enterprises and heat and power enterprises (boiler houses).
The share of each of these sources in the total air pollution of the republic varies greatly depending on the location. Pollutants enter the air as a result of burning fuel for industrial needs, heating homes, operating motor vehicles, burning and processing household and industrial waste.
There are no large industrial facilities on the territory of the republic that emit more than 5 thousand tons of pollutants per year into the atmosphere.
In recent years, there has been a tendency in the republic to reduce the overall emission of pollutants into the atmosphere.
According to state statistical reporting data in form No. 2-TP (air), the actual mass of emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air on the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia in 2009 amounted to 35.133 thousand tons, including 2.210 thousand from stationary sources . tons (6.1%), motor transport - 32.915 thousand tons (93.7%), railway transport (diesel locomotives on highways) - 8.291 tons (0.02%).
The main share of emissions, as in previous years, comes from motor vehicles.
Total emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere for 2007-2009
Total emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere in 2007 in the republic as a whole amounted to 37,3 thousand tons; in 2008 – 36,2 thousand tons; in 2009 – 35,1 thousand tons
The distribution of the total mass of emissions by ingredients showed that a significant part is accounted for by gaseous substances, and, to a greater extent, by hydrocarbons and carbon oxides.
Aisa Baatyrovna Menglinova
Digital object identifier
The study was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project No. 13-05-96502
annotation
The article examines the degree of anthropogenic transformation of natural landscapes. Based on the analysis of quantitative indicators and expert scoring, the severity of environmental problems in the Republic of Kalmykia was assessed. The author assessed the territorial structure of morbidity and mortality of the population according to a certain set of indicators (neoplasms, congenital malformations)
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Water condition
The territory of the Republic of Kalmykia, located in the northwestern part of the Russian Caspian region, is one of the most water-poor regions due to a very weak hydrographic network.
The main source of nutrition for small rivers is melt water; their nutrition from rain is insignificant. Almost all surface runoff generated in the republic remains on its territory. The main share of runoff is accumulated in ponds and reservoirs, where it is lost to evaporation and filtration. The water of the rivers and lakes of the republic is highly mineralized.
On the territory of Kalmykia there are 325 water bodies, of which 135 are reservoirs, 121 are ponds, 15 are lakes, 43 are small rivers, 11 are flood control structures. In the drainless region, between the Volga and Kuma (Caspian lowland), surface water sources are represented by a chain of Sarpinsky and Sostinsky lakes.
In the northeast, the republic has access to the Volga River on a 10 km section, and in the southeast – a 200 km section of the Caspian Sea coast.
Water supplied from the territories of neighboring regions is used in Kalmykia exclusively for irrigation, water supply, agricultural, drinking and domestic water supply.
In areas such as Sarpinsky, Ketchenerovsky, Tselinny, Priyutnensky, as well as in most of the Maloderbetovsky, Iki-Burulsky, Yashaltinsky and Gorodovikovsky districts, small rivers and the groundwater fed by them are one of the main sources of household drinking water supply for the population living in these areas. Their runoff is used for livestock watering, small irrigation, fish farming and for recreational purposes. There are 144 reservoirs, 139 ponds on small rivers, and 15 lakes fed by their waters. In total, about 50 million m3 of these facilities are used annually for water management purposes in the republic.
To meet the need for water for industrial, agricultural and social needs and to prevent the negative impact of water in the Republic, a water management complex was created at one time, including:
5 irrigation and watering systems with a design capacity of 124.5 thousand hectares of irrigation;
3 group pasture water pipelines with a total length of 1200 km;
Chograi reservoir and Chograi discharge canal.
Unsatisfactory indicators of the quality of water from surface sources are associated with the washout of soil from the shoreline into the reservoir during the rainy season and the lack of measures to clean up and combat flowering, overgrowth of canals, hydraulic accumulators and places of water intake from reservoirs, against the backdrop of evaporation of the water surface in the summer.
Groundwater plays an important role in the economic and social development of the Republic of Kalmykia, being one of the main, and for the most part the only source of household and drinking water supply for the population. At the same time, the use of groundwater in the republic is limited, due to its low natural quality.
Groundwater monitoring covers groundwater with mineralization up to 3.0 g/dm3 and hardness 3-10 mmol.
The limited number of aquifers and complexes with fresh groundwater on the territory of the Republic causes certain difficulties in matters of water supply.
According to its intended purpose, groundwater is used for domestic and drinking water supply. Groundwater is not used for land irrigation.
Natural pollution of groundwater on the territory of the Republic is due to complex geological, hydrogeological and climatic conditions, naturally saline deposits of rocks in the aeration zone and water-bearing sediments, the development of salt tectonics, etc.
Air condition
The main objects of the Republic of Kalmykia that have a negative impact on the state of atmospheric air are gas and oil production enterprises, the fuel and energy complex and motor transport.
According to the Territorial Body of the Federal State Statistics Service for the Republic of Kalmykia, the actual mass of emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air in the Republic of Kalmykia in 2012 amounted to 46.389 thousand tons, including from stationary sources - 3.856 thousand tons (8.3%), motor transport - 42.533 thousand tons (91.7%). The main share of emissions, as in previous years, comes from motor vehicles.
Despite the absence of powerful sources of pollution, the problem of environmental pollution remains relevant for Kalmykia. The problem of environmental pollution in the area where household and industrial waste is disposed has not been fully resolved. The creation of a transport network of oil pipelines, the construction and operation of mini-enterprises for oil refining, the construction industry and the mining industry, and the constant growth of motor transport increase the risk of environmental pollution and negative impacts on the health of the population of the republic.
In addition, the republic has long been influenced by man-made sources of pollution in the adjacent territories of the Volgograd, Astrakhan regions and Stavropol Territory, where enterprises of the fuel and energy, metallurgical, chemical and agricultural complexes are located. Due to the lack of a certified laboratory for monitoring the main environmental parameters in the Republic of Kalmykia, it is impossible to reliably assess the negative impact on the natural environment. There are no stationary observation posts for atmospheric air pollution on the territory of the republic. Comprehensive state environmental monitoring is not carried out due to lack of financial resources.
Condition of the earth, soil
The structure of the soil cover of Kalmykia is formed through the close interaction of bioclimatic and geomorphological-lithological factors. Within the republic, there are three main morphostructures that are part of the dry steppe and desert zones: the Caspian lowland, the Ergeninskaya upland and the Manych hollow.
On the territory of Kalmykia, soils have several types according to classification criteria: steppe soils (chernozem, meadow-chernozem), dry steppe soils (chestnut, meadow-chestnut, meadow), semi-desert soils (brown semi-desert, meadow-brown, meadow-swamp, swamp, alluvial ), saline soils (automorphic solonetzes, hydromorphic solonetzes, solonchaks).
The structure of the soil cover is regarded as unstable to anthropogenic impact, which led to changes in the composition and main parameters of the structure of the soil cover. With the intensive plowing of chernozems and soils of the chestnut zone, and the active manifestation of water erosion in Ergeni and the Manych depression, natural ecosystems were practically destroyed.
The location of the territory in an arid zone with a coefficient of 0.31-0.45, with fragile ecosystems, serves as a natural background for intensifying the processes of degradation and desertification. The desertification process in the republic manifests itself in the form of degradation of pasture lands, decreased fertility and deterioration of the structure of soil cover, degradation of irrigated arable land, and an increase in the area of broken sand.
The most profound changes in natural resource potential associated with desertification are observed in the Black Lands region, the area of which within the borders of the republic is 3.3 million hectares. Here, the share of downed pastures exceeds 80%, and the capacity of forage lands has decreased by 40-50%. The dominant type of desertification is pasture digression.
In general, the main negative processes in the republic are: soil erosion (wash-off and deflation); dehumification, reconsolidation and compaction of arable soils; salinization, alkalinization, waterlogging, waterlogging of irrigated lands; land pollution; desertification of territories; degradation of natural feeding grounds; flooding of agricultural lands and settlement lands.
One of the most dangerous types of degradation in the Republic of Kalmykia is erosion, which causes soil destruction and loss of fertility. The total area of eroded lands is about 5.0 million hectares, of which 4.4 million hectares are deflated, 0.5 million hectares are subject to water erosion, incl. 0.1 million hectares of arable land. Wind erosion is most developed in the eastern regions of the republic, where deflation is promoted by the flatness of the territory under conditions of intense wind activity, insufficient and irregular atmospheric moisture, and weak soil erosion resistance. Water erosion manifests itself on the slope lands of the Stavropol and Ergeninskaya uplands (Central and Western zones), where the rainfall nature of precipitation causes mechanical destruction of soils, washing away the surface layer. Erosion processes are the main reason for the decrease in the thickness of humus horizons and the deterioration of the structure of the fertile soil layer.
Flooding of land with groundwater, caused by both human activity and natural processes, has become widespread in the republic. Technogenic flooding of lands is mainly associated with the consequences of the development of irrigation in the republic in the conditions of a complex soil-reclamation situation with minimal or zero drainage of the territory.
Depending on the natural resource potential, three natural and agricultural zones have emerged in the republic - Western, Central and Eastern, the boundaries of which correspond to the land assessment areas.
The structure of agricultural land varies greatly by zone. Thus, the Western zone, with the most favorable soil and climatic conditions within the republic’s borders, is characterized by a high level of plowing. In the Central zone, the proportion of arable land is significantly lower than in the Western zone, where the main arable lands of the republic are located. The eastern zone is an area of vast pastures with small patches of irrigated arable land along the canals of the Chernozemelskaya OOS.
According to state statistical monitoring, the land fund of the Republic of Kalmykia amounts to 7473.1 thousand hectares.
In the structure of the land fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the area of agricultural land is 6263.1 thousand hectares, of which: pastures - 5231 thousand hectares, arable land - 922.5 thousand hectares; tree and shrub vegetation not included in the forest fund - 43.9 thousand hectares; under forests - 33.3 thousand hectares, under surface water bodies - 181.5 thousand hectares; disturbed lands - 4.0 thousand hectares; lands under reclamation construction - 303.3 thousand hectares; under roads and runs - 64.5 thousand hectares; development land - 30.5 thousand hectares; other lands - 403.7 thousand hectares, of which sands - 223.3 thousand hectares.
The structure of settlement lands is also dominated by the area of agricultural land - 27.9 thousand hectares, building land is 8.3 thousand hectares, 11.5 thousand hectares are occupied by roads, squares, streets, other lands amount to 6.4 thousand. ha.
The area of urban land, occupying 31.8 thousand hectares, is characterized by the largest share of agricultural land - 12.9 thousand hectares and land not involved in urban planning or other activities - 5.1 thousand hectares.
The area of land in rural settlements occupies 30.6 thousand hectares, the share of agricultural land is 8.2 thousand hectares, residential and public-business land is 8.1 thousand hectares, public land is 7.1 thousand hectares .
In the category of industrial lands, energy, transport, communications, radio broadcasting, television, computer science, lands for space activities, defense lands and other special purposes, there are motor transport lands - 7.9 thousand hectares and industrial lands - 1.4 thousand hectares.
The lands of specially protected territories and objects (SPNA of federal significance) amounted to 583.8 thousand hectares.
As of January 1, 2007, reserve lands amounted to 453.9 thousand hectares. This category includes lands not included in other categories. Reserve lands include lands of municipalities located outside the boundaries of populated areas.
The largest share of the area of disturbed lands falls on water fund lands - 1.9 thousand hectares and on agricultural lands - 1.7 thousand hectares. There is a small area of disturbed land in the category of industrial lands, energy, transport, communications, radio broadcasting, television, computer science, lands for space activities, defense lands and other special purposes - 0.1 thousand hectares.
The main part of these lands was disturbed during construction, including during the construction of the Volga-Chogray canal, as well as during the development of mineral deposits and geological exploration.
State of the flora
The Republic of Kalmykia is located at the junction of two vegetation zones - steppe and semi-desert. Desert communities belonging to the subtype: northern semi-shrub desert are widespread in the republic. Intrazonal vegetation belongs to four types: swamp, meadow, halophilic (salt marsh), desert and blown sand vegetation.
The plant diversity of the republic's territories includes more than 900 species belonging to approximately 80 families. The richest in species are 12-13 families, such as Asteraceae, grasses, goosefoot, legumes, Lamiaceae and others. 13 families account for 70% of the total flora composition. It is characteristic that endemic species in both the steppe and semi-desert types of vegetation are completely alien to the flora of the republic.
In ecological terms, the flora is distinguished, first of all, by the features of high xerophytization - about 34%. The group of mesophilic plants ranks first in terms of the number of species - more than 40%. On sandy soils that occupy most of the Caspian lowland, psammophytic plants develop: sandy wormwood, sandy oats (giant grass), thyme-leaved chickweed, sandy thyme, etc. Hygrophytes and hydrophytes are represented by such species as Gerard's rush, sedges, common water-grass, arrow-leaved arrowhead and etc.
The republic's vegetation follows the variegated complexity of the soil cover. On the Cis-Caucasian chernozems of the western zone, natural pasture vegetation is represented by xerophytic turf grasses (feather grass, Lessing's feather grass, fescue, tonkonog), white wormwood and steppe forbs: carrot grass, yellow bedstraw, dry-colored sickle grass, lumbago, yarrow, etc. The most common legumes here are alfalfa yellow, mountain clover. Ephemera and ephemeroids occupy a small percentage in the grass stand.
On Ergeni, with complex light chestnut soils, the following plant associations predominate: feather grass (Lessing feather grass, Sarepta feather grass, fescue); white wormwood (white wormwood, fescue, Lessing's feather grass, etc.); fescue-chamomile (fescue, chamomile, tonkonog, feather grass, white wormwood); fescue-prutnyak (fescue, prutnyak, feather grass, Austrian wormwood). All this vegetation is usually found in combination with wormwood; white wormwood-prutnyak and camphorosm associations on solonetzes. Along the bottoms of the Ergeni ravines on saline soils one can find saline wormwood, camel thorn, reed, and warty quinoa.
In the central and eastern parts of the Manych floodplain, along shallow ravines and bottoms of dry lakes with salt marshes, saltwort (solewort, sarsazan, petrosimonia thick-leaved and opposite-leaved swede), reed and reed vegetation are developed. On the terraces and slopes of depressions on light chestnut soils and solonetzes, fescue, feather grass, wheatgrass and camphorosm-wormwood associations predominate.
Black wormwood, comforosmo-black wormwood and white wormwood-wheatgrass associations are common on solonetzes; on light chestnut solonetzic soils there are fescue-chamomile associations, and on light chestnut soils there are feather grass associations. In dry estuaries with saline soils, predominantly fescue-wheatgrass vegetation grows. In the early winter and spring periods, the grass stand is dominated by ephemerals and ephemeroids, represented by tonguing grass, bulbous bluegrass, Schrenck's tulip, etc.
In the coastal strip of the Sarpinsky lakes there are thickets of reeds, cattails, and algae.
On hummocky-ridged sands and flat areas, cereal-wormwood and wheatgrass-wheatgrass associations predominate; among the plants, Siberian wheatgrass, white wormwood, prostrate commonweed, fescue, feather grass, and azhrek are common.
Sand oats and sand wormwood grow in semi-fixed hummocky sands. On the semi-fixed sands, wormwood, camel thorn, common grass and wheatgrass grow.
In the estuaries and estuary depressions of the coastal strip, wheatgrass, forbs, and reeds predominate.
In the south of the Caspian lowland and the Manych depression, when lakes with slightly saline water dry out, the periphery is overgrown with reeds and mulberries.
The climatic conditions prevailing on the territory of the republic do not ensure natural restoration of plantings. This determines the low percentage of forest cover in the republic, which is 0.2%. All forest plantations are a unique example of artificial forest cultivation in desert and semi-desert conditions.
The republic's forests, which perform a protective function, are represented by plantations of artificial origin, with the exception of the floodplain area of the river. Volga. The largest part of the forest fund is classified as anti-erosion forests - 45.1 thousand hectares (81%), state protective forest strips occupy 8.4 thousand hectares (15%), restricted forest strips protecting the spawning grounds of valuable commercial fish - 2.0 thousand .ha (4%).
The percentage of land covered with forest vegetation consists of tree species - 48%, shrubs - 52%. About half of the area in the hard-leaved farm is represented by mature and overmature plantings. The stability of the age structure in young, middle-aged and ripening plantings is noted.
The forest fund contains 28 species of forest-forming trees and shrubs. The main ones are (as a percentage of the forested area) squat elm - 35%, pedunculate oak - 20%, poplar and tree willow - 3%, golden currant - 12%, oleaster - 10%. Coniferous plantations are represented by Scots and Crimean pine – 0.1%.
State of the fauna
The fauna of the Republic of Kalmykia is very diverse. The species richness of the fauna is represented by desert, semi-desert, steppe and forest-steppe communities.
The invertebrate fauna of the republic is of great interest, since this type is represented by a huge number of species and at the same time is the least studied. The insect fauna of the republic includes more than 1,500 species of coleoptera, 150 species of butterflies, 32 species of ants, more than 200 planktonic and benthic forms and other species. More than 20 species of insects listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation have been identified in the republic.
Amphibians are a small group of animals in terms of species, uniting only 4 species.
Herpetofauna is represented by 18 species. For the most part, these are species confined to semi-desert and desert areas with sandy soils. Here are typical psammophiles inhabiting the edges of the sands and the sand massifs themselves - the sand boa, round-headed and spiny lizards. The lizard snake is found on semi-fixed sands. Quite large snakes - patterned, four-striped and yellow-bellied - inhabit various biotopes, but are more often found in lightly turfed sandy areas. Common and water snakes stick to water sources. Common inhabitants of semi-desert and steppe areas are various types of foot-and-mouth disease.
Birds make the greatest contribution to the species diversity of vertebrate species. The avifauna is represented by birds of wetland, steppe, semi-desert complexes, and dendrophiles. The high diversity of birds and their large number is due to both natural and climatic features and the flyways of mainly aquatic and semi-aquatic birds that lie over the territory of the republic. One migration branch runs along the Kuma-Manych depression, the second along the chain of Sarpinsky lakes.
Birds of aquatic and semi-aquatic complexes are widely represented. Reservoirs, with the islands and adjacent areas located on them, are feeding and nesting places for birds of the wetland complex, as well as perches and resting places for migratory species. Species included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation are noted here - Dalmatian and pink pelicans, spoonbill, black-headed laughing gull, avocet, blackebuck, lesser white-fronted white-fronted white-fronted stilt.
Birds of semi-desert complexes are birds of open spaces - wheatear, gray and steppe larks, common lark, demoiselle crane, steppe eagle, migration of large birds of prey (griffon vulture, black vulture) is noted. Bustards and little bustards are rarely seen, mostly on migration.
Typical representatives of the birds of the dendrophilous complex are: magpie, gray crow, common kestrel, falcon, and owls. The steppe eagle, white-tailed eagle, and common eagle nest here.
On the territory of the republic, 23 species of birds listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation have been recorded, 16 of them in nesting areas. In addition, more than 30 bird species are included in the CITES appendix.
The Republic of Kalmykia is located in the very center of the Black Sea-Caspian bird flyway, which is one of the main ones in the European part of Russia. Mass migration of waterfowl through the territory of the republic begins in mid-October and lasts until freeze-up. In low-snow and mild winters, some waterfowl remain for the winter in the territory of the republic and adjacent territories of the Republic of Dagestan, Rostov region and Stavropol Territory.
Mammals are represented by 60 species, the most numerous of which are rodents. Representatives of this order are found in almost all communities. Numerous species inhabiting various desert and semi-desert biotopes are the mole vole, the common vole, the large and small jerboa, and the small ground squirrel. On the edges of sandy massifs, and in the sands themselves, midday and crested gerbils and ruffed jerboas are common. The inhabitant of artificial water bodies with steep banks is the muskrat. The order of lagomorphs is represented by the brown hare, which prefers ecotone communities.
There are quite a number of predatory mammals: fox, corsac fox, light polecat, raccoon dog, wolf. Of the mammal species included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, only the bandage is found in Kalmykia.
The ungulate fauna is represented by two species – saiga and wild boar.
The main species of the republic's fauna that needs protection is the saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica). Currently, this steppe antelope, characterized by high migratory activity, inhabits mainly the eastern part of the republic; the main calving occurs on the territory of the Black Earth State Natural Biosphere Reserve.
Subsoil condition
The territory of Kalmykia is rich in natural resources, which are a national property. One part of natural resources (oil, gas, etc.) is limited, their reserves are large, but are not restored, which requires special methods for regulating rational consumption.
On the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia there are 42 hydrocarbon deposits (with initial geological reserves of about 65 million tons of equivalent fuel), including 19 oil, 12 gas, 6 oil and gas and 5 oil and gas condensate.
There are 27 oil, oil and gas, gas and oil and gas condensate fields in operation.
On the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia, there are currently 8 prospecting and exploration sites in the distributed fund; most of the republic is in the undistributed fund.
In addition to fuel and energy resources, the basis of the mineral resource base of the Republic of Kalmykia also consists of building materials (sand, clay, shell rock), fresh and mineral groundwater, agrochemical raw materials (potassium and rock salts, dolomites), bischofite raw materials and others.
The Republic of Kalmykia has a very diverse mineral resource base of common minerals, which are the basis of construction production. The main common mineral resources of the Republic of Kalmykia are: limestone-shell rocks for saw stone, cement production and lime burning, construction sands, loams for the production of ceramic bricks, clays for the production of expanded clay gravel and agloporite, clay-gypsum, sandstones and other raw materials for the construction industry.
64 deposits of natural building materials classified as common minerals have been explored in the republic, but the industrial development of these types of minerals in the republic has not yet received proper development.
The geological-structural, tectonic and hydrogeological conditions of the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia are complex and are determined by the development of 2 hydrogeological structures - complex artesian groundwater basins of the first order: the Scythian SAB (fI) and the East European SAB (fII), in which four hydrogeological structures are distinguished - artesian basins of the second order: Caspian (aII-M), Ergeninsky (aI-B), East Pre-Caucasian (aI-B) and Azov-Kuban (aI-A), differing in hydrodynamic features, conditions of nutrition, transit and discharge.
Within artesian basins, hydrogeological conditions vary depending on the geological and structural conditions (Ergeninskaya Upland, Caspian Lowland, valley of the Western and Eastern Manych rivers, Stavropol Upland, etc.).
The territory of the Republic of Kalmykia is located in an arid zone with a predominance of continental salinization processes in an arid climate and is characterized by large variability of hydrochemical parameters, both in area and in depth. A feature of the territory is the sporadic development of fresh and slightly brackish groundwater. The natural background consists of aquifers and complexes that are naturally polluted and contain mostly groundwater of high mineralization with a dry residue from 3 g/dm3 to 53 g/dm3 and a hardness from 5 mmol to 60 mmol.
Groundwater from deeper pressure horizons has almost no practical significance due to its great depth and high mineralization.
Condition of natural landscapes and complexes
One of the forms of conservation of biodiversity and reference areas of vegetation is a network of specially protected natural areas (SPNA). The existing system of protected areas in the Republic of Kalmykia is experiencing great difficulties due to a lack of resources. One of the important reasons lies in the fact that the bulk of protected areas were formed in the 70s without carrying out design and survey work, zoning of the territory was not carried out, and security zones were not allocated. In previously created hunting reserves, no hunting management work was carried out, natural monuments did not have passports, and the validity of individual protected areas had expired.
Specially protected natural areas (SPNA) of the Republic of Kalmykia are represented by objects of regional and federal significance.
Composition of protected areas of federal significance (583.8 thousand hectares):
State Natural Biosphere Reserve "Black Lands" (total area - 121.5 thousand hectares);
State Nature Reserve "Mekletinsky" (total area - 102.5 thousand hectares);
State Nature Reserve "Sarpinsky" (total area - 195.9 thousand hectares);
State Nature Reserve "Harbinsky" (total area - 163.9 thousand hectares).
The lands of state natural reserves of federal significance have not been withdrawn from economic circulation.
PAs of regional significance are:
1. State institution “Natural Park of the Republic of Kalmykia”, located in the Yustinsky district of the Republic of Kalmykia. The total area is 4323 hectares, with withdrawal from circulation - 258 hectares.
2. Wildlife sanctuaries of regional significance - 9 objects:
The Tinguta State Nature Reserve is located in the Chernozemelsky district of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the total area is -197.8 thousand hectares;
The state natural reserve “Morskoy Biryuchok” is located in the Lagansky district of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the total area is 50.0 thousand hectares;
The state natural reserve "Caspian" is located in the Lagansky district of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the total area is -39.4 thousand hectares;
The state natural reserve "Chograysky" is located in the Iki-Burul region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the total area is -22.6 thousand hectares;
The state nature reserve "Zunda" is located in the Iki-Burul region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the total area is 38.4 thousand hectares;
The state natural reserve "Yuzhny" is located in the Iki-Burul region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the total area is 62.3 thousand hectares;
The Sostinsky State Nature Reserve is located in the Chernozemelsky district of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the total area is 31.7 thousand hectares;
The Khanata State Nature Reserve is located in the Maloderbetovsky and Sarpinsky districts of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the total area is 52.2 thousand hectares;
The State Nature Reserve "Lesnoy" is located in the Gorodovikovsky district of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the total area is 2.2 thousand hectares
The lands of state natural reserves of regional significance are not withdrawn from land circulation.
3. Natural monuments of regional significance - 9 objects:
- “Gorodovikovskaya oak grove”, located on the lands of the Gorodovikovsky urban municipality of the Republic of Kalmykia;
- “Tsorosovskaya forest grove”, located on the lands of the Yuzhnensky rural municipality of the Republic of Kalmykia;
- “Oak Grove”, located on the lands of the Esto-Altai rural municipality of the Republic of Kalmykia;
- “Lone poplar with a cascade of springs” is located on the lands of the Khar-Buluk rural municipality of the Republic of Kalmykia;
- “Sanatorium Grove” is located on the lands of the Verkhneyashkul rural municipality of the Republic of Kalmykia;
The Kiitn Bulg group of springs is located on the lands of the Ketchenerovsky rural municipality of the Republic of Kalmykia;
- “Tulip Island” is located on the lands of the Baga-Burul rural municipality of the Republic of Kalmykia;
- “Bayrachny Forest” is located on the lands of the Kirov rural municipality of the Republic of Kalmykia;
- “Oak Grove” is located on the lands of the Elista urban municipality of the Republic of Kalmykia.
Changes in natural and climatic conditions and an increase in anthropogenic impact have had an impact on natural ecosystems, which has led to a change in the distribution area of animals and plants, and a change in the requirements originally laid down during the creation of protected areas. There is an urgent need to review protected areas due to the fact that many of them do not meet the requirements of protected areas. At the same time, there are valuable natural objects to which it is advisable to give environmental protection status. To carry out these works, it is necessary to conduct a survey of the territories by specialists of the relevant profile (botanists, zoologists, land managers) in order to determine the environmental value of the object, determine the boundaries and put them in nature.
Environmental threats or risks to the environment, as well as chemical, physical and biological effects on the environment and their sources
The territory of the Republic of Kalmykia is experiencing a long-term aftereffect of half a century of anthropogenic pressure on land and plant resources, expressed in desertification and loss of biodiversity. Intense anthropogenic pressure on the territory has changed the habitat of the European saiga population.
One of the environmental problems of the republic is the problem of waste generation, storage and disposal.
The problem of degradation of agricultural land continues to remain relevant, with a continuing trend towards a decrease in the productivity of arable land and pastures.
Water resources are the basis for ensuring the sustainable development of the republic. According to water supply conditions, Kalmykia is classified as a low supply zone, where specific water resources do not reach 2 l/s per square meter. m. Water supply to the population is becoming a vitally important problem. For drinking needs in the republic, underground water is used, as well as water from open sources, which does not meet GOST standards according to sanitary and hygienic standards. The state of water management systems is currently unsatisfactory.
Due to the fact that in recent years there has been a tendency to increase the number of individual vehicles, in the near future we can expect an increase in the share of emissions from mobile sources of pollution. Noise pollution in populated areas is also associated with the negative impact of transport.
Due to the increase in the area of disturbed lands, the dust content of the atmospheric air increases. Among the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, Kalmykia is one of the most deflationary-dangerous territories. The average value of the deflation intensity indicator for the republic is about 38.6 tons/ha/year. Stationary observations of the level of air pollution in the republic are not carried out.
The proximity of the republic to large industrial centers determines the long-term influence of man-made sources of pollution located in the territories of the Volgograd, Astrakhan regions and Stavropol Territory adjacent to Kalmykia (enterprises of the fuel and energy, metallurgical, chemical and agricultural complexes).
Activities of organizations and enterprises subject to federal environmental supervision that negatively affect and may affect natural objects and environmental protection measures, including legal, administrative and other measures
The main objects that have a negative impact on the natural environment are gas and oil production enterprises, the fuel and energy complex, motor transport and enterprises involved in processing agricultural products.
Companies engaged in exploration and production of hydrocarbons have the appropriate permits: licenses for the right to use subsoil. In most cases, these enterprises also have appropriate environmental permits.
The fuel and energy complex is represented by gas stations, gas stations, small refineries and enterprises providing heat to the population.
Monitoring compliance with environmental legislation is carried out in accordance with the Federal Law of December 26, 2008 No. 294-FZ “On the protection of the rights of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs in the exercise of state control (supervision) and municipal control.”
Measures taken against violators of environmental legislation are established by the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Activities of the Office of Rosprirodnadzor in the Republic of Kalmykia
The Office of Rosprirodnadzor for the Republic of Kalmykia carries out its activities in accordance with the Regulations approved by Order of Rosprirodnadzor dated June 27, 2011 No. 451.
Office of Rosprirodnadzor for the Republic of Kalmykia:
Carries out control and supervision:
in the field of protection, use and reproduction of wildlife objects located in specially protected natural areas of federal significance, as well as their habitat;
in the field of organization and functioning of specially protected natural areas of federal significance;
for geological study, rational use and protection of subsoil;
over the use and protection of water bodies (federal state control and supervision over the use and protection of water bodies);
state land control within its powers;
for compliance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of environmental protection, including in the field of atmospheric air protection and waste management (except for radioactive waste);
over the use, protection, protection, reproduction of forests (state forest control and supervision) on the lands of specially protected natural areas of federal significance;
over the execution by government bodies of the Republic of Kalmykia of the powers of the Russian Federation transferred to them for the implementation of the powers in the field of water relations with the right to issue orders to eliminate identified violations, as well as to hold officials responsible for the implementation of the transferred powers;
over the completeness and quality of the implementation by government bodies of the Republic of Kalmykia of delegated powers in the field of state environmental assessment, protection and use of wildlife objects not classified as aquatic biological resources, including in the field of hunting and conservation of hunting resources, with the right to send orders to eliminate identified violations, as well as on bringing to justice officials performing duties in the exercise of delegated powers;
over the expenditure of funds provided for the exercise by government bodies of the Republic of Kalmykia of powers in the field of hunting and conservation of hunting resources, carried out at the expense of subventions from the federal budget, within their competence;
state fire supervision in forests located on lands of specially protected natural areas of federal significance;
Maintains the state waste cadastre, state accounting in the field of waste management, and also carries out work on waste certification (including issuing certificates of the environmental hazard class of waste and approving waste passports of hazard classes 1 - 4), including those generated during the implementation of international obligations of the Russian Federation in the field of chemical disarmament;
Issues licenses to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs carrying out on the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia the same type of economic or other activities for the collection, use, neutralization, transportation, disposal of waste of hazard class 1 - IV;
Issues, in accordance with the established procedure, permits for emissions and discharges of pollutants into the environment (with the exception of radioactive substances) and for harmful physical effects on the atmospheric air;
Approves waste generation standards and limits on their disposal, including at facilities for the storage and destruction of chemical weapons during the destruction or conversion of facilities for the destruction, production and development of chemical weapons, as well as during the liquidation of the consequences of their activities;
Establishes standards for emissions of harmful (pollutant) substances into the atmospheric air, harmful physical effects on the atmospheric air and temporarily agreed upon emissions;
Organizes the reception and consideration of reports on the generation, use, neutralization and disposal of waste, submitted in the notification procedure by small and medium-sized businesses, as a result of whose economic and other activities waste is generated;
Coordinates standards for permissible discharges of substances and microorganisms (with the exception of radioactive substances) into water bodies for water users;
Coordinates the procedure for carrying out production control in the field of waste management, determined by legal entities operating in the field of waste management, for facilities subject to federal state environmental control.
Presentation on the ecology of the native land by a biology teacher at the Krasnopartisan Secondary School named after. Hero of Russia Z.A. Daudov" Parahonya Vladimir Alekseevich Current problems of ecology of Kalmykia
Map of environmental risks of Kalmykia
What is an environmental problem?1. An environmental problem is a negative environmental change from a human point of view, caused by both anthropogenic and natural factors.
Anthropogenic
Biotic
Abiotic
Environment
2. Ecological problem - a change in the natural environment as a result of technogenic impact, leading to disruption of the structure and functioning of natural systems and leading to negative social, economic and other consequences (B.I. Kochurov, 1998).
Technogenic impact
Environment
Economy
3.Environmental problems are any phenomena associated with a noticeable human impact on nature, the reverse of nature on humans and their economy, vital and economically significant processes (N.F. Reimers, 1992).
Economy
1. Desertification
Pasture overload
(overgrazing)
Wind erosion
(deflation)
Water erosion
Soil salinization
Soil and water pollution by oil products
2.Secondary soil salinization
Miscalculations in construction
irrigation
In the Republic of Kalmykia, the area of saline arable land was
2824.7 thousand hectares.
3. Pollution of water bodies
(poor quality of drinking water)
About 3 million m3 of industrial wastewater containing more than 200 types of compounds of various hazard classes are discharged annually into the water bodies of the Republic of Kalmykia from neighboring territories and regions.
In general, in Kalmykia the sanitary and chemical indicators of water are the worst in Russia.
4. Decrease in the number of individuals of protected species of plants and animals
- Scientific approach to environmental management;
Local (local) environmental monitoring, i.e. monitoring the state of the most important characteristics of the environment, the concentration of harmful substances in the atmosphere, water, soil;
Ways to solve environmental problems:
- use of modern methods in the construction of water treatment facilities;
Restoration and protection of biogeocenoses; - further expansion and increase in protected areas, reference ecosystems, unique natural complexes; - protection and breeding of rare species of plants and animals;
International cooperation in environmental protection; - broad education and environmental education of the population.
SourcesG. M. Borlikov, V. A. Bananova "Dynamics of desertification of arid lands in the Caspian region" // Socio-economic transformations in the Caspian region... - Elista: APP "Dzhangar", 2002. - 256 p.
Dedova E. B. Increasing the natural resource potential of degraded agricultural lands of Kalmykia by means of comprehensive reclamation. Abstract of the dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Agricultural Sciences. - M.: 2012.
ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF KALMYKIA: POLITICAL ASPECTS
© 2008 S.V. Gabunschin
North Caucasus Academy of Government Service, 344002, Rostov-on-Don, st. Pushkinskaya, 70 344002, Rostov-on-Don, Pushkinskaya St., 70
The environmental situation in modern Kalmykia is described in detail. Due to active economic activity in the republic, land degradation and desertification are observed, and pollution of atmospheric air, groundwater and reservoirs continues.
Environmental problems have a serious negative impact on the social environment of the republic's residents. Gradually, the issue moves from the environmental to the economic and political plane, shaping the electoral preferences of voters.
Key words: ecology, politics, Kalmykia.
The author depicts convincingly the ecological situation in modern Kalmikia. Because of high industrial activity one can observe several negative tendencies in the republic: degradation of agricultural land, expenditure of deserts, growing pollution of air, water and even under land streams.
Ecological problems exert serious negative influence upon social environment of local population. Steadily ecological problem sharpens the situation in the political sphere: it forms electorate preference of voters.
Keywords: ecology, policy, Kalmikia.
Issues of interaction between society and the environment have never been politically neutral. Increasing anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment of people, the emergence of global and local environmental problems, and the greening of all aspects of society have a direct impact on political processes in world regions, countries and their subjects, and give rise to the need for their scientific understanding.
It is advisable to consider the state’s environmental policy at all interrelated levels: international, national, regional, municipal, and the level of an economic entity (enterprise). The regional level is of greatest importance in the practical implementation of state environmental policy.
The significance of local problems has increased immeasurably in the era of globalization, when any actions in conditions of an unstable balance of the natural system can lead to unpredictable global consequences, and vice versa.
A clear confirmation of this is the subject of the Russian Federation in the Southern Federal District - Kalmykia, which is located in an arid zone with frequent hot winds and dust storms, where even in winter, when the entire territory is covered with snow, a dusty “gray cape” over the territory of the republic is visible from space. Extensive economic activity during the period of stagnation, the uncontrolled increase in livestock numbers for the sake of fulfilling state plans without taking into account existing realities, led to land degradation and desertification over large areas. These processes know no boundaries, and active dust and salt transfer occurs with desertification.
nary territories of Kalmykia far beyond its borders and even reaches the borders of European states.
Russian society, however, lacks understanding of the growing potential threat of desertification in Kalmykia. Meanwhile, this is a problem that generates a cyclical set of social and economic cause-and-effect relationships, which today represents a real threat not only on a republican, Russian, but also on an international scale.
The problem of the state of atmospheric air continues to remain relevant due to the emission of pollution from gas and oil production and transportation enterprises, which emitted into the atmosphere, for example, more than 73 thousand pollutants in 1997, in 2000 - almost 85, in 2002 - about 81 thousand t. Emissions from stationary sources, including substances with quite high toxicity, amounted to 4868 tons in 1993, in 1997 they almost doubled - to 8674, in 2000 the volume of pollution amounted to 7424 tons.
In addition to dust and suspended particles, carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, soot, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, and formaldehyde enter the atmosphere. The content of harmful solid suspended particles (silicate dust, cement dust, soot, etc.) exceeds the maximum permissible concentrations by 1.6-3.4 times, nitrogen oxides by 2.8, formaldehyde by 10-14 times.
Government structures set standards for maximum permissible emissions using administrative methods, without understanding the depth of environmental processes, and with difficulty assessing the real damage caused to the natural environment. Therefore, the level of pollution due to the high anthropogenic load on the atmosphere is growing year by year.
At some enterprises in the republic, the emission of harmful components into the atmosphere is reduced with the help of capture equipment. But, as a rule, this capture due to outdated technologies and equipment occurs in the range of only 3 to 36.5%, i.e. often up to 97% of air pollutants still end up in the atmosphere.
The high level of depreciation of fixed production assets and at the same time the lack of basic financing for environmental protection measures do not contribute to improving the environmental situation in the republic. Enterprises that pollute the natural environment are held accountable, but the meager economic sanctions do not stimulate the development of environmental protection activities and ensuring the environmental safety of the population. Often, business owners avoid punishment for environmental crimes by using administrative resources, bribery, etc.
Administrative boundaries most often do not coincide with the boundaries of ecosystems, and environmental problems cover several territories, i.e. are interregional in nature. It becomes clear that much depends on the ability of power structures to realize that solving environmental problems within an ecosystem is possible only by combining efforts to maintain the balance of the entire ecosystem, and not its individual parts.
An analysis of the economic development of the territory of the republic shows that local sources of pollution have a certain negative impact on the environment, but significant impacts are also associated with sources located beyond its borders.
The damage to soils and water resources caused by some enterprises in adjacent territories to the ecosystems of Kalmykia is quite significant. However, the country has not yet created the appropriate legal framework for bringing environmental claims from one subject of the Russian Federation to another. Moreover, the authorities prefer “not to quarrel with neighbors” and turn a blind eye to many violations. There is no concern from local authorities about the impact on the republic, for example, of the impact of the Astrakhan gas condensate complex, the discharge of highly mineralized wastewater into our reservoirs from the territory of the Stavropol Territory, the impact of waste from industrial enterprises in the Volgograd region. The population's concerns are highly localized. The speeches of environmentalists go unnoticed. The “green” party movement, as elsewhere in Russia, is not taken seriously by the authorities.
In the structure of the economy of the territories adjacent to Kalmykia (Astrakhan, Volgograd regions, Stavropol Territory), the leading role belongs to industry, which includes three inter-industry complexes: fuel and energy, metallurgical and chemical.
The fuel and energy complex is represented by the gas production and gas processing industries, based on the largest in Europe Astrakhan
gas condensate field. Among the pollutants entering the atmosphere from this source, sulfur dioxide ranks first, followed by carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and solids, as well as a variety of hydrocarbons. Of the latter, their polyaromatic varieties are especially dangerous, in particular benzopyrene.
The impact of emissions from industrial enterprises in the city of Volgograd on the northern regions of the republic is confirmed by the results of surveys conducted by the State Geology Department named after. A.I. Voeykova, MNREC "Ekoton", which showed the presence in the atmospheric air of complex organic substances - mercaptans, xylene, carbon chloride, mercury vapor, protein, etc. At a distance of 0.5 to 9 km from storage ponds, located actually on the border of the republic , where chemically contaminated wastewater from enterprises of the Volgograd industrial hub is discharged, an excess of the average daily concentrations in the air was registered: phenol - up to 37 times, hydrogen sulfide - up to 77, hydrogen fluoride - up to 3.8 times. Exceedances of maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) for methyl mercaptan ranged from 1444 to 38111 times.
In this case, the example of the Volgograd region indicates that the state of the environment does not depend on the adoption of a political decision. Volgograd is included in the list of the most air polluting cities in Russia (41 cities). The influence of its industrial pollutants is associated with a powerful impact on the natural ecosystems of the region and adjacent territories, and the consequences for the environment are already unpredictable. Until a political decision is made to stabilize the region's aggressive industries, the destruction of the region's ecosystem will continue.
Since 1964, domestic and industrial wastewater from enterprises in the Volgograd region has been discharged into storage ponds and evaporators, the total area of which is 230 km2. They are located on the southern outskirts of the region near the border with Kalmykia. Every year, about 3.2 million m3 of industrial wastewater is discharged into them, which contains about 340 tons of inorganic and 32 tons of organic impurities every day.
In the fall of 1989, an accident occurred at the settling tanks of industrial enterprises in Volgograd and wastewater through the irrigation canal entered the territory of the republic into the Sarpinsky lakes, which led to the mass death of birds, amphibians and fish. Highly mineralized waters from the irrigation systems of the Stavropol Territory, flowing into the territory of the republic, only aggravate the already negative environmental situation.
An ecological and toxicological assessment of soils in the Oktyabrsky, Maloderbetovsky and Priyutnensky districts made it possible to identify an area with the maximum degree of contamination within the study areas. It is located in the western part of the Maloderbetovsky district, on the border with the Volgograd region and, geomorphologically, is confined to the eastern
slopes of Ergeni and Sarpinskaya hollow. The site is characterized by a high density of localized pollution zones, within which the content of many hazardous chemicals exceeds the maximum permissible concentration several times.
In the area located in close proximity to the settling tanks of the Volgograd chemical enterprises, the maximum excess of the maximum permissible concentrations of chromium, vanadium, and copper was recorded. The total pollution index here is 28, which is the highest value.
In the rest of the Maloderbetovsky district, zones with hazardous substance contents 1.5 times higher than the norm have been identified. In the Oktyabrsky district, local excesses of the maximum permissible concentrations of copper, zinc, and bromine were detected. In the Priyutnensky region, the soils are slightly contaminated with vanadium.
An examination of samples of drinking water and surface water within the Maloderbetovsky district showed the presence of pollutants in quantities exceeding the norm by 1.5-5 times. In most of the samples, an increased content of petroleum products was found (up to 28 norms), while the total number of toxicants found in drinking water samples reaches 9. Analysis of pollution of water bodies of categories I and II in the regions of the republic also shows the presence of pollution according to microbiological and sanitary-chemical indicators.
In the 50s XX century The state geological enterprise “Koltsovgeology” has identified the Ergeninsky uranium ore district on the territory of the republic. For a long period of time, uranium mining work was carried out here in secret. The population living a few kilometers from the uranium mines (Narta village, 3 km) was in the dark and, naturally, did not take any measures to protect their health. For a long time, uranium mines at the Stepnoye, Shargadyk, Vishnevskoye and Buratinsky deposits were open, causing a negative impact on the environment and people.
On the territory of the republic, the impact of uranium-containing sediments on the radioactivity of the waters of the Ergeninsky aquifer complex, used by the population for drinking water supply, is also noted. Drinking water supply. Vorobyovka, for example, is carried out from the Gojur spring of the Ergeninsky aquifer. The total radioactivity of the water here is 17 Bq/l, while the norm according to SanPiN is 0.1 Bq/l. The radon concentration is 10 Bq/l. The radioactivity of the water of the spring, located 2 km from the Gojur spring, is 35 Bq/l, the concentration of radon is 19 Bq/l, which clearly indicates radon contamination of groundwater.
Underground nuclear explosions were carried out in the territories of the Stavropol Territory and Astrakhan Region adjacent to Kalmykia. As is known, in order to
During the creation of experimental-industrial underground tanks (PU), 15 nuclear explosions were carried out 35 km north of Astrakhan. An underground nuclear explosion was carried out 90 km north of Stavropol. On the territory of the republic, under the Region-4 program, 80 km northeast of the city of Elista, an underground nuclear explosion was also carried out for the purpose of deep seismic sounding of the earth’s crust to search for structures promising for mineral exploration. Only in the late 90s. the public became aware of this. The influence of the consequences of underground nuclear explosions on radioactive contamination of the territory of the republic has not been studied by anyone. And the reason for this is the lack of appropriate funding and adequate understanding of the current environmental situation in government structures. Currently, at the Astrakhan gas condensate field, as a result of 15 underground nuclear explosions, global radioactive contamination is observed, spreading to the northeastern territory of our republic.
Within the oil fields of the Chernozemelsky oil and gas production department of JSC Kalmneft of the Republic of Kalmykia in 1996, the State Enterprise Koltsovgeology examined soils in places where oil spilled, storage tanks, evaporation fields, collection and pumping points, pipelines, well sections and their individual designs. At 9 sites, the gamma radiation dose rate exceeded the background by 2 to 8 times, which is 0.20 and 0.80 µGy/h, respectively.
An expedition of Kalmyk scientists along the route of the CPC-R oil pipeline system across the territory of the republic in 2001 revealed significant levels of radioactive substances in soil and vegetation samples. Almost all samples indicate the presence of significant concentrations of uranium-238 (u) and uranium-235 (u), which are distributed throughout the territory from currently mothballed uranium mining operations.
There is an acute problem of soil contamination with cesium-137 radionucleide (137Cb), which was presumably introduced in the recent past with precipitation and dust and moisture transfer. Maximum values of 137Sb exceed the statistical average by 7-10 times.
The given data is only a small part of the pressing environmental problems of the republic. The problem of soil pollution from landfills, landfills with household and industrial waste requires an urgent solution against the backdrop of an annual increase in solid waste to 282 thousand m3/year and liquid waste up to 120 thousand m3/year. As always, local authorities do not have enough financial resources, and there are no competent management solutions that can solve the problem. This leads to waste dumps spreading throughout the republic like a cancer, causing irreparable damage to the environment.
There is a real epidemiological and toxicological danger due to the neglected state of cattle burial grounds (out of 110, only 15 comply with veterinary regulations). For the territory where they are located, this has become a sanitary and epidemiological mine
slow action. There is a criminal inaction of persons on whom decisions depend to ensure the environmental safety of citizens.
There is no storm sewer system in the capital; rain and flood waters wash away all waste and sewage into the area of the Yarmarochny and Kolonsky ponds, recreational areas for the townspeople.
At the end of the 50s. In the 20th century, when the Kalmyks returned from exile, the authorities postponed the construction of storm sewers until better times, providing for the primary vital needs of the people. So, these better times have not yet come, and the city is suffocating in its own waste. The reason for this is the illiteracy of power structures and the population’s lack of understanding of the environmental problem.
The situation is complicated by the fact that government monitoring does not take into account many negative processes occurring in the republic’s ecosystems. Therefore, the political will and efforts of legislative and executive authorities are extremely important to create a workable system of state environmental monitoring, the development of relevant regulatory legal acts, tightening responsibility for environmental pollution and the necessary measures to stabilize the situation in the republic in order to ensure environmental safety, which should guarantee anyone a clean environment for people, eliminating the threat to life and health from its negative impacts, without trampling on the fundamental human right - the right to live in a favorable environment.
Received by the editor
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