Topics: Natural resources of the Far East. Topics: Natural resources of the Far East Protection of water resources of the country and our region

The entire territory of Russia owns one or another natural resource. Thus, the European North is famous for its forests, Western Siberia for its water reserves, and Eastern Siberia for its deposits of brown coal. What about the Far East? This region is the largest in the state and contains many natural resources. I will tell you more about them below.

Forest, water and biological resources of the Far East

There is a lot of wood raw material in the region. A shortage of timber is observed only in Chukotka and the Magadan region. If you convey information in numbers, then the total volume of wood reserves is 326.4 million hectares. For reference, let me tell you that India has the same area! The most valuable are cedar-deciduous forests in the south.

There are enough water reserves in the region for farming. There are many lakes, but they are small. The situation with river networks is completely different. The major rivers are:

Amur.
Indigirka.
Anadyr.
Lena.
Kolyma.

Also, the water resources of the Far East include numerous seas along the contour of the continent.

Both forests and waters are sources of biological resources. Seas and rivers ensure the development of fishing. Polar bears and Amur tigers, musk deer and Amur gorals have found their home among the woody vegetation.

Mineral raw materials of the Far East

There are four main mineral resources in this region. These are gold, boron, diamonds and tin. To confirm my words, I will indicate the share of the total volume of the state's mining industry: gold - 50%, boron raw materials - 90%, diamonds - 98% and tin - 80%. There are also quite a lot of fuel and energy resources in the region under consideration. First of all, it is worth noting the oil that is actively produced in Sakhalin, Yakutia, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. Coal deposits are widespread. Most of them are concentrated in Southern Yakutia, Chukotka, Sakhalin, and Kamchatka.

The Far East is located in a zone of collision of lithospheric plates, which affected the relief and abundance of non-ferrous metals. The maximum number of discovered deposits is 659! Tungsten, uranium, mercury, zinc, lead, and titanium are mined here.

Why is a large number of isotherms closed in the Far East?

Closed isotherms are associated with mountain ranges and intermountain basins, which disrupt the smooth decrease in temperature from south to north.

How can one explain such sharp contrasts in the amount of precipitation in different parts of the Far East?

This is again explained by the mountainous terrain. On the path of moist sea air masses there are mountain ranges that intercept the bulk of precipitation.

Why are the rivers of the northern runoff characterized by high water content with little precipitation?

Because these rivers have low groundwater flow due to permafrost, and low evaporation due to the cold climate.

The costs of transpiration (evaporation of water by a plant) for conifers, mosses and lichens are also low. Thus, almost all precipitation reaches the rivers and determines their water content.

How does the monsoon climate affect the Amur regime? Tell us about the economic importance of this river.

The monsoon climate determines the feeding regime of the Amur: stormy floods in the summer (during which the flow increases 4 times), often leading to floods. Amur is the main water artery of the south

Far East. Used for shipping and fishing. The border between Russia and China runs along it.

Show on the map the composition of the territory of the Far East, its mainland, island and peninsular parts, the main geographical objects.

You need to remember the following geographical features:

seas: Laptev, East Siberian, Chukotka, Beringovo, Okhotsk, Japan;
bays: Penzhinskaya Bay, Peter the Great, Shelikhova, Anadyrsky;
straits: Longa, Beringov, Tatarsky, La Perouse, Kunashirsky;
islands: Novosibirsk, Wrangel, Komandor, Kuril, Sakhalin; peninsulas: Kamchatka, Chukotka; uplands: Zeya-Bureinskaya; lowlands: Yana-Indigirskaya, Kolyma, Middle Amur, Central Yakut;
mountains, ridges, highlands: Aldan upland, Vitim plateau, Yano-Oymyakon upland, Chukotka upland, Sikhote-Alin, ridges - Chersky, Dzhugdzhur, volcanoes - Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Avachinskaya Sopka;
rivers: Vilyui, Aldan, Olenek, Lena, Yana, Indigirka, Kolyma, Amur, Zeya, Us-Suri, Kamchatka, Anadyr;
lakes and reservoirs: Khanka, Vilyuiskoye, Zeyskoye;
nature reserves: Ust-Lensky, Kronotsky, Wrangel Island, Far Eastern Sea, Kedrovaya Pad;
cities: Tiksi, Mirny, Yakutsk, Verkhoyansk, Anadyr, Magadan, Blagoveshchensk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Ussuriysk.

What are the main features of the physical-geographical position of the Far East? What is the reason for the increased seismicity in this area?

The Far East is the country's largest economic region in terms of territory, the longest from north to south, covering all latitudes in Russia from almost 42° N. w. in Primorsky Krai up to 74° N. w. in northwestern Yakutia.

The main features of the physical and geographical position of the area:

Wide access to the seas of the Pacific and Arctic oceans;

Wealth in natural resources.

The agroclimatic potential of the region is similar to the southern parts of the European part of the country. True, the widespread occurrence of a sharply continental climate in the west of the region and a moderate monsoon climate in the east and permafrost sharply narrow the possibilities for farming. The most favorable conditions for crop production are in the south in the Amur and Khanka lowlands.

In terms of the diversity of mineral resources, the Far Eastern region is one of the largest, and many deposits are poorly studied and require extensive geological work. There are ores of non-ferrous and ferrous metals (gold, tin, lead, zinc, tungsten, antimony, rare metals, iron, manganese), and diamonds. There are significant reserves of coal, oil, gas, mica-phlogopite, and fluorspar.

The richest hydropower resources of the rivers are almost not used (there is no consumer).

The area is unique in its diversity and reserves of biological resources. The forests contain the most valuable plants (ginseng, lemongrass, eleutherococcus) and animals (fur trade).

The riches of the ocean make it possible to harvest fish and shellfish, seaweed and crabs here.

The development of certain types of raw materials and fuel in the Far East turns out to be unprofitable until foreign economic relations are established, since in Siberia there are deposits of similar resources located closer to European consumers and often with better development conditions.

The increased seismicity of the area and volcanism, unique for Russia, are explained by the fact that the extreme eastern part of the Far East is located in the area of alpine folding, the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. Tectonic movements continue in this area to this day.

What unique natural features distinguish the Far East from Siberia, which you have already studied? Give an assessment of the natural features of individual territories of the Far East. Which ones most seriously affect people's lives? Material from the site

The Far East is distinguished from Siberia by its extensive sea coast, monsoon and maritime climates, and volcanism. The features of the physical-geographical position were described above. All these natural features not only influence people’s lives, but also shape their lifestyle and type of farming. The monsoon climate with heavy summer rains and frequent river floods determines agricultural specialization and causes frequent crop losses due to flooding. The extensive sea coast determines the development of the fishing industry and the great importance of sea transport. Frequently recurring earthquakes force the construction of earthquake-resistant buildings. Permafrost and the mountainous nature of the territory make it difficult to develop the vast spaces of the Far East. In conditions of frozen soils, all communications in populated areas have to be carried out on the surface; settlements here give the impression of cities and villages entangled in pipes. The sharply continental climate with harsh winters places increased demands on the heating and thermal insulation properties of buildings.

Compare areas in the north and south of the Far East. Show differences and similarities. Explain their reasons.

The most important difference is that it is cold in the north of the region, warmer in the south. The consequences of this are clearly visible on maps of population density and agricultural areas. The Far North is a sparsely populated region with reindeer pastures; the south of the region is not inferior in population density to the European territory of Russia, and is distinguished by crop production and livestock farming. The main similarity is the coastal position of the extreme eastern parts; almost all settlements located on the coast are ports.

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INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………...3

1. NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION………......4

1.1 The concept of “natural resources”………………………………….…4

1.2 Economic classification of natural resources…………….7

2. ECONOMIC ASSESSMENTS OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION………………………..………………………15

2.1 Economic assessment of the natural resource potential of Russia……………………………………………………………………………………….15

2.2 Environmental protection for certain types of resources………………………………………………………………..22

3. PROBLEMS AND FORECASTS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAR EAST……………………………………………………..…36

CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………...41

LIST OF SOURCES USED………………………......42

INTRODUCTION

Nature is the habitat of man and the source of all the benefits he needs for life and production activities. Man is a part of nature, its creation, he can produce only using its resources, and live only in those natural conditions (temperature, pressure, humidity, atmospheric composition, etc.) to which he is genetically adapted.

For many years, striving to conquer nature and dominate it, man unexpectedly found himself on the verge of an environmental disaster. The “greenhouse effect”, “ozone hole”, “acid rain”, lack of clean water and food, raw materials and energy crises, pollution of the World Ocean - all these problems have confronted humans, threatening death and requiring an immediate solution.

One can hardly name a more important global problem these days than the rational use of natural resources and environmental protection. Its solution is possible only on the basis of environmental knowledge.

Russia is a country richly endowed with a wide variety of natural resources. In terms of reserves of many of them, Russia holds first place in the world. Foreign travelers, scientists and diplomats have long admired the fabulous riches of the Russian mineral resources. The main wealth of Russia is its generous nature: endless forests, fields, seas. These are its regions, each of which plays its own irreplaceable role in the life of the country, giving it oil and gas, cars and scientific discoveries.

The purpose of this course work is to reveal a solution to the global problem of rational use of the country’s natural potential and the state of the environment, to give an economic assessment of natural resources.

The work also examines problems and forecasts for further development using the example of the Far East.

1 NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION

The concept "Pnatural resources"

“Natural resources” is one of the most frequently used concepts in the literature. In the Brief Geographical Encyclopedia, this term refers to “...elements of nature used in the national economy, which are the means of subsistence of human society: soil cover, useful wild plants, animals, minerals, water (for water supply, irrigation, industry, energy, transport ), favorable climatic conditions (mainly heat and moisture), wind energy."

A more general definition given by A. A. Mints: “natural resources... the body and forces of nature, which at a given level of development of productive forces and knowledge can be used to meet the needs of human society in the form of direct participation in material activity.”

Natural resources - spatio-temporal category; their volume varies in different regions of the globe and at different stages of socio-economic development of society. Bodies and natural phenomena act as a certain resource if a need arises for them. But needs, in turn, appear and expand with the development of technical capabilities for the development of natural resources.

The territorial expansion of the sphere of economic activity of human society and the involvement of new types of natural resources in material production caused various changes in nature, a kind of response in the form of various natural-anthropogenic processes. In pre-capitalist social formations, these processes of change were not widespread and were concentrated in certain regions - centers of world civilization (Mediterranean, Mesopotamia and the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia). And although at all times the development of natural resources by man has been purely consumerist, and sometimes downright predatory, it has rarely led to serious large-scale environmental disasters. The intensity of development of natural resources and the volume of natural resources involved in economic activity began to increase sharply in the era of the emergence and development of the capitalist social structure. The use of machinery was accompanied by a significant increase in the volume of extracted raw materials (wood, minerals, agricultural products, etc.). At the same time, new types of natural resources were being developed. Lands that were previously considered unsuitable for plowing (swampy, saline, or suffering from moisture deficiency) are being reclaimed, and new types of minerals are being developed (oil, natural gas, uranium, rare metals, etc.). Natural resources in the process of development are subject to deeper and more complex processing (production of petroleum products, synthetic materials, etc.). However, the method of production, based on expanded material reproduction, on obtaining maximum short-term profit, does not take into account the peculiarities of the formation of natural resources, the volume of their natural renewal and primarily uses the highest quality and conveniently located reserves.

In the second half of the 20th century. resource consumption has increased immeasurably, covering almost the entire land mass and all currently known natural bodies and components. Scientific and technological progress directly affected the practice of resource use. Technologies have been developed for the development of such types of natural resources that until recently were not included in the concept of “natural resources” (for example, desalination of salty sea waters on an industrial scale, the development of solar or tidal wave energy, nuclear energy production, oil and gas production in offshore areas and much more). There was an idea about potential resources or resources of the future.

Of great importance in the development of natural resources are economic forces, determining the profitability of their economic use. Thus, until now, oil and ferromanganese nodules, which lie at great depths of the bottom of the World Ocean, are not considered as real, accessible resources, since their extraction turns out to be too expensive and not economically justified.

Not all natural resources “lie on the surface” and can be easily calculated and taken into account. Thus, the volumes of groundwater, many types of minerals, raw materials for various chemical industries are determined and clarified as a result of complex, often expensive scientific or technical research. As scientific and technological progress develops, our knowledge and ideas about them become more accurate. In some cases, the technology for extracting or processing natural raw materials is already known, but only at the stage of experimental rather than industrial development. This is the case with the production of oil from tar sands and shale, with large-scale desalination of salty sea waters. The resulting raw materials are too expensive and uncompetitive, so it is impossible to make economic calculations based on their use.

Often the needs for a natural resource are completely blocked technological impossibility of their development, for example, energy production based on controlled thermonuclear fusion, regulation of climatic processes or phenomena, etc.. The technical and technological imperfections of many processes for the extraction and processing of natural resources, considerations of economic profitability and lack of knowledge about the volumes and quantities of natural raw materials force the determination of natural resources resource reserves, distinguish several of their categories according to the degree of technical and economic accessibility and knowledge.

1. Available, or proven, or real reserves are volumes of a natural resource identified by modern exploration or survey methods, technically accessible and economically viable for development.

2. Potential, or general, resources (English - potential resources) are resources established on the basis of theoretical calculations, reconnaissance surveys and including, in addition to precisely established technically recoverable reserves of natural raw materials or reserves, also that part of them that is currently being developed is not possible for technical or economic reasons (for example, brown coal deposits at great depths or fresh waters conserved in glaciers or deep layers of the earth's crust). Potential resources are called resources of the future, since their economic development will become possible only in the conditions of a qualitatively new scientific and technological development of society.

Economic classification of natural resources

Due to the dual nature of the concept of “natural resources”, reflecting their natural origin, on the one hand, and economic significance, on the other, several classifications have been developed and widely used in the specialized and geographical literature.

I. Classification of natural resources by origin. Natural resources (bodies or natural phenomena) arise in natural environments (water, atmosphere, plant or soil cover, etc.) and form certain combinations in space that change within the boundaries of natural-territorial complexes. On this basis, they are divided into two groups: resources of natural components and resources of natural-territorial complexes.

1. Resources of natural components. Each type of natural resource is usually formed in one of the components of the landscape envelope. It is controlled by the same natural factors that create this natural component and influence its characteristics and territorial location. According to their belonging to the components of the landscape shell, resources are distinguished: 1) mineral, 2) climatic, 3) water, 4) plant, 5) land, 6) soil, 7) animal world. This classification is widely used in domestic and foreign literature.

When using the above classification, the main attention is paid to the patterns of spatial and temporal formation of individual types of resources, their quantitative, qualitative characteristics, features of their regime, and the volume of natural replenishment of reserves. Scientific understanding of the entire complex of natural processes involved in the creation and accumulation of a natural resource makes it possible to more correctly calculate the role and place of a particular group of resources in the process of social production, the economic system, and most importantly, makes it possible to identify the maximum volumes of resource withdrawal from the natural environment, preventing its depletion or deterioration in quality. For example, an accurate idea of the volume of annual wood growth in the forests of a certain area makes it possible to calculate permissible cutting rates. With strict control over compliance with these standards, depletion of forest resources does not occur.

2. Resources of natural-territorial complexes. At this level of subdivision, the complexity of the natural resource potential of the territory is taken into account, resulting from the corresponding complex structure of the landscape envelope itself. Each landscape (or natural-territorial complex) has a certain set of various types of natural resources. Depending on the properties of the landscape, its place in the overall structure of the landscape shell, and the combination of types of resources, their quantitative and qualitative characteristics change very significantly, determining the possibilities for the development and organization of material production. Conditions often arise when one or several resources determine the direction of economic development of an entire region. Almost any landscape has climatic, water, land, soil and other resources, but the possibilities for economic use are very different. In one case, favorable conditions may arise for the extraction of mineral raw materials, in others - for the cultivation of valuable cultural plants or for the organization of industrial production, a resort complex, etc. On this basis, natural resource territorial complexes are distinguished according to the most preferred (or preferred) type of economic development. They are divided into: 1) mining, 2) agricultural, 3) water management, 4) forestry, 5) residential, 6) recreational and etc..

Using only one classification of types of resources according to their origin (or “natural classification”, as defined by A.A. Mints) is not enough, since it does not reflect the economic significance of resources and their economic role. Among the systems of classification of natural resources, reflecting their economic significance and role in the system of social production, classification according to the direction and forms of economic use of resources is more often used.

II. Classification by type of economic use. The main criterion for subdividing resources in this classification is their assignment to various sectors of material production. On this basis natural resources are divided into industrial and agricultural resourcesagricultural productiona.

1. Industrial production resources. This subgroup includes all types of natural raw materials used by industry. Due to the very large branching of industrial production, the presence of numerous industries that consume different types of natural resources and, accordingly, put forward different requirements for them. Types of natural resources are differentiated as follows:

1) energy, which include various types of resources used at the present stage of development of science and technology for energy production: a) fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas, uranium, bituminous shale, etc.); b) hydropower resources - the energy of freely falling river waters, tidal wave energy of sea waters, etc.; c) sources of bioconversion energy - the use of fuel wood, the production of biogas from agricultural waste; d) nuclear raw materials used to produce atomic energy;

2) non-energy including a subgroup of natural resources that supply raw materials for various industries or participate in production due to technological necessity: a) minerals that do not belong to the group of caustobiolites; b) water used for industrial water supply; c) lands occupied by industrial facilities and infrastructure facilities; d) forest resources supplying raw materials for the wood chemicals and construction industry; e) fish resources belong to this subgroup conditionally, since currently fish production and processing of the catch have become industrial in nature (A. A. Mints, 1972).

2. Agricultural production resources. They combine the types of resources involved in the creation of agricultural products: a) agroclimatic - resources of heat and moisture necessary for the production of cultivated plants or grazing; b) soil and land resources - land and its top layer - soil, which has the unique property of producing biomass, are considered both as a natural resource and as a means of production in crop production; c) plant feed resources - resources of biocenoses that serve as a food supply for grazing livestock; d) water resources - water used in crop production for irrigation, and in livestock farming - for watering and keeping livestock.

Quite often, natural resources of the non-productive sphere or direct consumption are also identified. These are, first of all, resources taken from the natural environment (wild animals that are subject to commercial hunting, wild medicinal plants), as well as recreational resources, resources of protected areas and a number of others.

Sh. Classification based on exhaustibility. When taking into account reserves of natural resources and the volume of their possible economic withdrawal, the idea of exhaustibility of reserves is used. A. Mintz proposed calling the classification based on this criterion ecological. All natural resources are divided into two groups based on exhaustibilitypy: exhaustible and inexhaustible .

1. Exhaustible resources. They form in the earth's crust or landscape, but the volumes and rates of their formation are measured on a geological time scale. At the same time, the need for such resources from production or for organizing favorable living conditions for human society significantly exceeds the volumes and rates of natural replenishment. As a result, depletion of natural resources inevitably occurs. The group of exhaustible resources includes resources with unequal rates and volumes of formation. This allows for further differentiation. Based on the intensity and speed of natural formation, resources are divided into subgroups:

1. Non-renewable, which include: a) all types mineral resources or minerals. As is known, they are constantly formed in the depths of the earth’s crust as a result of the continuously ongoing process of ore formation, but the scale of their accumulation is so insignificant, and the rates of formation are measured in many tens and hundreds of millions of years (for example, the age of coal is more than 350 million years), which is practically they cannot be taken into account in business calculations. The development of mineral raw materials occurs on a historical time scale and is characterized by ever-increasing volumes of withdrawal. In this regard, all mineral resources are considered not only exhaustible, but also non-renewable. b) Land resources in their natural form - this is the material basis on which the life of human society takes place. The morphological structure of the surface (i.e., relief) significantly influences economic activity and the possibility of developing the territory. Once disturbed lands (for example, by quarries) during large-scale industrial or civil construction are no longer restored in their natural form.

2. Renewable resources to which they belong: a) plant and b) animal world. Both are restored quite quickly, and the volumes of natural renewal are well and accurately calculated. Therefore, when organizing the economic use of accumulated reserves of wood in forests, grass in meadows or pastures, and hunting wild animals within limits not exceeding annual renewal, resource depletion can be completely avoided.

3. Relatively (not completely) renewable. Although some resources are restored over historical periods of time, their renewable volumes are significantly less than the volumes of economic consumption. That is why these types of resources turn out to be very vulnerable and require especially careful control by humans. Relatively renewable resources also include very scarce natural resources: a) productive arable soils; b) forests with mature stands; V) water resources in the regional aspect. Productive arable soils relatively few (according to various estimates, their area does not exceed 1.5-2.5 billion hectares). The most productive soils, belonging to the first fertility class, occupy, according to FAO estimates, only 400 million hectares. Productive soils form extremely slowly - it takes more than 100 years to form a 1 mm layer, for example, chernozem soils. At the same time, processes of accelerated erosion, stimulated by irrational land use, can destroy several centimeters of the upper, most valuable arable layer in one year. Anthropogenic soil destruction has been occurring so intensely in recent decades that it gives grounds to classify soil resources as “relatively renewable.”

The fact of the practical inexhaustibility of water resources on a planetary scale is well known. However, on the land surface, fresh water reserves are unevenly concentrated, and over vast areas there is a shortage of water suitable for use in water management systems. Arid and subarid areas suffer especially greatly from water shortages, where irrational water consumption (for example, water intake in volumes exceeding the volume of natural replenishment of free water) is accompanied by rapid and often catastrophic depletion of water supplies. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately account for the amount of permissible withdrawal of water resources by region. P. Inexhaustible resources. Among the bodies and natural phenomena of resource significance, there are those that are practically inexhaustible. These include climatic And water resources.

A)climate resources. The most stringent requirements for climate presented by agriculture, recreational and forestry, industrial and civil construction, etc. Typically, climate resources are understood as the reserves of heat and moisture available to a specific area or region. Total heat reserves received per year per 1 sq.m. surface of the planet are equal to 3.16 x 10 J (radiation budget on average for the planet). Heat is distributed unevenly geographically and across seasons, although the average air temperature for the Earth is approximately + 15°C. The land as a whole is well supplied with atmospheric moisture: an average of about 119 thousand cubic meters falls on its surface annually. km of precipitation. But they are distributed even more unevenly than heat, both spatially and temporally. On land there are known areas that receive more than 12,000 mm of precipitation annually, and vast areas where less than 50-100 mm falls per year. On average, long-term, both heat reserves and volumes of falling atmospheric moisture are quite constant, although significant fluctuations in the provision of heat and moisture to the territory may be observed from year to year. Since these resources are formed in certain parts of the thermal and water cycles, constantly operating over the planet as a whole and over its individual regions, the reserves of heat and moisture can be considered inexhaustible within certain quantitative limits, precisely established for each region.

B)Water resources of the planet . The earth has a colossal volume of water - about 1.5 billion cubic meters. km. However, 98% of this volume is the salty waters of the World Ocean, and only 28 million cubic meters. km - fresh waters. Since technologies for desalination of salty sea waters are already known, the waters of the World Ocean and salt lakes can be considered as potential water resources, the use of which in the future is quite possible. Annually renewable reserves of fresh water are not so large; according to various estimates, they range from 41 to 45 thousand cubic meters km (full river flow resources). The world economy uses about 4-4.5 thousand cubic meters for its needs. km, which is equal to approximately 10% of the total water supply, and, therefore, subject to the principles of rational water use, these resources can be considered as inexhaustible. However, if these principles are violated, the situation can sharply worsen, and even on a planetary scale there may be a shortage of clean fresh water. In the meantime, the natural environment annually “gives” humanity 10 times more water than it needs to satisfy a wide variety of needs.

Thus, natural resources - These are the bodies and forces of nature that are used by man to maintain his existence. These include sunlight, water, air, soil, plants, animals, minerals and everything else that is not created by man, but without which he cannot exist either as a living being or as a producer. Natural resources are classified according to the following criteria: according to their use - into production (agricultural and industrial), healthcare (recreational), aesthetic, scientific, etc.; according to belonging to one or another component of nature - land, water, mineral, animal and plant life, etc.; by replaceability - into replaceable (for example, fuel and mineral energy resources can be replaced by wind, solar energy) and irreplaceable (there is nothing to replace oxygen in the air for breathing or fresh water for drinking); according to exhaustibility - into exhaustible and inexhaustible.

2 . ECONOMIC ASSESSMENTS OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

2.1 Economic assessment of the natural resource potential of Russia

Economic (or in a broader sense, economic) assessment of natural conditions and natural resources is one of the concepts that have occupied a prominent place in the problems of modern economic geography for quite a long time. Consideration of this issue led to the conclusion about the relevance of a more in-depth theoretical and methodological development of this problem. In this regard, the question arose about the possibility of determining the very content of the concept of economic assessment, clarifying the essence of the reality processes it reflects, and establishing criteria. In itself, the fact of naturally determined differentiation of the geographical envelope, in terms of value, is neutral and cannot receive any assessment, regardless of the criterion used. When assessing, it is necessary to apply a criterion of value determined by the nature of the relationship between its subject and object. Economic Valuation of Natural Resources implies the application of economic criteria, i.e. comparison of the properties of natural factors with the requirements arising from practical, economic human activity.

As content economic assessment of natural resources considers taking into account the influence of natural territorial differences in the natural properties of these resources and their sources on the productivity of social labor. The uneven spatial distribution of resources also makes it necessary to take into account differences in the volume (reserves, areas, etc.) of the resources of the objects being assessed.

criterion The assessment is proposed to consider the comparative economic efficiency of using a given source of resources or their territorial combination. Differences in efficiency are expressed in differentiated total costs of living and embodied labor. It is clear that the value of a particular type of natural resource is determined by the economic effect achieved by its use. The magnitude of this effect, as well as the magnitude of the necessary costs for most types of resources, is territorially differentiated; it reflects the territorial structure of production that has developed at each stage with a specific picture of the relationship between the need for resources and the possibility of satisfying them.

Economic assessment of mineral resources

Mineral resources, which include a very wide (and continuously expanding) range of natural substances of mineral origin, used to obtain energy and materials through extraction and subsequent processing, are among the most important types of natural resources.

United object Mineral resources are usually mineral deposits. Deposits theoretically include such areas of the earth’s crust in which “as a result of certain geological processes, there was an accumulation of mineral matter, in quantity, quality and conditions of occurrence, suitable for industrial use.”

The economic (industrial) value of each deposit is determined by an extremely wide range of factors, which, however, in most geological and geological-economic works are reduced to the following groups or estimated parameters:

1. The scale of the deposit, determined by its total reserves;

2. Quality of the mineral (material composition and technological properties);

3. Productivity of the main deposits, characterizing the degree of concentration of mineral reserves in them;

4. Mining technical conditions for the operation of the deposit;

5. Economy of the field area.

In addition, it is proposed to take into account the scarcity of this type of resource and its national economic importance. According to national economic significance, mineral reserves are divided into two groups, subject to separate calculation, approval and accounting: balance sheet reserves, the use of which is economically feasible and which must meet the standards established for calculating reserves in the subsoil; off-balance sheet reserves, the use of which is currently not advisable for technical and economic reasons, but which in the future may become the object of industrial development. The standards on the basis of which the division into these groups is made are established by government bodies for each deposit on the basis of technical and economic calculations, based on the operating conditions of the deposit, the amount of reserves, value and processing technologies. The standards reflect industry requirements, justified by technical and economic calculations. The classification of mineral reserves as balance sheet reflects, along with purely technological considerations, the requirements for the economic efficiency of using a deposit and, therefore, essentially represents a stage in the economic assessment of resources.

Economic assessment of forest resources

Forest resources are one of the types of biological resources. Forest resources are of great vital importance: powerful industries and a significant part of the working population are associated with their use.

An important feature of forest resources is the possibility of multi-purpose use.

From the point of view of assessment methods, an important property of forests (as well as agricultural resources) is their areal distribution. Some methodological features of forest resource assessment are related to this. First, the assessment can be carried out at different territorial scales - from small areas within forest blocks to large areas. Secondly, parallel development of two series of estimates is possible - for natural and for economic units. In the first case, the object of assessment is technologically homogeneous forest areas with a similar biocenotic structure. In the second case, units of economic forest management are considered - territories of forest industry enterprises (or forestry enterprises), timber resource bases, forest economic regions, forest resources of economic regions, etc.

The main elements of forest resource assessment should be considered as follows:

1. Volume - the total area of forests of the assessed object, the total stock of wood;

2. Natural properties - concentration of reserves (reserve per unit area), quality and structure of forest stands (composition by species, quality class, age classes);

3. Natural and economic conditions of development.

These elements relate to forestry use, i.e. to deforestation to obtain wood raw materials, since this type of use is of greatest economic importance.

Forests, unlike minerals, occupy a certain area of the earth's surface and are accessible for direct observation; they can be taken into account with exhaustive completeness. In the practice of domestic forestry, a set of interrelated measures is carried out to inventory forests, study the natural and economic conditions of forestry in individual areas, identify the technical value of forests, their characteristics and requirements from the point of view of forestry, design a rational regime for the use and reproduction of forest resources.

Economic assessment of agricultural (land) resources

Agricultural resources, including a complex set of components of the natural landscape, are specific combinations of soil, topography, climate (for natural forage lands - vegetation) used for growing crops. They belong to the most important ubiquitous natural resources. Agricultural resources, like forest resources, belong to renewable, used continuously under certain conditions. Unlike mineral resources or forests, land resources in the most economically important form of their use - agricultural - become a means of production. In this case, it is not the resources themselves that are removed from nature, but only the plant products obtained with their help.

When using agricultural resources, it is most clearly manifested interconnectedness of the effects of all natural components. Since the main property of lands used in agricultural production is their fertility, the identification of natural geographical differences in the naturally determined level of productivity is of central importance.

An extremely important property of land (in a broader sense, territory) from the point of view of economic assessment methodology is versatility its use. It is a universal subject, a means of labor, a necessary condition for any type of material production.

The other side of land productivity is its close connection with farming methods. In fact, the ecological fertility of the earth is always observed, in which elements dependent on nature and created by human labor are intertwined. The productivity of agricultural resources can only be assessed relatively, in accordance with the given level of technology development in agriculture. From the point of view of economic assessment problems, another aspect of the problem of the relationship between the characteristics of resources and the technology used is no less important. The point is that certain properties of agricultural resources correspond to a qualitatively specific technical system for their use, which consists of a complex of agrotechnical techniques.

The important thing is that behind each specific, i.e. The agrotechnical complex that most fully takes into account the natural properties of a given type of land includes certain economic indicators, expressed in the amount of capital and current costs per unit of land area.

Economic assessment of water resources

Water resources are of exceptional economic importance. They are considered inexhaustible, but in their distribution they experience direct and indirect influence from other components of the natural complex, as a result of which they are characterized by great variability and uneven distribution.

The uniqueness of natural resources is determined mainly by the continuous mobility of water participating in the cycle. In accordance with their place in this cycle, water on Earth appears in various forms that have unequal value from the point of view of satisfying human needs, i.e. as resources.

Water resources are characterized by strong regime variability in time, ranging from daily to secular fluctuations in the water abundance of each source. The complex interaction of many factors gives runoff fluctuations the character of a random process. Therefore, calculations related to water resources inevitably take on a probabilistic, statistical nature.

Water resources differ greatly complexity of territorial forms. Many features of water resources arise from unique ways of using them. With rare exceptions, water is not used directly to create any materials with transformation into another substance and irreversible withdrawal from the natural cycle, as happens with mineral or forest resources. On the contrary, during use, water resources either remain in natural flow channels (water transport, hydropower, fisheries, etc.) or return to the water cycle (irrigation, all types of economic and domestic water supply). Therefore, in principle, the use of water resources does not lead to their depletion.

However, in practice the situation is more complicated. The use of water for dissolving and transporting useful substances or waste, cooling fuel-generating units or as a coolant leads to qualitative changes (pollution, heating) of waste water and (when discharged) the water supply sources themselves. When water is used for irrigation, it is only partially (and often in a changed qualitative state) returned to local drainage channels; mainly, as a result of evaporation from the soil, it goes into the atmosphere, being included in the ground phase of the cycle in other, usually very remote, areas.

The inexhaustibility of water resources and the peculiarities of their use are associated with their a specific place in the system of economic relations. Until recently, the comparative abundance of water, and the ability, in most cases, to satisfy all needs for it, excluded water, like air, from the system of economic relations. The exception was arid regions, where water shortages and the need for large material and labor costs to organize water supply have long made water an object of complex economic and legal relations.

Due to the rapid increase in water consumption as water shortages arise in more and more areas, the situation has begun to change. There is a need for a mechanism to regulate the use of limited water resources and their distribution between consumers - economic or administrative.

2.2 Environmental protection for certain types of resources.

Protection of atmospheric air from harmful emissions from enterprises and transport

The main anthropogenic sources of air pollution include enterprises of the fuel and energy complex, transport, and various machine-building enterprises. That is, the industrial revolution and urbanization led to a significant increase in air pollution. The chemical industry developed, and as a result, unknown substances began to be released into the atmosphere.

Day-to-day control over vehicles is of great importance. All vehicle fleets are required to monitor the serviceability of the vehicles produced on the line. When the engine is running well, the exhaust gases of carbon monoxide should contain no more than the permissible limit.

Urban transport management systems. New traffic control systems have been developed that minimize the possibility of traffic jams, because when stopping and then picking up speed, a car emits several times more harmful substances than when moving uniformly. The streets between the roadways and residential buildings are being widened.

Highways were built to bypass cities. Thus, in Saratov a highway was built to bypass the city. The road accepted the entire flow of transit traffic, which previously stretched like an endless ribbon along the city streets. The intensity of traffic has sharply decreased, the noise has decreased, and the air has become cleaner.

Improving internal combustion engines.

Improving the fuel combustion process in an internal combustion engine and using an electronic ignition system leads to a reduction in harmful substances in the exhaust.

To save fuel, various types of ignition are created. Engineers from the Yugoslav Electronics Industry association have created an electronic system with a service life of 30 thousand hours. Among other things, it regulates fuel consumption. And one of the English companies used a plasma version, which ensures easy ignition of a lean combustible mixture. A car equipped with such a system consumes only 2 liters per 100 km.

Neutralizers. Much attention is paid to the development of toxicity reduction devices - neutralizers, which can be equipped with modern cars.

The method of catalytic conversion of combustion products is that the exhaust gases are purified by coming into contact with the catalyst. At the same time, afterburning of incomplete combustion products contained in vehicle exhaust occurs.

The catalyst is either granules ranging in size from 2 to 5 mm, on the surface of which an active layer with additions of noble metals - platinum, palladium, etc., or a honeycomb-type ceramic block with a similar active surface is applied. The design of the neutralizer is very simple. A metal shell with nozzles for supplying and discharging gas contains a reactor chamber, which is filled with granules or a ceramic block. The neutralizer is attached to the exhaust pipe, and the gases that pass through it are released into the atmosphere purified. At the same time, the device can serve as a noise suppressor.

Gas instead of gasoline. High-octane, stable gas fuel mixes well with air and is evenly distributed throughout the engine cylinders, promoting more complete combustion of the working mixture. The total emission of toxic substances from cars running on liquefied gas is significantly less than from cars with gasoline engines. Thus, the ZIL-130 truck, converted to gas, has a toxicity indicator almost 4 times less than its gasoline counterpart.

Electric car. Nowadays, when a car with a gasoline engine has become one of the significant factors leading to environmental pollution, experts are increasingly turning to the idea of creating a “clean” car. As a rule, we are talking about an electric car. In some countries their mass production begins.

Enterprises in the metallurgical, chemical, cement and other industries emit dust, sulfur dioxide and other harmful gases into the atmosphere that are released during various technological production processes.

Ferrous metallurgy, smelting cast iron and processing it into steel, is accompanied by the release of various gases into the atmosphere.

Air pollution with dust during coal coking is associated with the preparation of the charge and its loading into coke ovens, with the unloading of coke into quenching cars and with wet quenching of coke. Wet extinguishing is also accompanied by the release into the atmosphere of substances that are part of the water used.

In recent years, enterprises in various industries have put into operation many advanced technological processes, thousands of gas cleaning and dust collection devices and installations that sharply reduce or eliminate emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. A program to convert enterprises and boiler houses to natural gas is being implemented on a large scale. Dozens of enterprises and workshops with dangerous sources of air pollution have been moved outside the cities. All this has led to the fact that in most industrial centers and populated areas of the country the level of pollution has noticeably decreased. The number of industrial enterprises equipped with the latest and expensive gas cleaning equipment is also growing.

Of great importance for the sanitary protection of atmospheric air are the identification of new sources of air pollution, accounting of designed, constructed and reconstructed facilities that pollute the atmosphere, control over the development and implementation of master plans for cities, towns and industrial hubs regarding the location of industrial enterprises and sanitary -protective zones.

Cleaning up emissions into the atmosphere. Gas purification technology has a variety of methods and devices for removing dust and harmful gases. The choice of method for purifying gaseous impurities is determined primarily by the chemical and physicochemical properties of this impurity. The choice of method is greatly influenced by the nature of production: the properties of the substances available in production, their suitability as absorbers for gas, the possibility of recovery (collection and use of waste products) or disposal of captured products.

To purify gases from sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan, neutralization with an alkali solution is used. The result is salt and water.

To purify gases from minor concentrations of impurities (no more than 1% by volume), direct-flow compact absorption devices are used.

Along with liquid absorbers—absorbents—solid absorbers can be used for purification and also for drying (dehydration) of gases. These include various brands of active carbons, silica gel, aluminum gel, and zeolites.

Recently, ion exchangers have been used to remove gases with polar molecules from a gas flow. Gas purification processes with adsorbents are carried out in periodic or continuous adsorbers.

To purify the gas stream, dry and wet oxidation processes, as well as catalytic transformation processes, can be used; in particular, catalytic oxidation is used to neutralize sulfur-containing gases of sulfate-cellulose production (gases from cooking and evaporation shops, etc.). This process is carried out at a temperature of 500-600 ° C on a catalyst, which contains oxides of aluminum, copper, vanadium and other metals. Organosulfur substances and hydrogen sulfide are oxidized to a less harmful compound - sulfur dioxide (MPC for sulfur dioxide 0.5 mg/m3, and for hydrogen sulfide 0.078 mg/m3).

Protection of water resources of the country and our region

Water is the basis of life on Earth and its homeland. Unfortunately, the abundance of water is only apparent; in reality, the hydrosphere is the thinnest shell of the Earth, because water in all its states and in all spheres accounts for less than 0.001 of the mass of the planet. Nature is designed in such a way that water is constantly renewed in a single hydrological cycle, and the protection of water resources should be carried out in the very process of water use by influencing individual parts of the water cycle. Demands for water are increasing from year to year. The main consumers of water are industry and agriculture. The industrial importance of water is very great, since almost all production processes require large quantities of it. The bulk of water in industry is used for energy and cooling. For these purposes, water quality is not of great importance, therefore, the basis for reducing the water intensity of industrial production is water recycling, in which water once taken from the source is used repeatedly, thereby “increasing” the reserves of water resources and reducing their pollution. The largest “water consumers” among industrial sectors are ferrous metallurgy, chemistry, petrochemicals and thermal power engineering.

The transition from direct-flow to recycled water supply makes it possible to reduce the volume of water consumption at thermal power plants by 30-40 times, at some chemical and oil refineries - by 20-30 times, and at ferroalloy production - by 10 times. Most of the “industrial” water is used to cool heating units. Replacing water cooling with air cooling in chemical and petrochemical production, mechanical engineering and metalworking, thermal power plants and the woodworking industry would reduce water consumption here by 70-80%. There are great opportunities to reduce irrational water consumption in the housing and communal services sector.

Industrial wastewater is varied in its composition. The contaminants present in them can be in different states of aggregation. To select wastewater treatment methods and equipment, impurities contained in water are divided into four groups.

Group 1 - coarse impurities - particles of soil, sand, clay, emulsions that enter water bodies from industrial enterprises, as well as as a result of soil washout. On the surface of such particles there may be pathogenic microorganisms, viruses, and radioactive substances.

To remove impurities of this group, physicochemical processes are used, which make it possible, using special substances, to enlarge particles with their subsequent sedimentation, to carry out the process of adhesion - sticking of impurities to the surface of inert materials, and also to use the flotation method, that is, to remove impurities into foam, which is specially created in wastewater treatment plants.

Group 2 - colloidal impurities that are found in water in the form of finely dispersed formations (sols or high molecular weight compounds). Substances in this group change the color of water. To remove these impurities, coagulants are used - substances that cause particles to stick together and become larger.

Group 3 - gases and organic compounds dissolved in water. Substances of this group impart various odors, tastes, and colors to water. The most effective cleaning methods are: aeration - blowing water with air, introducing oxidizing agents, under the influence of which most impurities of this group are destroyed, and adsorption - removing impurities using activated carbon, which absorbs (sorbs) many impurities.

Group 4 - impurities of ionic dispersion. When salts, acids, and bases enter water, they disintegrate into ions. Purification from impurities of this group is reduced to the binding of ions; Freezing and other methods can also be used.

This classification allows you to reasonably and purposefully select and design treatment facilities and use computers to solve complex water treatment problems.

Wastewater is purified by mechanical, biological, disinfection (disinfection) and physicochemical methods.

For mechanical cleaning, grates, sand traps, settling tanks, and septic tanks are used. The principle of removing suspended solids is based on the difference in the specific gravities of impurities and water. Sand traps are designed to sediment sand, fine gravel and other mineral impurities. Sand traps facilitate the further purification of wastewater from organic contaminants in settling tanks, digesters and other structures.

Sedimentation tanks are used to separate undissolved mechanical impurities and partially colloidal contaminants of mineral and organic origin from wastewater. Sedimentation tanks can be used for preliminary wastewater treatment with subsequent biological treatment, and also as independent structures if, according to sanitary conditions, it is sufficient to separate only mechanical impurities.

Recently, radial settling tanks have become widespread, which are shallow tanks with a diameter of 18 to 54 meters.

Abstract: Natural resources of Russia

1. Provision of basic types of natural resources.

2. Characteristic features of the distribution of natural resources across the territory of Russia.

The development of human society and socio-economic progress is associated with the use of a variety of natural resources.

Natural resources– components of nature that are used directly to meet the needs of human society, taking into account technical, economic and other capabilities.

Natural resources are classified based on their genesis and method of use:

1. Land

3. Biological (plant and animal)

4. Mineral raw materials

5. Resources of the World Ocean

6. Recreational

7. Climate and space resources

In connection with the problem of limited reserves of natural resources, the importance of classification according to sign of exhaustion:exhaustible (including renewable and non-renewable natural resources) and inexhaustible.

Resources are also classified according to sign of purpose for a particular sector of the economy (for ferrous, non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical industry), by quality(for example, by the content of useful components in ores).

There is no complete identity between the geography of explored resources and their production. First of all, the richest deposits with favorable operating conditions and EGP are developed.

Natural resources are distributed extremely unevenly in Russia. This is explained by differences in climatic and tectonic processes occurring on Earth, and different conditions for the formation of minerals in past geological eras.

In nature, resources are not located separately, but in the form of their complex combinations located in certain territories. Large combinations of resources that are of national importance and cover vast territories are called natural bases. There are several of them on the territory of Russia: in Eastern Zone– South Siberian, North Siberian, North-Eastern, Primorskaya; V Western Zone– North European, Central, Ural-Volga region.

The Russian Federation has a huge and diverse natural resource potential (more than 200 species). In terms of volume and variety of natural resources, Russia has virtually no equal in the world. According to scientists' calculations, the Russian Federation is provided with reserves of coal, iron ore, potassium salts and phosphate raw materials for 2-3 centuries. Forest, water resources, gas and oil reserves are significant.

The population of Russia is 2.4% of the population of our planet, the territory of the Russian Federation is 10% of the earth's. At the same time, the Russian Federation contains ~45% of the world's reserves of natural gas, 13% of oil, 23% of coal, per capita there are 0.87 hectares of arable land, the territory in Russia is covered with forest, accounting for 22% of the world's “forest” surface. According to this indicator, Russia ranks first in the world. In terms of reserves of certain types of natural resources, Russia ranks first or one of the first places in the world (1st - in reserves of gas, wood, iron ore, potassium salts, hydro resources; in terms of oil reserves - 3rd place in the world).

Russia provides itself with its own natural resources, which allows it to develop basic sectors of the economy (fuel and energy complex, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical industry, timber processing industry, construction industry).

Russia not only satisfies its needs for various types of raw materials, but is also their exporter, mainly to the CIS countries and countries of Eastern Europe. At the same time, based on economic interests, a limited amount of minerals (bauxite, tungsten, tin, copper) is imported.

A number of Russian enterprises continue to work on mineral raw materials imported (as part of international trade and economic agreements) from the former republics, where quite large raw material and fuel bases are located. For example, Kazakhstan supplies iron ores from the Sokolovo-Sarbai basin; coal from the Karaganda basin. To the factories of the Urals. Oil from the Mangyshlak Peninsula is supplied through an oil pipeline to oil refineries in the Volga region. Manganese from Nikopol (Ukraine) is used by Russian ferrous metallurgy enterprises.

Russia’s “resource independence” gives it advantages over other countries of the world and serves as an important factor in the rise of its economy.

At the same time, it should note territorial differences in the distribution of natural resources. A characteristic feature of their placement is unevenness.

Almost all types of resources (except iron ores and potassium salts) are concentrated in the eastern regions (Siberia and the Far East), and the main consumers are in the European part of Russia. This leads to the need to transport huge amounts of cargo from east to west.

Resources in the European part of Russia were used much more intensively than in the eastern regions, and at present their reserves are largely depleted. This especially applies to the forest resources of the European North, oil and gas reserves of the Volga region and the North Caucasus, chernozem soils of steppes and forest-steppes (their humus content has decreased, mechanical properties have deteriorated, most of them are susceptible to erosion, etc.).

d.) Therefore, in the European part of Russia, a careful attitude towards resources is required and, most importantly, a reduction in the resource intensity of the economy in order to produce more finished products from fewer resources.

In recent decades, efforts have been made to locate the most resource-intensive industries (electricity, heat and water-intensive) in Siberia and the Far East. The eastern regions are now the main fuel and energy base of Russia and the main producer of non-ferrous metals. Raw material bases are increasingly shifting to the east and north - areas rich in resources, but with harsh natural conditions. Naturally, their extraction there is much more difficult and more expensive. In recent years, environmental protection costs have increased, especially in the extractive industries. This trend is intensifying.

Concentrated in Western Siberia 70% of oil reserves. There are significant reserves in the Far East and Eastern Siberia. More than 80% gas are also located in the north of Western Siberia. Giant deposits are located here, including: and are among the ten largest in the world. There is a certain potential for gas reserves in Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

Coal deposits more differentiated. However, the Eastern regions account for more than 90% of all coal reserves. The first place in coal reserves is occupied by Western Siberia ~ 50%, Eastern Siberia accounts for >30%, and the Far East – 9%. In the Eastern regions (Siberia and the Far East) there are deposits that are among the ten largest coal basins in the world (Kuznetsky, Lensky, Tungussky, Taimyrsky, Kansko-Achinsky).

Russia has large hydro potential– 2500 billion kW/hour (of which it is technically possible to use 1670 billion kW/hour). 86% of hydropower resources also come from the eastern regions, only 53% from the Far East. The Angara-Yenisei cascade of 5 hydroelectric power stations has been created, 4 of them are large.

Important energy components include non-traditional(alternative) sources energy is the energy of the sun, wind, water, biomass (forest), geothermal energy - the energy of the future.

In Western Siberia there is the world's largest artesian basin.

Thermal springs are known in Kamchatka - the Valley of Geysers (~70 springs), in Chukotka (~13 springs), in Altai, in Buryatia.

Natural resources in Russia

In 1967, Pauzhetskaya was built geothermal power plant (GTPP).

Wind energy. Along the coastline of the Arctic Ocean, from the Kola Peninsula to Kamchatka for 12 thousand km, with a strip width of up to 500 km, winds prevail on an average annual basis at speeds of up to 7 m/sec. Their total capacity reaches up to 45 billion kW. Currently, a large number of wind farms are already operating on Novaya Zemlya, the islands of Wrangel, Schmidt (N. Zemlya), Anderma (Yugorsky Peninsula) in the Nenets A. o., Uelene (Chukchi Autonomous Oblast).

Significant reserves iron ores in Mountain Shoria in the south of the Kemerovo region, the Angara-Ilim basin (Irkutsk region), etc.

Reserves manganese ores are small in the Kemerovo region.

- Usinsk.

Known reserves nephelines in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (Kiya-Shaltyrskoye field).

Promising deposits include deposits cuprous sandstones– Udokanskoe (Chita region).

Copper-nickel ores concentrated in the Norilsk region in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Polymetallic ores concentrated in Transbaikalia - Nerchinskoye field, Primorsky Territory - Dalnegorskoye.

Large deposits tin concentrated in the Pacific ore belt and Eastern Transbaikalia. Kavalerovo - Primorsky Territory, Komsomolskoye - Khabarovsk Territory, Esse-Khaya - Sakha Republic, Sherlovaya Gora and Khapcheranga in the Chita region.

Certain reserves of natural resources are concentrated in the European part of the country, including the Urals. Reserves should be allocated iron ores KMA VTsChR with high iron content in ore. KMA reserves account for 55% of the country's iron ore reserves.

More than 9% oil concentrated in the Urals. There are oil reserves in the North Caucasus.

Potential visible natural gas in the North Caucasus. Significant reserves of gas - condensate - in the Lower Volga region (Astrakhan region) and in the Urals (Orenburg region).

Inventory available coal in the Pechora basin (Komi Republic) and the eastern wing of Donbass.

Reserves are concentrated in the Urals manganese ores(Sverdlovsk region), bauxite - north of the Sverdlovsk region, nickel-cobalt ores - Khamilovskoye (Orenburg region)

On the Kola Peninsula - appatito-nepheline And copper-nickel ores.

In the Komi Republic - bauxite– South Timan bauxite region, as well as in the Arkhangelsk and Leningrad regions (Boksitogorsk).

In the Republic of Sevarnaya Ossetia-Alania - polymetallic ores–Sadonskoye field.

Tidal energy is used, but it has not yet received much development. The Kislogubskaya TPP was built on the Kola Peninsula.

Significant reserves of water resources are the Volga-Kama basin, where 11 hydroelectric power stations have been built.

The mineral resources of Russia are far from fully explored; the eastern and northern regions are promising.

In these countries, as in the world as a whole, there are very few reserves left for agricultural development: forests and unproductive lands. In addition, in many countries, agricultural land is rapidly being reduced, as it is allocated for construction, etc. It must be said that in recent decades there has been an expansion of agricultural land due to the development of virgin lands in Russia, Kazakhstan, China, and Canada.

The total water reserves on Earth are 1386 million km 3, but 96.5% of the planet’s water resources come from the salty waters of the World Ocean and 1% from salty groundwater. Fresh water accounts for only 2.5% of the total volume of the hydrosphere, and if we exclude from the calculation polar ice, which is still practically unused, then only 0.3% of the total amount of water on earth remains at the disposal of humanity.

Hydropower is closely related to water resources. Hydropower resources are the energy of moving water. The amount of hydropower potential varies from country to country, which is explained by differences in the volume of river flow and terrain.

Foreign Asia has the greatest hydropower potential. Next come Latin America, Africa, North America, the CIS, Foreign Europe, Australia and Oceania. Among the countries in terms of hydropower potential, Russia, the USA, China, Brazil and Canada stand out.

Various indicators are used to quantify the world's forest resources. The main ones are forest area, forest cover of the territory and standing timber stock. The forest area is approximately 4 billion hectares, i.e. about 30% of the land area. At the same time, two forest belts approximately equal in area are clearly visible: northern and southern. In the northern forest belt, coniferous trees predominate, while the southern one consists of 97% broad-leaved forests.

Latin America stands out especially in terms of forest area. At the level of individual countries, Russia, Brazil, Canada, the USA, and Indonesia have large forest areas.

The area of forests in the southern zone is decreasing catastrophically quickly. The slash-and-burn form of agriculture and extensive grazing livestock breeding, which has been going on for many centuries, causes great damage to forests. Another reason is the recent increase in wood exports to Western Europe, the USA, and Japan.

3. Natural resource potential of Russia and its regions.

Russia has a powerful and diverse natural resource potential that can provide the necessary volumes of its own consumption and exports. Russia ranks first in the world in terms of reserves of most natural resources, including reserves of natural gas, coal, iron ores, a number of non-ferrous and rare metals, as well as reserves of land, water and forest resources.

Russia can rightfully be considered one of the most important links in the world economy, its largest component, providing vital conditions for the functioning of the entire global economic system and the world community, including for their sustainable development. Russia exports 50 types of raw materials to more than 90 countries: about 80% of the country's nickel, primary aluminum, cellulose, over 70% of refined copper, more than 60% of rolled ferrous metals, and almost half of the oil produced. It supplies almost 40% of Europe's natural gas needs and also provides the global community with other strategic resources, thereby helping to improve the sustainability of the global economy.

According to the forecast of the International Energy Agency, by 2015 the consumption of primary energy resources in the world will increase by 47.66%. Taking this into account, Russia, which covers one-eighth of the land area and has the largest shelf waters, has every opportunity to take a leading place in the global economy of the 21st century. on natural resource conditions, ensure economic security, independence of policy and control over the use of the country's resources.

Russia is primarily provided with fuel and energy resources.

The main feature of the distribution of fuel and energy resources is the unevenness of their distribution throughout the country. The bulk of geological fuel reserves are located in the eastern regions of the country, where 85% of natural gas reserves, 65% of oil reserves and 93% of all coal reserves of the country are concentrated.

Russia has significant oil and gas reserves. Their main deposits are located in the West Siberian, Volga-Ural, Timan-Pechora oil and gas provinces, as well as in the North Caucasus and the Far East. Within the West Siberian Lowland, 300 oil and gas fields have been discovered. The most significant oil fields are located in the Spedpeob oil region, where Samotlor, Ust-Balykskoye, Megionskoye, Nizhnevartovskoye, etc. stand out. The second oil region of Western Siberia is the Shaimsko-Krasnoleninsky, which is located 500 km north of Tyumen, where the largest fields are Shaimskoye and Krasnoleninskoye . West Siberian oil reserves are characterized by a number of favorable indicators: relatively shallow occurrence of productive strata (up to 3 thousand m); high concentration of reserves; relatively uncomplicated conditions for drilling wells, their high flow rate. The oil is of high quality. It is light, low-sulfur, characterized by a high yield of light fractions and the content of associated gas, which is a valuable chemical raw material. In terms of oil production, Western Siberia ranks first in the country. The country's main natural gas reserves are located in Western Siberia.

Natural resources of Russia

Of these, more than half are located in the Tyumen North, mainly in three gas-bearing regions. The largest gas fields: Urengoyskoye, Yamburgskoye, Zapolyarnoye, Medvezhye, Nadymskoye, Tazovskoye were discovered in the Tazovo-Purpey gas-bearing region in the north of the Tyumen region in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The Volga-Ural oil and gas province occupies a vast territory between the Volga and the Urals and includes the territory of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, the Udmurt Republic, as well as the Saratov, Volgograd, Samara, Astrakhan regions and the southern part of the Orenburg region. The great advantage of these deposits is the relatively shallow occurrence of industrial oil-bearing horizons - from 1.5 to 2.5 thousand m.

The largest oil fields are: Usinskoye, Vozeiskoye, Ukhtinskoye, Pashninskoye, Kharyatinskoye, Shapkinskoye, etc. Gas reserves are located mainly on the territory of the Komi Republic. Large gas fields are Vuktylskoye, Vasilkovdkoye, Voy-Vozhskoye, Dzhebolskoye. The oil and gas bearing areas of the North Caucasus occupy the territory of the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories. Chechen and Ingush Republics, Dagestan. There are two oil and gas bearing regions in the North Caucasus: Dagestan and Grozny. The most important oil and gas fields in Dagestan are Makhachkala, Achisu, and Izberbash. The largest gas field in the republic is Dagestan Lights.

Coal resources are distributed unevenly across the country. The eastern regions account for 93%, and the European part accounts for 7% of the country’s total reserves. An important indicator of the economic assessment of coal basins is the cost of production. It depends on the mining method, which can be mine or quarry (open), the structure and thickness of the seam, the capacity of the quarry, the quality of coal, the presence of a consumer or the transportation distance. Coals from the Kansk-Achinsk, Kuznetsk, South Yakutsk, and Irkutsk basins are mined using the open-pit method.

Brown coals occur mainly in the Urals, Eastern Siberia, and the Moscow region. Hard coals, including coking coals, occur in the Kuznetsk, Pechora and South Yakutsk basins. The main coal basins are the Pechora, Kuznetsk, Kansko-Achinsk, South Yakutsk and Moscow region basins.

Large resources of ferrous, non-ferrous and rare metals are also capable of meeting the country's needs for a long period. Russia owns one of the world's largest iron ore basins - the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly. Unique in quality, the ores of large deposits of the Norilsk province, in addition to copper, nickel and cobalt, provide a significant amount of platinum group metals. A significant source of foreign exchange earnings are the diamond deposits of the Yakut diamond-bearing province, gold deposits of Siberia and the Far East.

For the further development of the copper and lead-zinc sub-sectors of the industry, a reserve of explored deposits has been created in Eastern Siberia and the Far East. The main share of tin reserves and production comes from deposits in Yakutia, the Magadan region, Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories. Deposits of tungsten (North Caucasus), molybdenum (Krasnoyarsk Territory, Buryatia), antimony (Yakutia) and other non-ferrous and rare metals have been explored and exploited.

Russia is rich in resources of almost all types of non-metallic mineral raw materials. The most important among them are large deposits of high-quality apatites of the Kola Peninsula, the Verkhnekamskoye deposit of potassium salts, deposits of fluorspar (Chita region, Buryatia, Primorye), muscovite and phlogopite (Kola Peninsula, Eastern Siberia), chrysotile-asbestos (Urals, Tuva, Buryatia) .

Despite this abundance, there are minerals whose reserves are either negligible or ineffective. The need of Russian industry for manganese, chromium, mercury, antimony, titanium and a number of other minerals was previously almost completely covered by supplies from the republics of the former USSR. The incentive for inter-republican exchange was the geographical proximity of mining centers to their large consumers in Russia.

Table 5

Russia's provision with proven reserves of certain types of minerals, in years

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TOPIC 9. NATURAL RESOURCE POTENTIAL OF RUSSIA. THE PROBLEM OF ITS RATIONAL USE

Classification of natural resources
Economic assessment of natural resources
The nature of the distribution of natural resources on the territory of Russia

Location of oil and gas fields
Location of coal deposits
Location of the most important iron ore deposits
Location of deposits of non-ferrous metal ores
Deposits of non-metallic minerals
Forest resources
Water resources
Cadastre

Assessment of the environmental situation in Russia and in individual regions
Priority directions for ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation in the environmental sphere

General characteristics of the natural resource potential of Russia

Russia has a powerful and diverse natural resource potential that can provide the necessary volumes of its own consumption and exports. About 20 thousand mineral deposits have been discovered and developed in the country. It ranks first in the world in reserves of most natural resources, including reserves of natural gas, coal, iron ores, a number of non-ferrous and rare metals, peat, and also occupies a leading place in reserves of land, water and forest resources.
The Russian Federation has the world's largest proven reserves of apatite (64.5% of the world's total), natural gas (35.4%), iron ore (32%), nickel (31%), brown coal (29%), tin (27 %), zinc (16%), uranium (14%), oil (13%), lead (12%), copper (11%), some of the world's largest reserves of gold, diamonds, platinum, etc.

2. Classification of natural resources

Mineral deposits have varying degrees of exploration and varying degrees of assessment accuracy. Depending on the degree of exploration, Russian reserves are divided into four categories: A, B, C1, C2: A – these are reserves that have been studied and explored in the greatest detail; B and C1 – reserves explored with relatively less detail; C2 – reserves estimated previously. In addition to the reserves of these categories, which are usually calculated for individual deposits, forecast reserves (i.e., estimated, unexplored) are identified to assess the potential of new ore zones or areas, basins and promising territories. The total mineral reserves of a region, basin, republic or country as a whole (i.e. all reserves studied or explored, as well as forecast) are combined into total geological reserves.
According to their economic importance, mineral reserves are divided into two groups.
1. Balance (standard) - these are those reserves, the use of which is economically feasible at the present time and which satisfy industrial requirements both in terms of the quality of raw materials and technical operating conditions.
2. Off-balance (substandard) are those reserves, the use of which is currently not economically feasible due to the low thickness of deposits, low content of valuable components, particularly difficult operating conditions, and the need to use very complex processing processes, but which in the future can be the object of industrial development.
According to economic classification, natural resources are divided into:
1) resources of material production, including industry (fuel, metals, water, wood, fish) and agriculture (soil, irrigation water, fodder plants, game animals);
2) resources of the non-productive sphere, including direct consumption (drinking water, wild plants and game animals) and indirect (for example, the use of green spaces and reservoirs for recreation).
Natural resources are also classified according to the principle of exhaustibility: exhaustible, including renewable (vegetation, soil, water, wildlife) and non-renewable (mineral resources); inexhaustible (energy of the sun, wind, flowing water, etc.).
Based on their origin and natural properties, they are distinguished: 1) mineral resources (minerals), 2) land, 3) water, 4) biological, 5) climatic (solar heat and light, precipitation), 6) energy resources of natural processes (solar radiation, internal heat of the earth, wind, etc.).
Mineral resources are of particular importance. Based on the nature of their use, mineral resources are divided into tier groups: fuel and energy (oil, natural gas, coal, peat, oil shale); metal ores – ores of ferrous, non-ferrous, rare and precious metals; non-metallic (non-metallic), including apatites, phosphorites, various salts, mica, asbestos, construction raw materials.

3. Economic assessment of natural resources

In Russian economic science, three main approaches to the assessment of natural resources have developed.

All of them are based on the determination of material costs associated with the use of resources, therefore only indirectly, through the magnitude of these costs and the economic effect, they make it possible to evaluate natural resources.
1. The assessment of the costs of involvement in use is carried out on the basis of direct costs for exploration, development, improvement (for example, for the construction of water intake dams, land reclamation, etc.) of a given source of resources. Comparing these costs with costs from other sources makes it possible to identify from among the existing ones those that save time and capital investments for the involvement of new sources in operation.
2. Cost-of-use assessment is based on the theory of differential rent and the identification of the economic effect (capital cost savings and profit generation) that arises from the exploitation of a given deposit, plot of land, forest area, etc., in comparison with the worst. It is calculated by the difference between the reduced costs of the worst source of resources and the one being estimated, if the number and structure of sources that meet the need for resources are known. This allows you to select the most effective options for providing the country with resources, as well as calculate optimal taxes when transferring resource sources for rent, when changing their owner or user.
3. Assessment of the costs of restoration and compensation - in fact, an assessment of the future costs that society will have to bear if a given source of resources goes out of use as a result of depletion or degradation. This assessment is applicable for renewable or interchangeable resources, taking into account the allowable costs of its renewal or replacement with another resource. It can also be used to regulate relations between resource users and the state in the form of fines for damage to resources.

4. The nature of the distribution of natural resources on the territory of Russia

4.1. Location of oil and gas fields

Russia has significant oil and gas reserves. Their main deposits are located in the West Siberian, Volga-Ural, Timan-Pechora oil and gas provinces, as well as in the North Caucasus and the Far East.

4.2. Location of coal deposits

Russia ranks one of the first places in the world in terms of explored coal reserves. Its territory contains 30% of the world's coal reserves of various types: anthracite, brown and coking. Anthracites and brown coals serve as energy fuels and raw materials for the chemical industry. Coking coals are used as process fuel in the ferrous metallurgy.
Coal resources are distributed unevenly across the country. The eastern regions account for 95%, and the European part – 5% of the country’s total reserves. An important indicator of the economic assessment of coal basins is the cost of production. It depends on the mining method, which can be mine or quarry (open), the structure and thickness of the seam, the capacity of the quarry, the quality of coal, the presence of a consumer or the transportation distance. The lowest cost of coal mining is in Eastern Siberia, the highest in the regions of the European North.
The importance of the coal basin in the regional economy depends on the quantity and quality of resources, the degree of their preparedness for industrial exploitation, the size of production, and the characteristics of the transport and geographical location. The basins of the eastern regions of Russia are ahead of the European part in terms of technical and economic indicators, which is explained by the method of coal mining in these coal basins. Coals from the Kansk-Achinsk, Kuznetsk, South Yakutsk, and Irkutsk basins are mined using the open-pit method.

4.3. Location of the most important iron ore deposits

Iron ore resources of Russia are represented by brown, red (or hematite ores), magnetic iron ores (or magnetite ores), etc. Their qualitative characteristics are different. There are reserves of both poor iron ores, in which the iron content ranges from 25-40%, and rich ones with an iron content of up to 68%.
Iron ore resources are unevenly distributed throughout Russia. The bulk of iron ore reserves are located in the European part of the country.

Natural resources, Russian Economy

The largest explored reserves are concentrated in the Central Black Earth, Ural, West Siberian and East Siberian economic regions.

4.4. Location of deposits of non-ferrous metal ores

Russia has large reserves of non-ferrous metal ores. Their distinctive feature is the extremely low percentage of metal they contain. Therefore, the ores of almost all non-ferrous metals are enriched. The main reserves are located in the Urals, Western and Eastern Siberia, the Far East and other regions of the country.

4.5. Deposits of non-metallic minerals

Non-metallic minerals are represented by deposits of phosphorites, apatites, potassium and rock salts, limestones, marls, clays, sandstones, sulfur, as well as graphite, asbestos, mica, marble, quartz, and fluorspar.
The main deposits of phosphorites are located in the European part of the country. The largest of them is located in the Kirov region (Vyatsko-Kama field), in the Moscow region (Egoryevskoye), in the Kursk region (Kursko-Shchigrovskoye), in the Bryansk region (Popinskoye), in the Leningrad region (Kingiseppskoye field). There are also separate deposits of phosphorites in Bashkortostan and Chuvashia.
Potassium salts serve as the starting material for the production of potash fertilizers. The largest deposit of potassium salts, Verkhnekamskoye, is located in the Urals in the Perm region, which contains the bulk of all reserves of potassium salts in Russia.
Significant reserves of sulfur and native sulfur are located in the Samara region, as well as in the North Caucasus (Republic of Dagestan) and the Far East (Khabarovsk Territory). The main area for deposits and mining of sulfur pyrites is the Urals.
Table salt reserves are located in the Urals (Verkhnekamskoye deposits in the Perm region, Iletskoye in the Orenburg region), in the Lower Volga region (Baskunchakskoye and Elltonskoye), in Eastern Siberia (Usolskoye in the Irkutsk region), in the Far East (Olekminskoye in the Republic of Sakha).
Mica deposits are found in the north in the Republic of Karelia and in the Murmansk region, in the Urals, in the northern regions of Siberia, as well as in the Far East (Republic of Sakha).
The main industrial reserves of asbestos are located in the Urals.
The largest diamond deposits are concentrated in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the middle part of the Lena and Vilyui river basin, along the upper reaches of the river. Aldan and river basins Aldan and Olenek. There are diamond reserves in the river basin. Vishera in the Perm region.

4.6. Forest resources

Forest resources are large and of high quality. In terms of their costs and the size of the forested area (771 million hectares), our country occupies a leading place in the world. More than 40% of the entire territory of Russia is covered with forest, and the total industrial reserves of wood reach 30 billion m3. The main forest resources are located in the eastern regions of the country, which account for 79% of the reserves. 21% of forest resources are concentrated in the European part.
The most forested areas are Western Siberia (Tyumen region), Eastern Siberia (Krasnoyarsk region and Irkutsk region), the Far East (Sakha Republic and Khabarovsk region), the European North, the Urals (Sverdlovsk region and Udmurt Republic), as well as the Volga-Vyatka region (Kirov and Nizhny Novgorod region).

4.7. Water resources

Russia's water resources in terms of total volumes of river flow, drainage area and river length are very large.
The distribution of river flow resources across the territory of Russia is uneven and unfavorable with regard to the location of the main consumers of water - the population, industry and agriculture. Most of the river flow is formed in the sparsely populated northern and northeastern regions of the country and flows mainly into the basins of the Arctic and Pacific oceans.
Russia has enormous hydropower resources. In terms of total hydropotential, Russia ranks second in the world after China. Hydropower resources are unevenly distributed. Most of them are in the Far East (53% of hydropower reserves) and Eastern Siberia (26% of total hydropower potential). Moreover, the main hydropower reserves are concentrated in the basins of the Yenisei, Lena, Ob, Angara, Irtysh and Amur rivers. The Lena ranks first among Russian rivers in terms of hydropower reserves. The rivers of the North Caucasus are rich in hydropower resources. A significant part of the country's technically possible hydropower resources is located in the Volga and Central regions of the Russian Federation, where the hydropower reserves of the Volga basin are especially large.

4.8. Cadastre

The country's soil resources represent enormous national wealth. Their correct use is unthinkable without strict scientific quantitative and qualitative accounting of soils. This task is served by the compilation and maintenance of the land cadastre.
The most important importance of the land cadastre is that it is necessary for organizing the most complete, rational and effective use of land and their protection, planning the national economy, placement and specialization of agricultural production, land reclamation and chemicalization of agriculture, as well as carrying out other economic activities related to using land.

5. Assessment of the environmental situation in Russia and in individual regions

In recent years, the tense environmental situation on the territory of the Russian Federation has not decreased significantly, despite the fact that throughout the country the emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere and the discharge of contaminated wastewater into surface water bodies has slightly decreased. More than 40% of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are characterized by problems of air pollution in cities and industrial centers, neutralization and disposal of industrial waste, and rational safety; on 30% of the territory there are acute issues of surface water pollution, pollution and depletion of groundwater; The tasks of preserving soil and land fertility are relevant for the entire territory of the Russian Federation. In certain regions of the Russian Federation, the problem of preserving biological diversity and flora and fauna resources has become more acute.
In a number of regions, anthropogenic loads have long exceeded established standards, and a critical situation has arisen in which significant changes in landscapes occur, natural resources are depleted and lost, and the living conditions of the population are significantly deteriorated.
These regions include the largest urban agglomerations - Moscow and St. Petersburg, industrial centers of Central Russia, industrial and mining centers of the Far North, Siberia and the Far East, the Middle Volga region, the Northern Caspian region, the Middle and Southern Urals. They also have a noticeable negative impact on the ecological state of neighboring regions.
At the same time, the vast territories of the Russian Federation still have great natural resource potential and natural conditions little changed by humans: in the European part, these are, first of all, the northeastern territories, in the Asian part, almost the entire north of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, as well as regions Western Siberia. Preserving their natural state is one of the priorities.

6. Priority areas for ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation in the environmental sphere

Solving the problems of environmental protection and ensuring environmentally sustainable development is carried out by improving existing ones, developing and introducing new mechanisms of environmental policy, as well as conducting scientific research in order to better understand environmental problems and find ways to solve them, forming public environmental consciousness.
The goal of state environmental policy is to create the necessary conditions for restructuring and reducing the anthropogenic impact on the environment to an environmentally acceptable level, maintaining the life-supporting functions of the biosphere, and for the protection and reproduction of natural resources.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve a number of problems in the field of environmental management and environmental protection.

In the field of environmental management, such tasks include:

— improvement of the environmental management system, including the implementation of a reasonable division of powers between federal executive authorities, executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local governments;
— development of the institution of state ownership of natural resources, taking into account the possible delimitation of property rights between the Russian Federation and its constituent entities;
— reform and development of the system of accounting and economic assessment of natural resources, systems of environmental restrictions and licensing of natural resources;
— carrying out a gradual reform of the tax system aimed at increasing the share of resource payments in budget revenues while reducing rates on other types of taxes;
— improvement of economic and financial mechanisms for the reproduction of natural resources (payment for environmental use, assessment and compensation for damage caused, environmental insurance, etc.), development of the market for works and services in the field of environmental management;
— development of systems for monitoring the state of natural resources and control over the use and protection of natural resources;
— conducting scientific research, developing new methods and technologies in the field of protection, reproduction and rational use of natural resources, as well as stimulating the introduction of resource and energy-saving technologies, increasing the share of use of secondary resources, increasing the degree of waste recycling.

Improving the economic mechanism in the field of environmental protection involves:

— development of methods for economic assessment of the negative impacts of economic and other activities on the state of the environment;
— improvement of payments for environmental pollution;
— consistent transition to a system of international standards of technological processes and products;
— identification and rehabilitation of territories with dangerous changes in the quality of the natural environment, compensation for damage to the health and property of citizens caused as a result of negative environmental consequences;
— strengthening activities to preserve biological diversity, ecosystems and landscapes, developing a network of specially protected natural areas and territories with unique natural resources and properties, expanding zones of limited natural resource use;
— widespread dissemination of reliable and timely information about the state of the natural environment;
— support for public environmental movements and involvement of non-governmental organizations in solving environmental problems;
— justification and implementation of foreign policy in the field of ensuring environmental safety that meets the national interests of Russia and individual regions of the country.

ODiplom // Economics // 01/23/2018

Bibliographic description:

Nesterov A.K. Natural resource potential [Electronic resource] // Educational encyclopedia ODiplom.ru

In modern development conditions, natural resources continue to be of great importance in the development of human society as a whole and directly affect economic growth and the development of national economic systems. Natural resources, due to their fundamental importance for most sectors of the economy, remain an invariably significant factor in the economic development of national economic systems.

Classification of natural resources

Natural resources, representing a set of objects of living and inanimate nature, as an economic category, act as components of the natural environment that can be used in the production process in order to satisfy the material and cultural needs of society in the course of its socio-economic development.

The use of natural resources in national economic systems is determined by the need to process them to obtain final products.

	Types of natural resources
Origin	Natural components (mineral, water, plant, soil, etc. Natural-territorial complexes (mining, water management, residential, forestry)
Economic use	Industrial Production Resources – energy resources (minerals, hydropower resources, etc.) – non-energy resources (mineral, land, forest) Agricultural Resources – agroclimatic, – land and soil, – vegetable.
Exhaustibility	Exhaustible Resources – non-renewable (mineral, land resources); – renewable (resources of flora and fauna); – not fully renewable, the recovery rate of which is lower than the level of economic consumption; Inexhaustible resources (climate, water, etc.)
Direct use	Production resources (industrial, agricultural) Potentially promising resources Recreational resources, including the cultural, historical and economic potential of the territory.

It should be noted that natural conditions cannot be classified as natural resources, since these are elements of nature that are not directly used in economic production or economic processes of economic activity, but have a direct or indirect impact on people’s livelihoods. However, natural conditions can favor or hinder the use of natural resources. At the same time, as science and technology develop, more and more natural conditions become natural resources that people involve in the production process, especially in the field of alternative energy sources.

Impact of natural resources on the economy

Within the framework of economic development, natural resources should be considered elements of nature that, at a given level of development of productive forces, can be used within various production processes, constituting their raw material and energy base. Consequently, only those that can be used in economic activity can be considered natural resources of economic importance.

The main criteria for classifying natural resources as economically significant are the following:

scientific, technical and technological feasibility of their use;
economic feasibility and prospects for use in production and economic processes;
the level of knowledge of these resources within the framework of fundamental and applied science.

Historically, the influence of natural resources on the economic development of various countries consisted of a range of elements of nature and the human environment that man could use in his economic activities. In this regard, the dynamics of the material composition of the natural resources used is indicative:

In the 17th-18th centuries, about 30 chemical elements were used in economic and production activities, in the 19th century - 50 elements, at the beginning of the 20th century - about 60, but now, in one way or another, all substances known to science are used.

The influence of natural resources on economic development was also manifested in the nature of their development. In the early stages of socio-economic development, humanity focused on natural resources for agricultural purposes, and then mineral resources began to occupy a significant share in the economic process, first through the use of metal ores, and then organic ones, primarily coal. The next stage was the inclusion of chemical resources into economic circulation: apatites, phosphorites and others. The greatest impetus for economic development was given by the widespread use of energy resources, oil, gas, hydro resources, etc. In modern conditions, alternative energy sources are widely involved in the economy, including solar energy and wind energy.

At the same time, the nature of the use of natural resources, expressed in the possibility of their targeted or multi-purpose use, is important for economic development. Resources for intended use include mineral raw materials and fuel and energy, which are used to obtain specific types of industrial raw materials, fuel, thermal and electrical energy. Multi-purpose resources include land, forest, and water resources, and the options for their use are varied. With the development of scientific and technological progress, their multi-purpose integrated use is expanding.

Natural resource potential

In modern conditions natural resource potential is the subject and object of production and economic development for all countries, therefore product differentiation of natural resources is of practical importance. In accordance with this, the following groups of natural resources are distinguished:

Natural resources of strategic importance for the national economy as a whole or for industries of systemic importance. Such resources, for example, include uranium ores and other radioactive natural components. The economic, commercial, and industrial circulation of such resources is strictly regulated and formalized; the unauthorized use of such resources leads to the creation of various threats, both for an individual state and for the whole world as a whole.
Natural resources for export purposes. Depending on the country, resources for export purposes vary. For example, for Russia such resources are natural gas, oil, coal, timber, diamonds, etc., for Brazil – iron ore, manganese, titanium, tin, etc., for South Africa – coal, chrome ore, gold, platinum and others. etc.
Natural resources and environmental situation in Russia

Natural resources for export purposes generate stable foreign exchange earnings in national economic systems.
Natural resources destined for the domestic market, such as minerals and construction materials, are ubiquitous. The exception is in regions with a special geographical or climatic location, for example, the island of Socotra.

Depending on the nature of their location and the complexity of production, natural resources can accelerate or slow down the economic development of individual countries, affecting their productive forces, which should also be taken into account when assessing natural resource potential. In particular, accessible and easily developed natural resources, ores, and minerals directly contribute to the rapid growth of the production of material goods. On the contrary, the increased labor intensity of extraction or the remote location of natural resources complicate general economic development, increase the labor intensity of production processes and reduce production efficiency. In fact, the pace of production and the level of human well-being depend on the natural properties of natural resources, since the richer and more accessible the natural resources are, the lower the costs of producing the final product.

Differences in the distribution of natural resources characterize situations in which the same labor costs bring different results, due to the qualitative characteristics of natural resources, ranging from soil fertility to the level of useful substances in the ores of different deposits. Natural resource potential and the distribution of natural resources, characterized by extreme unevenness, largely predetermines the territorial division of labor and economic specialization of certain socio-economic and geographical regions.

Natural resource potential serves as the basis for the formation of a primitive economic structure of a territorial entity, according to which production complexes are formed. In particular, the location of industries directly using natural resources is determined by their geography, for example, mining, hydropower, logging, fishing, etc.

Natural resource potential- this is a set of natural resources that are the basis for the economic development of a territory, which can be involved in economic turnover, taking into account economic feasibility and the possibilities of scientific and technological progress.

This is a very important characteristic for each country and its regions. Natural resource potential reflects the distribution of natural resources, the provision of certain sectors of the national economy with them, their influence on the formation of economic specialization and spatial organization of the territory. The value of natural resource potential is the sum of the potentials of individual types of resources.

Structure and assessment of natural resource potential

The structure of natural resource potential includes 8 private potentials.

Structure of natural resource potential

The assessment of natural resources is aimed at determining their value, which is expressed quantitatively in current economic conditions and at a certain level of use of natural resources. The assessment of natural resources allows us to analyze and identify reserves for the rational use, reproduction and protection of natural resources, as well as to establish possible directions for the intensive development of technological production related to the consumption of natural resources.

The main methods for assessing natural resources are given in the table.

Method name	Characteristics of the method
Cost method	Valuation of natural resources, characterized by the current cost of extraction, development or use of components of natural resource potential.
Effective method	Valuation of elements of nature, the exploitation of which generates income.
Rental method	Valuation of natural resources, the quantity of reserves of which is limited, that is, it represents a rent (price) for their use.
Cost-resource method	Takes into account the costs of developing natural resources and income from their use.
Market method	Assessment of the immediate value of a natural resource for market participants, based on the relationship between supply and demand.
Opportunity cost of natural resources method	Allows you to evaluate a natural resource, the price of which is undervalued or absent, by taking into account lost income that could have been obtained by using the natural resources in question for another purpose.
Reproductive method	Determining the cost of a natural resource as a set of costs necessary for the reproduction of a degraded natural resource.
Total Economic Value Method	Valuation of resources by summing the cost of use (use value, which is easily quantified - the cost of wood, medicinal plants, etc.) and the cost of non-use (existence) of a natural good (difficult to estimate).

The most promising approach to assessing natural resource potential is the concept of total economic value (cost). This approach allows us to take into account not only the direct resource functions of nature, but also the assimilation functions and natural services. Its value is the sum of four indicators:

Assessment of natural resource potential using the method of total economic value

The cost of use is most easily assessed economically.

The direct value in use that forests provide consists of sustainable timber harvesting; by-products; tourism; hunting and fishing. The summation of these indicators will give the direct cost.

Determining indirect cost in use is more difficult. This is explained by a possible discrepancy between global and local benefits: what is unprofitable for a particular region or country may turn out to be vital for other countries and the entire planet. For example, the indirect value of a forest consists of the following indicators: carbon dioxide sequestration (greenhouse effect mitigation); water-regulating functions (flood protection), etc.

The indicator of possible cost is even more difficult to calculate. It is associated with the conservation of a biological resource for possible use in the future, that is, we are talking about future use.

Non-use value is based on the so-called existence value, which is an attempt to economically evaluate rather subtle ethical and aesthetic aspects: the value of nature in itself, the aesthetic value of nature for humans, the value of heritage, etc. When estimating this cost, simplified economic approaches are used. For example, living in environmentally favorable areas or near a natural site will cost more than under other conditions.

Each territorial entity is subject to one of two forms of influence of natural resources on its economic development:

Direct determination of economic specialization associated with the extraction of a certain type of resources and their further supply to other regions of the country or for export;
Secondary specialization is the formation of a complex of manufacturing industries based on the processing of local natural resources, the products of which are sent to other regions of the country or for export.

Since natural resources are the natural economic basis for the economic development of the national economy, their targeted use is always a means of solving the country’s socio-economic problems.

Therefore, the key direction of each state is to consciously change the conditions for the development, extraction and processing of natural resources, up to complete processing or export.

Conclusion

In modern conditions, the influence of natural resources on the economic development of the country must meet the criteria of efficiency and rationality. Consequently, the target direction in achieving economic growth is to ensure intensive development through the use of resource-saving, energy-efficient and innovative production and economic processes.

Mineral resources potential of Russia

The development of the world economy is characterized by a progressive increase in the volume of consumption of mineral resources. Over the past 35 years, 80-85% of oil and gas from the total volume produced over the entire historical period has been used. The volume of use of other types of mineral raw materials has increased 3-5 times over the years. Industrialized countries, home to 16% of the world's population, produce about 35% in value terms and consume more than 55% of the world's mineral raw materials.

There are 166 mining countries in the world. Of these, 107 countries mine from 1 to 10 types of minerals, 18 - one at a time, 35 countries - from 10 to 20, 7 countries - from 20 to 30, and 3 countries - over 40 types. There are only 10 countries producing over 30 types of minerals. The first three places are shared by the USA, China and Russia, respectively, they jointly account for about 41% of all world production. The world market is practically saturated with all types of mineral raw materials. Under these conditions, the world's largest producers from industrial countries, capable of influencing the trade policy of their states, are not interested in the emergence of new sellers offering raw materials at low prices.

Mining and processing of mineral raw materials has always been a risky area of capital investment, with a long payback period.

Minerals of Russia

In conditions of fierce competition and falling prices, transnational corporations seek to minimize risks and develop deposits in countries with predictable economies and a stable political situation.

The world market situation has developed in recent years in such a way that only deposits of oil and gas, non-ferrous and precious metals, diamonds and uranium are in demand. Deposits of other types of mineral raw materials are less attractive to investors, since the existing resource base makes it possible to meet the needs of global industry for decades to come.
Russia's mineral resource complex, created in Soviet times and more resistant to survival under reform conditions compared to other sectors of the economy, has found itself in a critical condition. However, it still continues to retain fundamental importance for the national economy, holding back the deepening of the crisis.

Russia inherited from the USSR the position of the country richest in mineral resources. Its share in world oil reserves is 13%, gas - 32%, coal - 11%, lead, zinc, cobalt, nickel, iron - from 10 to 36%. About 20 thousand mineral deposits have been discovered and explored in the country, a third of which are being developed. Large and unique objects (about 5% of the total) contain almost 70% of proven reserves and provide up to half of the country's mineral production.

The value of explored and preliminary estimated reserves of mineral raw materials in the Russian Federation is estimated at approximately 28.5 trillion. dollars, the estimate of forecast resources is approaching 140 trillion, more than two-thirds of which are fuel and energy resources. Every year, about $150 billion worth of minerals are extracted from the country's depths.

The assets of the Russian mineral resource complex (MSC) account for almost 40% of all fixed industrial assets or 13% of their book value. MSK enterprises produce 50-60% of the total volume of industrial products or 30-36% of the gross domestic product, they account for more than 50% of the federal budget revenues and 100% of the revenues to the reserve fund and the national welfare fund of Russia. Mineral exports provide more than 80% of the country's foreign exchange earnings.

In the last decade, Russia’s influence on the state of the world market for oil, gas, ferrous and non-ferrous metals has noticeably increased. This was facilitated by a decline in industrial production in the country, caused by a “deep reform” of the economy and the transition to market relations, which led to a sharp drop in domestic demand for almost all types of mineral raw materials. Thus, from 1991 to 2000 alone, domestic consumption of aluminum decreased threefold, refined copper by 3.4 times, lead by 3.3, zinc by 2.7, nickel by 5.7, tin by 4, 2, tungsten and molybdenum concentrates - 8.4 and 6.4 times, respectively. This trend continues.

The development of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy is restrained by: anti-dumping restrictions on the part of consumer countries, insufficient capacity of the domestic market, rising prices and tariffs for products and services of natural monopolies, and lack of investment.

The following circumstances also negatively affect the work of the metallurgical industry:

aging of fixed production assets, their wear exceeds 50%, while about 80% of the equipment has a service life of more than 20 years;
high energy intensity. Thus, in the ferrous metallurgy, 1.24 tons of standard fuel are consumed per 1 ton of rolled metal, compared to 0.99 tons in the EU and 0.9 tons in Japan. In non-ferrous metallurgy, in the production of aluminum, specific energy costs are 10-15% higher than in industrialized countries, and in the production of copper - by 15-20%;
high labor intensity of production of one ton of rolled ferrous metals - 14.6 people/hour compared to 5.6 people/hour in EU countries and 5.45 people/hour in Japan;
high level of waste per ton of finished rolled steel: in the production of open-hearth steel - 250 kg compared to 100 kg in the production of rolled converter steel with continuous casting;
The share of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere in metallurgical production is 1.35 times higher than at similar foreign plants, and for individual ingredients (dust, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide) the excess reaches 300-400%. At the same time, the share of waste subjected to neutralization and further use at ferrous metallurgy enterprises does not exceed 63.4% of the total volume of their formation, and in non-ferrous metallurgy - 25%;
scientific and technical lag, low demand for domestic scientific developments, aging scientific personnel, reduction in human resources.

Russia satisfies almost a quarter of the world's needs for natural gas, 10% for oil, second only to Saudi Arabia in terms of its export volumes, and ranks third in the world after Australia and Indonesia in the export of hard coal, providing almost 12% of its sales on the world market.

However, one should take a sober look at the state of affairs in the oil and gas sector, since the structure of proven hydrocarbon reserves has sharply deteriorated. A significant, at least 40%, part of the oil produced in Russia is sent abroad. Currently, advanced development of the most profitable parts of fields and deposits is underway, and newly prepared reserves are concentrated mainly in medium and small fields.

The share of active (highly productive) oil reserves in the balance is about 45%, and the share of low-profit reserves has increased to 55%. Over 70% of oil companies' reserves are on the verge of profitability. The long-term negative trend of decreasing oil recovery factor (ORF) continues. Only from 1960 to 2000, it decreased from 51% to 29%, which is why about 15 billion tons of oil reserves remained unextracted, which is comparable to the total production in the entire history of the Russian oil industry.

An analysis carried out by Rosnedra shows that until 2010-2012 oil will be produced mainly from fields that are being developed and previously prepared for development. Commissioning of new facilities will be required as early as 2012, for which, from 2020, it will be necessary to begin intensive development of new oil and gas basins within Eastern Siberia, the north of the European part of the country, the sea shelf and some other regions.

If you look closely, things in the gas industry are not as optimistic as some uninitiated politicians seem to think. Cumulative natural gas production accounts for only 5% of the initial total resources, fully explored reserves account for 20%, and previously estimated reserves account for 7%.

Sales of hard coal abroad are steadily growing, the price of which has risen following the rise in oil prices. The prospects for coal exports can be considered encouraging - their reserves in the country are large enough to satisfy growing domestic needs and ensure a significant increase in supplies abroad. International trade volumes are expected to increase by 1.3-1.4 times by 2025 and reach 1000-1100 million tons, with the share of thermal coal accounting for 72% of supply volumes.

Russia has a significant share in the export of precious metals. For example, possessing deposits of the Norilsk ore field, the country provides about 60% of world exports of palladium, almost 15% of platinum (second place after South Africa), 4% of gold, more than 30% of world supplies of refined nickel and 3.8% of refined copper.
Almost a fifth of potash fertilizers sold on the world market are obtained from the ores of the Verkhnekamsk deposit in the Perm region.

Russia is practically the only supplier of high-quality apatite concentrate to the world market, providing about 7% of the world supply of phosphate raw materials.

Other minerals and products obtained from their processing, such as iron ores and steel, aluminum, various ferroalloys, titanium products, etc., are exported in significant volumes.