Ecosystems Management

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N. P. Laverov
Member of Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences
President of the Russian National Committee for UNEP

NATURAL AND TECHNOGENIC DISASTERS:
ECOSYSTEMS MANAGEMENT AND STABILITY

Report at the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
Sendai, Japan, March 15, 2015.

Mister Chairman, colleagues!

The analysis shows us the steadily increasing intensity and number of natural and techno-natural disasters. The relevant losses also have become huge. Today they pose a serious threat to security, being the source of deep social shocks, large-scale sufferings and deaths of people.

In consideration of issues related to the disastrous consequences of natural and technogenic cataclysms, we more and more often come across technonatural events, in which natural disasters cause serious accidents at life-supporting industrial and social facilities aссompanied by human losses. This category of threats becomes the leading one in the present-day society. The strategy of resisting these threats is based on the ever growing need for coordination of international efforts in the development of scientifically grounded prediction of imminent hazards, risk assessment, and this process management.

Development of such natural hazards as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods and others, shown in Figure 1, more and more often lead to the destruction of technosphere and cause deep social shocks. Large disastrous accidents at nuclear, chemical, or transport enterprises are often accompanied by considerable irreversible destruction of the ecosphere. In combination, they have become the major destabilizing factors threatening the sustainable development of large regions and countries.

In our opinion, it is this factor that at the present stage of human society development poses a serious threat to its sustainable progress. Respectively, the stable positive development of technosphere and the environment require continuous improvement of ecosystems management today. The idea forwarded by academician Vladimir I. Vernadsky that says: "The upper envelope of the Earth cannot be considered as the material sphere of life today. It is a source of power" can form a theoretical base of understanding of their interrelations (Figure 2).

Acceleration of undesirable changes in the environment goes together with the evolution of global processes operating in technogenic and social spheres. It should be noted that the rapid growth of population and the development of megacities are most often confined to the regions subjected to natural hazards. These are coastal and island territories, slopes of volcanoes and high mountains, boggy floodplains of the rivers. Earthquakes, volcanism, tsunamis, landslides, mudflows and floods are manifested intensely and frequently there (Figure 3).

As a rule, no comprehensive engineering geological and other surveys necessary for assessing risk of geohazards manifestations are conducted in these regions. Engineering preparation for building new industrial and social facilities became insufficient. Large cities and coastal megacities more and more occur in the center of the destructive natural disasters aggravated with ruining of technosphere. Sufferings and death of people acquire more and more large-scale dimensions.

Disastrous processes intensify the pollution of the Earth’s hydrosphere, that is, oceans, coastal zones, as well as inland rivers and lakes. For the past 30 years, the rate of pollution exceeded the rates of industrial production development. The pollution rises due to the growing sewage and leakage from municipal and economic services, chemical works, accidents with oil tankers, oil and gas pipelines, as well as drilling platforms used for the development of oceanic shelf zones.

In recent years, a large-scale involvement of fresh water in economic production and municipal services in combination with droughts resulted lately in the catastrophically abrupt reduction in water resources of the Earth and soil degradation. Today, the population in large coastal regions suffers from severe shortage in water and food. (Figure 4). More than 75% of river runoff is consumed by human physiological needs. Land reclamation and soil fertilizing are insufficient.

The World Food Program and other UN Decisions provide a valuable contribution to solving these problems. Strengthening coordination in activities, in our opinion, appears to be the principal way in the solution of this and other problems in this field.

Distribution of sensitive nuclear technologies and materials complicated by a number of large well-known regional accidents has long ago become a major threat to security, being referred to a category of global problems. Solving this problem required the development and successful implementation of a unique international control system, that is, creation of capable International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Today this agency exerts an efficient effect on the development of nuclear power engineering in the world, reducing the "load" on the most important units of ecosystems.

Experience in the biodiversity management on the Earth is also an undoubtedly positive achievement. It includes an increase in the number of reserves and wildlife sanctuaries, especially protected territories and water areas. Despite all the contradictions between the developing technosphere and the environment, a wide and persistent implementation of so-called best technologies based on high ecological standards of nature conservation is required. It is particularly important, in our opinion, to follow the rule of ecological priority when providing assistance to the developing countries by the states and companies owning high technologies.

Thank you for your attention.

3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction