It is unlikely that anyone will have doubts that human well-being and nature are closely related. You can not live without clean air, water and fertile soil. Therefore, all ecologists in the world are fighting to protect the environment from environmental harm. What is it expressed in? How to prevent it? And what types of environmental harm exist?
Data
In the history of mankind there are many examples of such actions, as a result of which nature and people suffered. Below is a list of the most outstanding events, the perpetrators of which suffered enormous losses:
- In 1989, the Exxon Valdez supertanker crashed in Alaska. The spilled oil not only led to water pollution, but also caused the death of seals, otters, eagles, whales and various species of migratory birds. The company responsible for shipping was fined $ 125 million.
- In 2000, in Rio de Janeiro, oil fell into the water from a faulty Petrobraz pipe, the stain area of which was more than 70 m2. As a result, not only the marine inhabitants were affected, but also the inhabitants of the coastal areas of Guanabar Bay, where the disaster occurred. The company was fined $ 25 million.
- In 2005, Eurocement Group paid a fine of almost 300 million rubles due to the fact that the amount of harmful emissions exceeded that indicated in the declaration submitted by the organization.
- In 2006, the Haifa Chemicallim Israeli refinery was fined $ 400,000 for air and water pollution in the Haifa Bay.
- In 2007, a Chinese national oil and gas corporation was ordered to pay a fine of $ 130,000 for polluting the Songhua River with hazardous chemicals.
- In 2010, about $ 21 million was paid by the Kazakhstan consortium Karachaganak Petroleum Operating, which caused environmental pollution.
Definition
The reasons for these incidents are different, but the essence is the same - they all caused environmental damage, as the environment suffered as a result, the quality and quantity of natural resources decreased, and ecosystems degraded. The incident that led to environmental problems can be committed intentionally or through negligence. But in any case, the culprit is punished. When choosing a preventive measure that defines civil liability for environmental damage, Russia is guided by a number of federal laws. You can get information in them:
- on environmental protection and atmospheric air;
- on the disposal of production and consumption waste;
- on the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population;
- on environmental impact assessment.
Domestic environmentalists rely not only on the above regulatory acts, but also follow the instructions of various international associations of which the Russian Federation is a member. These are organizations founded by the UN, international governmental, non-governmental, regional institutions. Usually their activities are concentrated in a specific area - flora, fauna, water resources, human health, nuclear power plants, energy.
Signs
Despite the fact that even the smallest human action can result from environmental damage, an incident to be recognized as such should be dangerous for society, violate environmental protection rules and really lead to damage requiring compensation. A person or group of people, in accordance with their action (or inaction) should be found guilty and be punished.
Subject and Object
The situation, the result of which fits the concept of "environmental harm", has two sides. They are the object and subject.
The first includes everything that has a natural origin, that is:
- ecosystems and the ozone layer of the atmosphere;
- land, water, air, flora, fauna, microorganisms, genetic fund and natural landscapes;
- State-protected natural territories: reserves, national parks, natural monuments, rare or endangered flora and fauna, and their habitat.
As for the subject, then they include legal entities and individuals. The first group includes various domestic and foreign public organizations. The second includes persons who are 18 years old at the time of the commission of the crime. It does not matter if they are Russian citizens or not.
Kinds
Environmental damage may result in damage that led to the deterioration of the marketable nature product and the benefits that could be gained as a result of its sale, and the necessary expenses incurred in restoring the natural environment and property. This type of harm is called economic. If the incident resulted in a violation of the rights of society in a healthy and favorable living environment, then it is called environmental.
Forms
The result of environmental harm can manifest itself as:
- adverse effect of violation of environmental law;
- loss in the form of expenses for restoration of the former type of environment, presentation of nature products;
- spoilage, that is, misallocation of resources;
- pollution or any other action that changes the physical or chemical composition of natural resources;
- destruction.
Rating
Since the incident that led to environmental damage is a violation of the law, the perpetrator is punished by compensation. Its value and method of compensation directly depend on the degree of damage, which is estimated by an environmental expert. In the assessment, he is guided by:
- current regulatory and methodological documents;
- cadastral valuation and specified fines for damage caused to natural resources.
In his work, an environmental expert applies various assessment methods depending on the object of environmental damage. According to private expert companies, the cost of examination starts from 50 thousand rubles.
Compensation
No matter how much damage is assessed and whatever compensation the court awards, an environmental contract is concluded between the subject of environmental damage and the owner of the facility, according to which the natural resource is restored as far as possible. This work can be manifested in natural and material-cost forms.
In the first case occurs:
- restoration of the quantity and quality of damaged natural resources;
- replacement of materials, equipment, technologies and facilities;
- construction of facilities for the restoration of damaged facilities.
In the second case, the subject of environmental harm:
- pays for necessary measures to restore natural resources;
- compensates for lost profits and other expenses incurred by the injured party as a result of the incident.
Compensation may be reimbursed by the insurance company or by the individual responsible for the incident. It does not matter if he is an individual or a legal entity.
Separately, it is worth mentioning situations that cannot be evaluated and reimbursed. Such cases include harm, as a result of which human health is impaired, death has occurred or changes have occurred in its genetic code, the consequences of which will be borne by future generations.
Security
The harm received from human activities can be prevented or minimized. There is environmental safety for this purpose.This is a set of preventive measures aimed at the economic assessment of the territory, monitoring and, in accordance with them, the development of management decisions for the prevention of environmental harm. The assessment takes into account the economic, environmental, geographical, social and technical components to express the value of natural resources. These data are entered into the inventory. They allow you to set the size of fines in violation of the rules for the prevention of environmental harm. The latter is impossible without monitoring - continuous monitoring of the state of natural resources by the state. Under management decisions understand the development and improvement of regulations for the protection of natural resources, various monitoring methods and compliance control.
The environmental issue is one of the most pressing in the world. Today, the efforts of specialists in almost all fields have been thrown to find an answer to it. But one thing is for sure - the future of mankind depends on nature, and environmental safety from every person on Earth.