Environment Issues in Russia and the Eurasian Republics

• Urban Areas have more air pollution than rural areas

  • Factory and Power Plant waste creates Smog (a layer of air mixed with poisonous gases that cause reduced visibility)

  • Vehicle Emissions (the substance released into the air when fuel is burnt) is a major environmental issue in cities such as Moscow. 

• Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan are in the world's top 12 most polluted countries.

  • The Siberian city of Norilsk has the world’s worst sulfur dioxide pollution from nickel production factories. 

• Fixing the Problem

  • Russia : environmentally friendly vehicles, factory incentives to lower pollution

  • Central Asia: Fuel Taxes to reduce traffic, underground mining

• Water Scarcity: the lack of water in certain regions

  • Overuse of Irrigation

    • Fertile Soil but arid and semi-arid location make irrigation inefficient

  • Competition for Water Resources (agriculture, industry, and residential)

  • Fertilizer and Pesticide Runoff

  • Oil Spills (Taiga and Tundra) from Pipelines and drilling led to air and water pollution (high levels of Mercury)

  • Lake Baikal:one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world and has become one of the most polluted lakes in the world

    • Factory waste and illegal fishing have caused major damages to the ecosystem.  

  • Soviet Union nuclear waste dumps into rivers

    • Dams along the Volga River have trapped contaminated water in the area that provides fresh drinking water for Moscow. 

• Industrial Needs and Commercial Farming Irrigation led to a demand for the resources of the Aral Sea

• Impact on the Region

  • Destroyed Fishing Communities

  • Destroyed Port Cities for Trade and Travel

  • Dust Storms of salt, fertilizer, and dirt harm humans

• Drilling and Mining of Natural gas and oil

• Deforestation leads to Carbon Sinks: areas that absorb more carbon from the atmosphere then they release

• Climate change leads to rising temperatures, melting permafrost that has a major impact on ecosystems and communities

  • Permafrost melting releases methane and poisonous gases

• The Artic Council is an example of a supranatational organization focused on protecting the Artic. 

• 8 countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweeden and the United States

• 6 Indigenous Arctic Communities: Aleut, Inuit, Saami, and others.

• Goals:

  • Environmental protection and sustainable development.

  • gGatheredresearch and data about issues facing the Arctic.

  • Meetings have stopped while Russia and Ukraine are at war

• 1949-1987 Soviet Union launched 600 nuclear tests, creating nuclear waste (the by-product of nuclear power plants and weapons)

  • Some nuclear waste was dumped in seas or buried underground

  Russia and the Eurasian Republics rely on Nuclear Power plants for energy

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