Ecological monitoring means monitoring various environmental parameters, if they are related to ecology. The most commonly used monitoring is the quality of atmospheric air, water, soil. In reserves, they monitor the state of natural ecosystems. According to the data obtained, we can draw a conclusion about the state of the environment.
Environmental monitoring can be carried out directly at the enterprise, around it, inside the settlements and away from the places of human economic activity. The simplest and most affordable is local monitoring, and the most complex and complex is biosphere monitoring.
The purpose of tracking can be to assess the level of impact of human activity on the state of the environment (OS) and develop a strategy to reduce it. Ultimately, it helps to improve the overall environmental situation in the world. Monitoring methods depend on the type of emissions and objectives.
History
For the first time, they started talking about monitoring in 1971 at UNESCO. Then the Soviet scientists began to discuss this topic. They insisted on the need to create biosphere reserves in which it would be possible to monitor the state of the environment in areas remote from human activity.
In 1972, American scientists formalized the definition of environmental monitoring as systematic observation and monitoring of the state of the environment, tracking possible changes caused by anthropogenic activities in order to carry out environmental management activities.
In the USSR, the head of the hydrometeorological service Yu.A. Izrael and academician I.P. Gerasimov participated in the development of the fundamentals of environmental monitoring, and in 1975 he published an article on his scientific fundamentals. He identifies 3 stages of monitoring: the reaction of the human body to pollutants, the state of natural and anthropogenic ecosystems, and the global parameters of the biosphere.
Spatial Monitoring Division
In accordance with the size of the territory of observation, local, regional, national and global monitoring are distinguished. There are no clear boundaries between them. This is due to the fact that there are no criteria by which observation can be attributed to one of these species. In Russia, regional means monitoring within the framework of one constituent entity of the Russian Federation. There may also be international monitoring and monitoring of water areas. National has coverage within one state.
Global monitoring is the opposite of local monitoring. Its main object is the entire biosphere. Long-lived pollutants are spreading all over the planet; therefore, they are studied in the framework of global monitoring.
Local monitoring allows you to evaluate the impact of one specific source of pollution on a specific locality or area.
Division by Observation Objects
In accordance with this classification, environmental observations can be: background, thematic, territorial, and impact. Territorial is divided into land (on land) and water (in the seas and oceans). In the second case, they talk about water monitoring.
During background monitoring, patterns in the change and condition of natural complexes and components are studied. In case of impact, monitoring is carried out in areas where especially important and dangerous objects are located, for example, nuclear power plants.
At the thematic, individual natural components are studied, for example, steppe, forest, aquatic, protected.
Other division methods
There are also other classifications of environmental tracking, according to which monitoring can be atmospheric, hydrological, geological, geophysical, forest, soil, biological, zoological, geobotanical, as well as local, state, public, departmental.
The entities conducting environmental monitoring can be public associations, private individuals, enterprises, state and municipal services.
Local environmental monitoring
This is a system of observations of environmental parameters in the area of a specific industrial or other economic facility. So, local monitoring is the most common type of environmental tracking. It is carried out by business entities themselves. It is they who are responsible for observing the norms and regulations on the acceptable level of impact on the OS. Reports on the results of such observations are sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MPR) or the Ministry of Ecology of the Russian Federation in accordance with the accepted reporting and filing form.
The objects of local monitoring are the sources of pollution and the subjects (organizations) that are responsible for them.
Basically, such measurements are carried out by instrumental laboratory methods. MNR units analyze sources of air pollution and other media. It is important to determine the volume and composition of the emitted components. Observations covered 18380 enterprises located in 459 cities of the Russian Federation. Control can be both state and departmental.
Specialized inspection bodies monitor the activities of departmental laboratory services that determine the volume and composition of emissions and discharges of the enterprise.
What objects are easier to carry out?
It is most convenient to monitor the local network in large enterprises equipped with permanent smoke pipes. At such facilities, you can install sensors directly into the pipe. The problem may be insufficient equipment with measuring equipment and its poor quality. Therefore, it is recommended to purchase more advanced foreign equipment, which allows you to identify a wide range of pollutants.
Other enterprises carry out episodic volley release through a specific pipe. In these cases, it is also advisable to install the equipment inside the pipe.
The third group includes objects with fugitive discharge and lack of pipes. For example, coal mines, where spontaneous ignition of rock dumps (heaps) is possible, and the discharge from the mine shaft depends on the intensity of coal mining. The randomness of emissions also differ in landfills, gas stations, construction projects, canteens, railway stations and other enterprises. In such cases, determining the exact amount of pollutants released is rather difficult.
Local monitoring and control
In accordance with the requirements of international standards ISO 14000, in the framework of environmental work at the enterprise, there are 2 main areas:
- industrial environmental monitoring;
- industrial environmental control.
Certification according to these standards is most actively used in the USA, China, Japan, Italy, Spain, Great Britain. It gives some advantages to manufacturing companies when selling their products on international markets, as well as improving relations with local communities, authorities and consumers. At the same time, the cost of paying fines for environmental matters is reduced, the negative impact on the environment is reduced without harming the economy of the enterprise, and the competitiveness of manufactured goods is growing.
All enterprises are required to maintain state statistical reporting, and the monitoring results can be used to develop strategies to reduce the harmful effects on the environment and become the basis for managerial decisions.
