People who have lived on planet Earth for many centuries have always been preoccupied with the problems of survival or creating the most favorable conditions for life. And it is unlikely that at the dawn of mankind there were questions of salvation of planet Earth itself. Unfortunately, such a moment has arrived. Adverse changes occurring on the planet, dangerous to the life of the planet itself, and therefore to all its inhabitants, have become obvious. And the cause of danger is man himself.
If in ancient centuries a person watched nature, then, most likely, out of curiosity. Observations of modern man over nature are of a different nature - they are carried out consciously and purposefully. Gradually a holistic system of actions was created. Man began to observe the ecological state of the environment in order to save it. Back in the 1st century AD e. Guy Pliny in his work "Natural History" wrote about observations of the natural environment.
The formation of environmental science
The method of human observation was used as a way to study a natural object. The observation was based on a long-term perception of environmental phenomena and objects. Gradually, a certain system of actions was developed and formed to monitor the ecological state of the planet. The results of observations were systematized, forming a whole science - ecology. Its main task was to study the relationships of various organisms between themselves and their relationships with the environment that surrounded them. A man began to understand the role of ecology in his life, began to notice and study the changes occurring in it, and, in particular, singled out global disturbances in the biosphere that were caused by the activity of himself. There was a threat of environmental disasters on a global scale. That is why a whole system of actions was required and organized. The ecological state of the environment was monitored at the state level. Environmental issues began to be discussed at international forums. Ecology science has become the basis and basis for overcoming emerging global crises. The term "ecology", which is translated from the Greek "oikos" means a home or refuge, was introduced by the German evolutionist Ernst Haeckel back in 1866. The more the science of ecology developed, the more challenges it faced, the solution of which was not always successful.
Powerlessness before the forces of nature became apparent to modern man, and the protection of nature was determined as the main and important task.
Damaging the environment has become tantamount to a crime against humanity. In this regard, the corresponding legal norms and the punishment system dictated by these norms were developed. The daily task and concern of any society and each person in particular is the protection of natural objects in the form of a universal system of observation and control and an integral system of actions emanating from it. The ecological state of the environment is monitored both within each state and by the efforts of international organizations.
Monitoring
The natural environment, the environment of our habitat, is subject to continuous changes, both in nature, in direction, and in size. The natural environment is also uneven in time and space. There is a so-called relatively constant level of indicators with which new indications are compared. This average level can vary significantly only over a long period of time. In this case, we are talking about natural environmental changes. Man-made changes have a completely different character. The indicator of the average state of the environment in this case is unpredictable, it changes rapidly and rapidly. This has been particularly evident in recent decades. There was a need to study and evaluate various phenomena that arise as a result of anthropogenic impact. An environmental monitoring system or a set of measures has been created to identify, track changes in nature and evaluate them. The main tasks of monitoring:
- monitoring the environment and its sources of exposure;
- environmental assessment;
- prediction of the state of the environment.
There are several types of environmental monitoring:
- the biosphere itself - environmental (including geophysical and biological);
- exposure factors (ingredient), studying pollutants, as well as the effects of noise, heat and electromagnetic radiation;
- the living space of a person or his environment (natural environment, domestic environment, urban and industrial);
- temporal, spatial;
- at various biological levels.
Monitoring is also distinguished by territorial criteria: global state, regional, local, "spot", background (the basis for the analysis of all types of monitoring). Globally, global monitoring and a global system of action are being considered. The ecological state of the environment is monitored throughout the planet. The principles of the global system were first defined and formulated in 1971 by the International Council of Scientific Unions. The state of the biosphere has attracted the close attention of scientists from all developed countries and all sane people on Earth. As a result, in 1973-1974. Within the framework of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP Program), the development of the main provisions of the Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) was completed.
