Altai Territory: environmental problems and ways to solve them. Nature and industry of the Altai Territory

For today, in the Altai Territory, which is famous for its magnificent nature, there are relatively few natural landscapes. Virtually all of them have experienced and continue to experience the impact of economic and industrial activities.

The article will deal with the existing environmental problems of the Altai Territory, ways to get out of the situation, the history of the region and many other things.

Altai Territory: general information

Altai - the region that is a subject of the Russian Federation and bordering on Kazakhstan, belongs to the southwestern part of the Siberian Federal District.

It should be noted that until 1991, the Altai Territory included the autonomous Gorno-Altai region, which today represents an independent entity of the Russian Federation - the Republic of Altai.

The population of the region is more than 2490 thousand people. The area of the territory is 168 000 square meters. Km, which is 1% of the total Russian territory. The administrative center is the city of Barnaul (population - more than 650 thousand people).

It borders the region with Kazakhstan, Kemerovo and Novosibirsk regions.

As a part of the province, 12 cities, townships - 14, 67 rural and urban settlements (including the German national district). The South-Siberian railway passes through the edge, through which transit cargoes are transported to the western regions. The largest railway stations: Aleiskaya, Barnaul, Biysk, Altai, Rubtsovsk.

Location:

Саянская горная ). The territory of the Altai Territory belongs to the 2-nd physical countries (Western Siberia and the Altai - Sayan Mountains ). The mountain site is on the southern and eastern part of the plain. This is the Salair ridge and the foothills of the Altai. The central and western parts represent mainly flat relief. This Biysko-Chumyshskaya Upland, Priobskoe Plateau and Kulunda Steppe.

Almost all existing natural zones of Russia are typical for the region: mountains, taiga, steppes and forest-steppe. The plain part is characterized by forest-steppe and steppe natural zones, with potholes and lakes, a network of beams and ravines, and ribbon burs.

Not far from the Biya River, which is a tributary of the Katun, are the largest cities of the region: Gorno-Altaisk and Barnaul. Biysk is located directly on the banks of the Biya, which divides the city into two parts.

Flora and fauna

Before we know what environmental problems are in the Altai Territory, we will describe its nature.

The richest vegetation cover in combination with the contrasts of diverse relief is accompanied by the diversity of the animal world. Ornithofauna of the region includes more than 320 species of birds. Mammals are represented by 90 species of animals.

In total, about 2,000 species of vascular higher plants grow in the territory of the region, which is 2/3 of the plant species of the whole Western Siberia. There are relic and endemic species among them. Especially valuable are the following plants: St. John's wort, oregano, elecampane tall, red root, rhodiola rosea (golden root), maral root and marin (or peony evading), Ural licorice and many others. Other

Forest tracts occupy 26% of the entire territory of the region.

Rivers and lakes of the Altai Territory

The water resources in the province are represented by underground and surface waters. The largest rivers (out of 17 thousand) are Katun, Ob, Alei, Biya and Charysh. Ob (the largest water artery of the region), formed from the confluence of Katun and Biya, has a length of 493 kilometers. The river basin occupies 70% of the edge area.

Lakes of the Altai Territory are numerous, there are only 13 thousand. The largest is Kulundinskoye, the area of which is 728 sq. Km. Km.

Nature

Features of the nature of the Altai Territory is that there is a huge variety of rare medicinal plants. Most of the raw materials are collected manually so as not to damage the soil and not to disturb the harmony of the nature of the Altai Territory. These are truly unique areas with a wide variety of natural resources, attracting numerous tourists. And today in the mountainous areas you can meet shamans, always ready to tell about the useful properties of the plants growing here.

The region is rich in natural monuments: pine ribbon burs; Place of education of the Great River. Obi; Crimson, Small Spring, Kolyvanovskoe, Big Lake; Lake Aya; Denisova and Tavdinsky caves; Mount Sinyuha; The valley of the Shinok River with waterfalls; The Katun River.

At first glance, the ecological situation in Altai is not bad. It is famous for its streams and springs, carrying the purest water from the mountains to the valleys and forests. Thousands of streams and rivers wash the territory of the province, ensuring the wealth and cleanliness of the soil. It is thanks to the waters of these reservoirs that a huge number of forests and other vegetation have grown on fertile and healthy soils. However, even here, under the impact of human life, a deterioration in the ecological situation is observed.

Protected areas

One of the important issues for today is the solution of the ecological problem of the Altai Territory, because in its territories there are no reserves or national parks.

In total, there are 33 reserves in the province, which occupy 773,100 hectares, which is 5% of the province's area. This is not enough to maintain the ecological biosphere balance (now it is below the Russian average). Of course, there are environmental problems in the Altai Territory.

In Altai there are a lot of nature monuments, taken under protection and representing irreplaceable natural objects. All of them have historical, scientific and cultural-aesthetic significance (waterfalls, caves, mineral springs, geological outcrops, paleontological objects, etc.). Even the individual century-old trees, miraculously preserved until today, represent the most unique natural monuments.

Altogether, 100 natural monuments were officially approved in the Altai Territory (including geological ones - 54, water - 31, botanical - 14, and 1 complex).

In Altai, in some areas, rare plants and animals live and live, but these territories do not have the status of protected ones. In connection with the current circumstances, a decision was made to create in the province Tigerek and Kulundinskogo state reserves. Work on their organization is suspended due to lack of funding.

Causes of environmental degradation

Are there environmental problems in the Altai Territory? Of course have.

The water objects of the region are polluted with waste from the enterprises of machine building, chemistry and petrochemistry, and thermal power engineering.

The main problem is the preservation of small rivers due to their shallowing and pollution. Due to the reduction of forest areas, water erosion occurs, causing shallowing of channels. Also, numerous lakes are polluted with household wastewater from livestock complexes and settlements.

In addition to all of the above, over the territory of the province there are ways to launch missile carriers from Baikonur.

Conclusion

Today, UNESCO is allocating a lot of resources to support the ecology of the region. Also, local authorities make the utmost efforts to improve the ecology and conservation of nature. Regularly in educational institutions classes are held on the topic "Protection of the environment."

Altai in any case is one of the most environmentally clean regions of Russia. It is his nature generously endowed with a variety of herbs that support the health of many people.