Impact areas of the Russian Arctic: development prospects

Abstract

The economic presence in the Arctic is steadily growing both in Russia and in other countries. Global climate change is leading to better ice conditions and the development of the Northern Sea Route. Intensive industrial development and growing economic activity are leading to an increase in anthropogenic pressure on vulnerable Arctic ecosystems. To date, the formed economic structure has led to a noticeable aggravation of the ecological situation in a number of areas called impact areas. Degradation of ecosystems and pollution of the natural environment in impact areas is the most acute ecological problem in the Arctic. Further development of nature management in the Arctic zone may lead to the emergence of new impact areas. Therefore, within the framework of this study, potential impact areas were identified and mapped. For the first time, the article presents a map with a scale of 1:16,000,000 of all existing impact areas, they are compared with the support zones of the development of the Russian Arctic, and potential impact areas are identified on the basis of the available data. In total, about 10 potential impact areas were identified associated with the development of industrial (extraction of hydrocarbons and other minerals) and transport nature management (infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route, construction of new railway lines, etc.) in conditions of geosystems instability to anthropogenic impact. The study of the dynamics of the formation of impact regions and its visualization will provide the necessary material for environmental changes forecast, elaboration of reclamation measures, ecological optimization of nature management in order to achieve sustainable development of the Arctic.