Objects of environmental protection. The concept and features of natural objects

Subject, methods and system of environmental law

The concept and subject of environmental law.

The concept of ecology was first proposed only in 1866 by the German naturalist Ernst Haeckel and was initially purely biological in nature. Namely, it designated the science of self-regulation processes that arose in communities of organisms during their interaction with each other and with the environment. Literally translated from Greek, it means "eco" - house, dwelling, place of residence, "logos" - doctrine.

Since the 30s of the 20th century, the socio-cultural direction of ecology begins to develop. Since it took a scientific approach to the study of the relationship between man, society and the biosphere.

Section social ecology is ecology legal or in other words environmental law. Historically, two main forms of interaction between society and nature have developed:

Consumption of a person's natural resources to satisfy a person's material and spiritual needs. This form can be called an economic form of interaction.
Security environment with the aim of preserving man as a biological and social organism, as well as protecting his habitat. This form can be called an ecological form of interaction.

The subject of environmental law is public relations in the field of interaction between society and nature. Public relations because it is the relationship between subjects of law regarding one form or another of the use of natural resources or environmental protection.

Such relationships are divided into:

Industry relations, that is, relations on the use and protection of land, mineral resources, forests, waters, wildlife, atmospheric air.
The relations are complex, for the protection and use of natural complexes in aggregate (zapovedniks, zakazniks, other specially protected natural areas, sanitary zones, recreational zones, etc.).

The objects of ecological relations are either individual natural objects or whole natural complexes.

The subjects of environmental relations are, on the one hand, the state represented by a specially authorized body as an obligatory participant in such relations, and on the other hand, an economic entity, it can be a legal entity, of any organizational and legal form and form of ownership, and an individual. No legal relationship arises between individuals or between legal entities.

Based on the foregoing, the following definition can be given.

Environmental law is a set of legal norms governing public relations in the field of interaction between society and nature in the interests of the conservation and rational use of the environment. natural environment for present and future generations.

Method.

At the heart of the emergence of environmental legal relations is the method of legal regulation. A method is a way of influencing public environmental legal relations. The following methods are common in environmental law:

Administrative and legal method. It is based on the relationship of power and subordination and, accordingly, proceeds from the unequal position of the parties. For example: any industrial enterprise in its activities emits harmful pollutants into the air, but this right is not natural, but is exercised only on the basis of a permit issued by a specially authorized state body, which indicates the volume of emissions, the period, the amount of payment and other conditions.
Civil law method. Unlike the first, it is based on equality of arms and economic instruments of regulation. For example: between a specially authorized state body and an economic entity, an agreement for the use of a certain natural resource (a lease agreement for a forest plot) can be concluded, in which the parties have approximately the same rights and obligations. Such relations are regulated not only by forestry legislation, but also by civil legislation.
Greening method. Means that all other branches of legislation must comply with the current environmental rules, norms, regulations, etc. (fuel classes (Euro 1, Euro 2)).

The system of environmental law is a set of its institutions located in a certain sequence in accordance with environmental laws.

EP can be considered:

1. As a branch of law

2. As an academic discipline

3. As a science.

As an academic discipline and science, environmental law includes general, special and special parts. The general part studies: concept, subject, method, sources, objects of protection, ownership of natural resources, public administration in the field of state environmental protection, environmental expertise, audit, certification, supervision, control, responsibility for environmental offenses and some other issues. A special part studies issues related to the use and protection of individual natural resources or entire natural complexes. A special part studies environmental law in foreign countries and international environmental law.

As a branch of law, environmental law consists of two subsystems: pyro-protection law and natural resource law.

Environmental law studies: general provisions, goals and objectives of protection, basic principles of protecting the environmental rights of citizens, the economic mechanism of environmental protection, regulation in this area, dispute resolution, responsibility for environmental offenses, international cooperation in this area.

Natural resource law consists of land, water, forest, mining, faunistic, air protection law.

Each of the named resource industries has a common and specific part.

Objects of environmental protection

Article 4 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection" defines the following objects of environmental protection:

1. Objects of environmental protection from pollution, exhaustion, degradation, damage, destruction and other negative impact of economic and other activities are:

· Land, bowels, soil;

· Surface and underground waters;

· Forests and other vegetation, animals and other organisms and their genetic fund;

· Atmospheric air, ozone layer of the atmosphere and near-earth space.

They are called classic objects.

2. As a matter of priority, natural ecological systems, natural landscapes and natural complexes that have not been subjected to anthropogenic impact are subject to protection - objects not touched by anthropogenic activity.

3. Objects included in the World Heritage List, state nature reserves, including biosphere, state nature reserves, natural monuments, national, natural and dendrological parks, botanical gardens, health-improving areas and resorts, other natural complexes, original habitat, places of traditional residence and economic activities of indigenous peoples Russian Federation, objects of special nature conservation, scientific, historical and cultural, aesthetic, recreational, health-improving and other valuable value, the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation, as well as rare or endangered soils, forests and other vegetation, animals and others organisms and their habitats.

Chapter 9 of the Federal Law establishes natural objects under special protection.

Article 58. Measures for the protection of natural objects

1. Natural objects of special nature conservation, scientific, historical and cultural, aesthetic, recreational, health-improving and other valuable value are under special protection. For the protection of such natural objects, a special legal regime is established, including the creation of specially protected natural areas.

2. The procedure for the creation and functioning of specially protected natural areas is regulated by the legislation on specially protected natural areas.

3. State natural reserves, including state natural biosphere reserves, state nature reserves, natural monuments, national parks, dendrological parks, natural parks, botanical gardens and other specially protected areas, natural objects with special nature conservation, scientific, historical and cultural , aesthetic, recreational, health-improving and other valuable value, form a nature reserve fund.

4. The seizure of lands of the natural reserve fund is prohibited, with the exception of cases stipulated by federal laws.

5. Lands within the boundaries of the territories on which natural objects are located, which have special environmental, scientific, historical-cultural, aesthetic, recreational, health-improving and other valuable value and are under special protection, are not subject to privatization.

Article 59. Legal regime for the protection of natural objects

1. The legal regime for the protection of natural objects is established by legislation in the field of environmental protection, as well as other legislation of the Russian Federation.

2. It is prohibited economic and other activities that provide negative impact on the environment and leading to the degradation and (or) destruction of natural objects that have special environmental, scientific, historical and cultural, aesthetic, recreational, health-improving and other valuable value and are under special protection.

Article 60. Protection of rare and endangered plants, animals and other organisms

1. In order to protect and record rare and endangered plants, animals and other organisms, the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation and the Red Data Books of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are established. Plants, animals and other organisms belonging to the species included in the red books are generally subject to withdrawal from economic use. In order to preserve rare and endangered plants, animals and other organisms, their genetic fund is subject to conservation in low-temperature genetic banks, as well as in an artificially created habitat. Activities leading to a reduction in the number of these plants, animals and other organisms and deteriorating their habitat are prohibited.

2. The procedure for the protection of rare and endangered plants, animals and other organisms, the procedure for maintaining the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation, the Red Data Books of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as the procedure for preserving their genetic fund in low-temperature genetic banks and in an artificially created habitat is determined by legislation in the field of environmental protection.

3. Import into the Russian Federation, export from the Russian Federation and transit transportation through the Russian Federation, as well as the circulation of rare and endangered plants, animals and other organisms, their especially valuable species, including plants, animals and other organisms that fall under the subject to international treaties of the Russian Federation, governed by the legislation of the Russian Federation, taking into account the generally recognized principles and norms of international law.

Article 61. Protection of the green fund of urban and rural settlements

Objects of environmental protection are understood as its constituent parts that are in an ecological relationship, the relations for the use and protection of which are regulated by the Law, since they are of economic, environmental, recreational and other interest. Objects are classified into three groups.

I.Natural systems. This group includes ecological systems and the ozone layer that are of global importance. They provide a continuous process of metabolism and energy within nature, between nature and man, representing the natural habitat of man.

The ozone layer is the most important part of the near-earth space, seriously affecting the state of heat exchange between the Earth and Space. States are taking measures to protect it. Not all of them are being implemented sufficiently. It is even more difficult for states to come to an agreement and protect the space farther from the Earth from pollution by aircraft, research and observation devices.

Natural or geographical landscapes are subject to protection - natural complexes, which include natural components that are in interaction, forming the terrain. Typical landscapes are mountainous, foothills, flat, hilly, lowlands. They are taken into account and used in the construction of cities, road construction, and the organization of tourism.

Thus, protection from pollution, damage, damage, exhaustion, destruction is subject to what is on the territory of Russia or above it, as well as what can be protected with the help of modern technical means and through legal regulation.

II... Natural resources and other objects of protection. There are six main individual natural resources and objects subject to protection: land, its bowels, waters, forests, fauna, atmospheric air.

Under land is understood as the surface covering the fertile soil layer. The most valuable are agricultural land intended for agriculture (arable land) and animal husbandry. They cannot be replaced by anything, they are subject to wind and water erosion, clogging and pollution and therefore deserve increased protection. Agricultural lands account for 37% of all land in the country, but their area is constantly decreasing due to the growth of cities, the construction of roads, reservoirs, the laying of power lines and communications. Non-agricultural land serves as a spatial operational basis for the placement of other sectors of the national economy.

Subsoil is considered a part of the earth's crust located below the soil layer and the bottom of reservoirs, extending to depths available for study and development. The surface of the earth also belongs to the subsoil, if it contains mineral resources. There are two main problems - the integrated use of mineral resources due to their non-renewability and the burial of wastes, especially toxic ones, in the bowels. The legal regulation of the protection of the subsoil of the earth is carried out in the 1995 Federal Law "On Subsoil".

Water- all water in water bodies. Waters can be surface and underground; a water body is a concentration of water on the surface of the land in the forms of its relief or in the depths, which has boundaries, volume and features of the water regime. The main task in the use of water is to ensure an adequate drinking water supply, to prevent pollution and depletion of water from industrial and domestic discharges.

The objects of protection are forests and other vegetation, their main function is meeting the needs for wood, producing oxygen ("the lungs of the planet"), recreation. Problems - overcutting, littering, fires, forest reproduction. The main legal regulation of the protection, rational use and protection of forests is carried out by the Law Code of the Russian Federation, 1997.

Fauna, microorganisms, genetic fund are also objects of environmental protection. The fauna is a set of living organisms of all types of wild animals that permanently or temporarily inhabit the territory of Russia and are in a state of natural freedom as well as belonging to the natural resources of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone of Russia. Its protection is carried out on the basis of Federal law"About the animal world" 1995 Microorganisms or microflora are microbes, predominantly unicellular protozoa - bacteria, yeast, fungi, algae, visible only under a microscope, are found in soil, water, food, and the human body. Science ceases to divide them into useful and pathogenic: in the ecological relationship, they are part of the habitat and therefore are subject to study. A protected genetic fund is understood as a set of species of living organisms with their manifested and potential hereditary inclinations. Degradation of the natural environment can lead to irreversible changes in plants and animals, to the emergence of mutants, that is, individuals with unusual genetic characteristics.

A peculiar object of protection is atmospheric air, which embodies the natural environment surrounding a person. Modern pressing issues the prevention of noise and radiation - specific effects on a person, transmitted mainly through the atmospheric air, are considered. Its protection is carried out in accordance with the Law of the RSFSR "On the protection of atmospheric air" 1982

III... Specially protected areas and objects. All achievable natural objects - environmental components are subject to protection, but specially designated areas and parts of nature deserve special protection. These are reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, natural monuments, endangered species of plants and animals listed in the Red Book.

Specially protected areas belong to the objects of the national heritage. The regulation of their protection and use is carried out on the basis of the Federal Law "On Natural Healing Resources, Medical Recreation Areas and Resorts" 1995 and the Federal Law "On Specially Protected Natural Areas" 1995. The main problems are the preservation and expansion of specially protected areas and objects and the maintenance of the declared special protected regime in them.

Taking into account the peculiarities of the regime of specially protected natural areas and the status of environmental institutions located on them, the following categories of these territories are distinguished:

a) state natural reserves, including biosphere reserves;

Today in the Russian Federation there are 95 state nature reserves of federal significance with a total area of more than 31 million hectares, including land (with inland water bodies) - more than 26 million hectares, which is 1.53% of the entire territory of Russia. The reserves are located on the territory of 18 republics, 4 territories, 35 regions, 6 autonomous districts. The overwhelming majority (88) of state nature reserves are directly managed by the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Environmental Protection, 1 - in the system of the Ministry of Education, 4 - in the jurisdiction of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1 - in the jurisdiction of Rosleskhoz.

State nature reserves have the status of nature conservation, research and environmental education institutions, which employ about 5 thousand full-time workers. The history of the creation of national reserves is 80 years old, the first such reserve was created at the end of 1916 - this is the famous Barguzinsky reserve on Lake Baikal, which is still functioning today.

b) national parks; National parks in the Russian Federation began to be created in 1983; today there are 32 national parks in Russia (0.6% of the entire territory of Russia). Almost all national parks are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Forestry Service of Russia, and only two ("Pereslavsky" and "Losiny Ostrov") are under the jurisdiction of the administration of the Yaroslavl region and the government of Moscow, respectively.

c) natural parks;

d) state nature reserves;

e) natural monuments;

f) dendrological parks and botanical gardens;

g) health-improving areas and resorts.

Designation of specially protected areas. In environmental law, specially protected areas are given increased attention: they have a special environmental, scientific, cultural, aesthetic, recreational, health-improving purpose, are withdrawn completely or partially from economic use, a protection regime is established for them, taking into account the peculiarities of their status.

Specially protected natural areas may have federal, regional or local significance, they are, respectively, federal property and are under the jurisdiction of federal state authorities, the property of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and are under the jurisdiction of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the property municipalities and are run by local governments.

Specially protected natural areas of federal and regional significance are determined, respectively, by the Government of the Russian Federation and the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On Specially Protected Natural Areas" dated October 2, 1992, until the end of 2005, several dozen more new reserves and national parks are planned to be created in Russia.

Specially protected natural areas of local importance are determined in the manner prescribed by laws and other regulatory legal acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The uniqueness of the system of reserves and national parks in Russia, their role in the preservation of natural heritage and biological diversity is recognized throughout the world. 18 Russian reserves have the international status of biosphere reserves (they have been issued the corresponding UNESCO certificates), 5 reserves and 4 national parks are under the jurisdiction of the World Convention on the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage, 8 reserves and 1 national park are under the jurisdiction of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of international importance, 2 reserves have diplomas of the Council of Europe.

Natural and social values form the environment in which a person lives.

Natural objects differ from social objects included in the material world surrounding a person in the following features: a) natural origin. Unlike objects social peace, objects of nature appeared in the process of evolutionary development of the biosphere. They have no value in the sense of the cost of human labor, in some cases they have the properties of irreversibility, irreversibility of the changes made. Of course, such a feature does not exclude the possibility of restoration and reproduction of individual elements of the natural world, improvement of their natural qualities. But such activity is aimed not at creating a natural environment, but at returning to it that amount of natural substance that was withdrawn and consumed by a person in the process of his labor and recreational activities. The natural nature of the origin of natural objects and the resulting lack of value does not interfere with the economic and monetary valuation of natural resources. It is important for ensuring the rational use of natural resources in the economy, for calculating the damage caused to the natural environment, for the restoration and reproduction of natural resources.

b) ecological relationship and interdependence among themselves, allowing them to function as part of natural ecosystems and, therefore, to ensure the quality of the habitat. The sign of ecological interconnection helps to distinguish objects of nature from those components of the natural environment that, by the will of man, were removed from it and passed from the natural world, subject to the laws of the development of nature, into the social world, where other laws of development operate.
c) socio-ecological value. This obligatory feature is manifested in the ability of an object of nature to carry out ecological, economic and other social functions (cultural and recreational, aesthetic, scientific, educational, etc.). The ecological function ensures the quality of the OS, the biological mode of life. It is the main one for a natural object and a person. Its loss, caused by the severance of the connection between the object of nature and the natural environment, transfers it into the category of property, switches it from the ecological system to the system of other social ties of society. The economic function of natural objects emphasizes the natural resource value of a natural object as a source of material consumption.

Consequently, in a scientific context, a natural object is an integral part of the environment, protected by current legislation, which has signs of natural origin, a state in the ecological chain of natural systems and is capable of performing ecological, economic and other socially significant functions and ensuring the quality of the human environment.

The opinion of G.I. Osipov also deserves attention, he believes that the objects of environmental legal relations can be natural phenomena, processes, territories, consisting of interconnected natural elements. In this understanding, the natural environment includes natural environments that reflect its composition, structural interactions, processes that characterize the natural environment as unified system... It seems that this point of view currently does not contradict the position of the legislator, because according to the law "On environmental protection" (Article 1), a natural object is an ecological system, a natural landscape and their constituent elements, which have preserved their natural properties.

Article 4 of the 2001 Law "On Environmental Protection" establishes the list of objects subject to protection from pollution, damage, depletion and other types harmful effects economic and other activities. At the same time, natural ecosystems, natural landscapes and natural complexes that have not been subjected to anthropogenic impact are subject to protection as a matter of priority, and objects with a special status, for example, included in the List of World Cultural Heritage, national parks, etc., are subject to special protection. In other words, in the legislation, the objects of protection are individual components (elements) of the environment, the biosphere, either taken separately, or forming specific structures, for example, ecosystems, the World Ocean, etc., the environment as a whole, or parts of them.

Analysis of the structure and content of the ecological and natural resource branches of legislation, the legal relations regulated by them, allows us to distinguish, along with the environment: land, bowels, forests, fauna, water, atmospheric air, continental shelf, marine environment, specially protected natural territories and objects, flora outside the forests. All of them, except for specially protected areas, are natural resources, i.e. the totality of the physical existence of any of the elements of the environment, the scope of which may be limited by territorial, natural-geographical, legal and other features. It is important that this group of objects is not characterized by individually defined characteristics.

It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of "natural resource" and "natural object", where the latter acts as an individually defined element (component) of the environment. Both in the doctrine and in the legislation, speaking about natural resources, their consumer character is emphasized: they are used or can be used by a person to meet his needs, note Yu.V. Truntsevsky. and Yezhov Y.A.

Yu.V. Truntsevsky, Yu.A. Yezhov Theoretical problems of the formation of legislation on the protection of environmental protection. Zhur. "Environmental Law". # 1. 2001. S. 25 From the point of view of law, the division of natural resources into two groups is important - inexhaustible and exhaustible, the latter, in turn, can be renewable and not renewable. Inexhaustible (inexhaustible) resources include solar, climatic, energy, etc. The exhaustible should include resources, the amount of which is steadily decreasing as they are extracted or removed from the natural environment - forest, land, faunal, etc. Subdivision of resources into renewable and no, it is important for regulating the responsibility of the user of natural resources for the reproduction of natural resources. Renewable resources through reproduction include forest resources, wildlife living in a state of natural freedom, fish stocks. There is a category of relatively renewable natural resources, so fresh water supplies can be obtained by desalting sea water. Theoretically, the soil is also recoverable, but if it is contaminated with radioactive waste, the processes of its recultivation can take millions of years. Brinchuk M.M., Dubovik O.L., Kolbasov O.S. Environmental law: from ideas to practice. M. RAS. 1997. There are other classifications of natural resources.

Part 1 of Article 4 of the Law defines differentiated natural objects. It is logical that the first among the individual natural objects, the legislator singles out the Earths. Due to the lack of legislative consolidation of the term "land", we will consider several of its meanings: "Ecology". Legal encyclopedic dictionary. Norm. M. 2000. a) planet solar system(in this sense, the word "Earth" is written with a capital letter); b) land - as opposed to water bodies; c) a natural object, part of the natural environment - the surface of the earth's crust, incl. covered with waters.

The earth is the place of life for mankind, the basis for the existence of flora and fauna, the place of occurrence of minerals and the location of water bodies. Directly connected with all natural objects and forms the basis of their existence and interaction.

The earth is involved in social relations by fulfilling various functions in the activities of people. A part of relations with regard to land, which has a legal character, is regulated by the norms of land law.

The earth is an object of legal relations depending on the role it plays in human life and the environment: a) the earth, being an object of nature itself, is at the same time the basis for the location of other natural objects. Fulfilling this function, the land is, first of all, the object of relations regulated by the legislation on environmental protection. In addition, when land performs this function, land relations intersect with relations regarding the use of fauna, flora, water bodies and subsoil. Therefore, part of land relations is regulated by the relevant branches of the natural resource legislation of the Russian Federation; b) within the established boundaries, the land is the territory on which the state exercises its sovereignty. On the basis of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, land as a territory turns out to be a place of interaction of the interests of the Federation as a whole, the subjects of the Russian Federation and administrative-territorial units. The main relations with regard to land in this case are governed by constitutional legislation; c) land acts as a special type of property that can be owned, used and disposed of by the state, municipalities, citizens or legal entities. In this case, real estate is not land as a whole, but a land plot - an object of civil law relations.

The peculiarity of the regulation of relations with respect to land is that when using each land plot, almost all the main functions of the land intersect and the land plot is simultaneously an object of real estate, and an object of nature, and the territory of the state.

When the earth performs one of the listed functions in human activity, each time social relations refer to certain qualities of the earth. For land as an object of nature, such qualities are important as the fertility of the top layer - soil, as well as the impossibility of replacing land with another object to perform the listed functions. These qualities make the land an object of close attention from the environmental policy of the state and society.

In addition to the listed functions, land, as a state territory and a real estate object, has such qualities as spatial limitation and constancy of location. These qualities indicate, first of all, that the borders of the state and the borders of any land plot have geographical coordinates belonging only to these and no other territories. These properties distinguish land both as the territory of the state and as real estate, they are also important when it is necessary to establish the boundaries of lands with a certain legal regime (agricultural land, transport land, etc.).

The spatial limitation of the earth is also understood on a global scale, since the amount of the earth is determined by the characteristics of the planet and cannot be changed by the will of man.

In the Land Code of the Russian Federation, the Land Code of the Russian Federation. SZ RF. 2001. No. 44 indicates that land is the basis of the life and activities of peoples, being both a natural object and a resource, immovable property, an object of property rights and other rights, a component of the environment. A related concept is "soil", and subordinates are "land", "agricultural land", "land of the water fund", etc. Let us pay attention to the fact that in addition to the earth, soils are also named. Is there a legal sense in distinguishing them as an independent object ?. Yes and no". It all depends on the legal understanding of land as an object of law. So, Kolbasov O.S. writes that land is a conditional category that has only one dimension - the area, calculated square meters, kilometers, hectares. Unlike soil, which is a surface layer, and unlike soil, the earth has no thickness, cannot be measured in units of volume and weight, and the most important thing is that it cannot be separated from the surface of the globe. Kolbasov O.S. Results of Science and Technology. Protection and reproduction of natural resources. M. 1978.T.5. p.70 Based on the above, it is assumed that the soil layer can be separated from the ground. At the same time, Petrov V.V. believes that in the legal sense, land is a surface that covers a fertile layer of soil. V.V. Petrov Environmental law of Russia. Uch. M. BEK. 1995.S. 106. According to M.M. Brinchuk Brinchuk M.M. On the draft Federal Law "On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the RSFSR" On the Protection of OPS ". Zhur. Environmental law. 2001. No. 3. S. 24. in the legislation should be used as an independent object of environmental relations of the soil. The relationship with respect to land will be regulated as a space, an operational basis.

Subsoil Law of the Russian Federation "On Subsoil" (as amended on March 3, 1995) SZ RF. 1995. No. 10 - a part of the earth's crust located below the soil layer and the bottom of reservoirs, extending to depths accessible for geological study and human development. Related concepts are: "mineral reserves", "minerals", "hydromineral resources", "mineral resources". Note that the law "On the protection of OPS" (1991) to the objects of protection of land and its subsoil. It turned out that the subsoil was not an independent object of environmental relations and was protected as part of the land, which contradicted both the legislation and the doctrine of environmental law. At present, this contradiction has been eliminated, which indicates the gradual improvement of environmental legislation in Russia.

(natural systems; natural resources and other

objects of protection; specially protected

territories and objects)

The objects of environmental protection are understood as its constituent parts, which are in an ecological relationship, the relations for the use and protection of which are regulated by law, since they are of economic, environmental, recreational and other interest. Objects are classified into three groups.

This group includes ecological systems and the ozone layer that are of global importance. They provide a continuous process of metabolism and energy within nature, between nature and man, representing the natural habitat of man. As already noted, under the surround
only natural components are understood as a natural environment and its protected objects: commodity-material objects created by man are not included in the range of natural habitats protected by law; parts of nature that have emerged from the ecological connection with nature (water withdrawn from it - in the tap, withdrawn from natural conditions, animals); elements of nature that are currently not of social value or whose protection is not yet possible.

For example, the ozone layer is the most important part of the near-earth space, seriously affecting the state of heat exchange between the Earth and the Cosmos. States are taking measures to protect it (they are discussed in more detail in the topic on the protection of atmospheric air). Not all of them are being implemented sufficiently. It is even more difficult for states to come to an agreement and protect the space farther from the Earth from pollution by aircraft, research and observation devices.

There are six main individual natural resources and objects subject to protection: land, its subsoil, waters, forests, fauna, atmospheric

air (separate topics in a special part of the textbook are devoted to the analysis of their protection).

Land is understood as the surface covering the fertile soil layer. The most valuable are agricultural land intended for agriculture (arable land) and animal husbandry. They cannot be replaced by anything, they are subject to wind and water erosion, clogging and pollution and therefore deserve increased protection. Agricultural lands account for 37% of all land in the country, but their area is constantly decreasing due to the growth of cities, the construction of roads, reservoirs, the laying of power lines and communications. Non-agricultural land serves as a spatial operational basis for the placement of other sectors of the national economy.

The subsoil is considered to be the part of the earth's crust located below the soil layer and the bottom of reservoirs, extending to depths available for study and development. The surface of the earth also belongs to the subsoil, if it contains mineral resources. There are two main problems - complex use mineral resources in view of their non-renewability and burial in the bowels of waste, especially toxic. Legal regulation of the protection of the subsoil of the earth is carried out in the Federal Law "On Subsoil" 1995 1

Water - all water in water bodies. Waters can be surface and underground; a water body is a concentration of water on the surface of the land in the forms of its relief or in the depths, which has boundaries, volume and features of the water regime. The main task in the use of water is to ensure an adequate drinking water supply, to prevent pollution and depletion of water from industrial and domestic discharges2. The main act in this area is the VK RF 1995 3

The objects of protection are forests and other vegetation, their main function is meeting the demand for wood, oxygen production ("the lungs of the planet"), and recreation. Problems - overcutting, littering, fires, reforestation 4. The main legal regulation of the protection, rational use and protection of forests is carried out by the Law Code of the Russian Federation, 1997.

Fauna, microorganisms, genetic fund are also objects of environmental protection. Fauna is a set of living organisms of all types of wild animals permanently or temporarily inhabiting the territory of Russia and in a state of natural freedom, as well as belonging to the natural resources of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone of Russia1. Its protection is carried out on the basis of the 1995 Federal Law "On Animal World" 2

Microorganisms or microflora are microbes, mainly unicellular protozoa - bacteria, yeast, fungi, algae, distinguishable only under a microscope, are found in soil, water, food products, and the human body3. Science ceases to divide them into useful and pathogenic: in the ecological relationship, they are part of the habitat and therefore are subject to study.

A protected genetic fund is understood as a set of species of living organisms with their manifested and potential hereditary inclinations4. Degradation of the natural environment can lead to irreversible changes in plants and animals, to the emergence of mutants, that is, individuals with unusual genetic characteristics.

A peculiar object of protection is atmospheric air, which embodies the natural environment that surrounds a person. Prevention of noise and radiation - specific impacts on humans, transmitted mainly through atmospheric air, are considered to be modern urgent problems. Its protection is carried out in accordance with the Law of the RSFSR "On the Protection of Atmospheric Air" 1982.5

All achievable natural objects - environmental components are subject to protection, but specially designated areas and parts of nature deserve special protection. In our country, their territory is about 1.2%. These are reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, natural monuments, endangered species of plants and animals listed in the Red Book.

The regulation of their protection and use is carried out on the basis of the Federal Law "On Natural Medicinal Resources, Medical Recreation Areas and Resorts" 19956 and the Federal Law "On Specially Protected Natural Areas" 1995.1 The main problems are the preservation and expansion of specially protected areas and objects and the maintenance of the declared special protected regime in them (a special topic is also devoted to their consideration).

Control questions

What are environmental principles?

What are the basic principles of environmental protection?

What does sustainable development mean and what is its main strategy?

What forms of legal support of environmental relations are used?

What are the principles and fundamentals international cooperation in the field of environmental protection? What is their significance? What is their legal nature?

What is the classification of objects of environmental protection?

What are the six main natural resources that are subject to legal protection?

There is another category of international objects of the natural environment, which is protected and managed by states, but is taken on the international record. These are, firstly, natural objects of unique value and taken under international control (reserves, national parks, reserves, natural monuments); secondly, endangered and rare animals and plants listed in the international Red Book and, thirdly, shared natural resources that are constantly or for a significant part of the year in the use of two or more states (Danube River, Baltic Sea, etc.).

Space is one of the most important objects of international protection. No country in the world has any rights to outer space. Space is the property of all mankind. This and other principles are reflected in the international treaties on the use of outer space. The international community recognized in them: the inadmissibility of national appropriation of parts of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies; inadmissibility of harmful effects on Space and space pollution. The conditions for the rescue of the astronauts have also been agreed upon.

For limiting the military use of space, the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems and the Soviet-American Agreements on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START) were of great importance.

The oceans are subject to international protection. It contains a huge amount of minerals, biological resources, energy. The transport value of the ocean is also great. The development of the World Ocean should be carried out in the interests of all mankind.

Attempts to formalize national claims to marine resources and spaces were undertaken long ago and by the 1950s-1970s. our century have caused the need for legal regulation of the development of the World Ocean. These issues were considered at three international conferences and ended with the signing by more than 120 countries of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1973). The UN Convention recognizes the sovereign right of coastal states to biological resources in 200-mile coastal zones. The inviolability of the principle of free navigation was confirmed (with the exception of territorial waters, the external border of which is established at a 12-mile distance from the coast).

Antarctica is rightly called the continent of peace and international cooperation. In 1959, the USSR, USA, England, France, Argentina and a number of other countries signed the Antarctic Treaty, which proclaimed freedom scientific research, the use of this continent only for peaceful purposes, was determined by the international legal regime of Antarctica. New, more stringent measures for the protection of flora and fauna, waste disposal and pollution prevention are reflected in the Protocol signed in October 1991 in Madrid on the basis of international cooperation in Antarctica.

Another major international object of environmental protection is atmospheric air. The efforts of the international community are mainly aimed at preventing and eliminating the transboundary transport of air pollutants and protecting the ozone layer from destruction. International relations in these matters are regulated by the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, the Montreal (1987) and Vienna (1985) agreements on the ozone layer, the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents (1992) and other agreed documents.

The 1963 Moscow Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, Outer Space and Underwater, concluded between the USSR, the USA and England, and other agreements of the 1970s and 1990s, had a special place among the international conventions and agreements on the protection of the air basin. on the limitation, reduction and prohibition of nuclear, bacteriological tests, chemical weapons in different environments and regions. In 1996, the United Nations solemnly signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

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