MEDICAL BIOLOGY, HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY - Y.I. Fedonyuk 2010

BIOLOGY

CHAPTER 2. BIOGEOCENOTIC LEVEL OF LIFE ORGANIZATION AND HUMAN PLACE IN IT

2.8. THE BIOSPHERE AND HUMANITY

Biosphere protection in international and national programs

Population growth and, to an even greater extent, technological progress are forcing scientists to reflect upon the consequences of the uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources and the systematic pollution of the planet with substances harmful to living organisms. According to scientific forecasts, the emerging ecological situation on Earth genuinely harbors the threat of severe and potentially irreversible disruptions to the biosphere unless human activities account for the natural laws of environmental development. To avert an ecological crisis, the efforts of all nations must be united in protecting the biosphere. In 1964, a special Organization—the International Biological Program (IBP)—was established for an 8-year term. The objective of the IBP was to determine the biological productivity of natural and anthropogenic terrestrial and aquatic PLANT AND ANIMAL communities. Following the completion of the IBP, the International Union of Biological Sciences developed a successor initiative known as the "Man and the Biosphere" program (MAB). The mission of MAB is to combine the expertise of natural scientists, sociologists, and other specialists to assess the impacts of human activities on natural and human-made ecological systems. The ultimate goal of MAB is to forecast the consequences of current economic practices for the future and to formulate recommendations for the rational use and conservation of biosphere resources.

Environmental conditions and improvement efforts are monitored by specialized UN agencies: UNESCO, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). On the initiative of the UN, World Environment Day was established on June 5, 1972. Key international environmental agreements include the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (1975), the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (1986), and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (1992).

Environmental protection and the rational use of natural resources are governed by legislative acts. In Ukraine, these include the Constitution of Ukraine (1996), the Law of Ukraine on Environmental Protection (1991), the Law of Ukraine on Atmospheric Air Protection (1992), the Law of Ukraine on the Animal World (1993), the Subsoil Code of Ukraine, the Water Code of Ukraine, and the Forest Code of Ukraine. As a UN member state, Ukraine is a sovereign party to numerous international agreements on biosphere protection and actively collaborates with other nations to safeguard our common home—planet Earth.