A joint statement of the leaders of more than 60 countries on environmental saving of the planet was presented in New York.

Leaders of States and governments of more than 60 countries signed the agreement in New York yesterday on the sidelinesof the General Assembly of the United Nations, a statement is called "a Promise to nature", in which they committed to take steps to support biodiversity-writes dw.com.

"By supporting this promise, we commit ourselves to move from words to deeds and to lead the planet out of crisis in mutual responsibility", the statement said.

One of the stated goals of the document is to stop poaching and stop plastic waste entering the world's oceans by 2050. The statement, timed to coincide with the upcoming UN biodiversity summit, was signed, in particular, by representatives of Germany, Great Britain and France.

"Biodiversity is our insurance, it provides us with clean air and water, food, biomaterials and clothing. It contributes to the creation of jobs and ensures our lives" said the German Minister of Environment and nuclear safety, Svenja Schulze, Schulzevia video link. She noted that the coronavirus pandemic has shown that "an intact natural environment protects us from disease and promotes recovery."

Meanwhile, as follows from the report of the world wildlife Fund (WWF) "Living planet 2020", more than two-thirds of the representatives of the animal world have been destroyed by man over the past 50 years.

The report shows that since 1970, the number of vertebrate populations, including birds and fish, on Earth has declined by 68 percent. The reason given is global economic growth and extensive agriculture, which lead to the destruction of habitats of living organisms, climate change, forest loss and pollution of the world's oceans.

 

We have stepped into the new Millennium and, looking back on the past, we can say with confidence that in many respects civilization has made a huge step in development. However, along with the greatest achievements, humanity faced global environmental problems, which were largely due to the active development of heavy industry, etc. One of the countries that has fully felt the oppressive effect of the undermined ecology can be considered as Kazakhstan, which currently has a vulnerable natural environment. The territory of this Republic is mainly occupied by steppes, deserts and semi-deserts. Existing in Kazakhstan, the inland seas: Aral sea, Caspian sea, Balkhash, Alakol, Zaisan. The ecology of Kazakhstan is in a disastrous situation and is one of the most painful topics in this country. The anthropogenic pressures that this Republic is experiencing take away all the forces of nature and violate the natural ability of the environment to regenerateitself. The extensive development of agriculture leads to land degradation and the impoverishment of landscapes. Sixty percent of the entire area of the Republic of Kazakhstan is severely desolated, which, in turn, reduces soil fertility and reduces the productivity of crop and livestock production. Irrational use of natural resources and the development of irrigated agriculture has led to a shortage of water in the basins of small and large rivers in the South of Kazakhstan: Ili, Syrdarya and others. During the ten-year period, the area of the Aral Sea has almost halved. Lake Balkhash is facing the same fate if urgent measures are not taken. Kazakhstan ranks last in the CIS in terms of providing clean fresh water to its residents. That is, there is a catastrophic lack of it in the country. Kazakhstan's environmental problems are further compounded by the fact that the surface of water bodies is polluted. They emit about two hundred million cubic meters of dirty wastewater. About three thousand foci have been identified, infecting underground water, the area of which is several hundred square kilometers. The problem of ecology, such as air pollution, is mainly caused by the fact that there is a large number of enterprises and plants in this Republic, especially processing and energy sectors, have outdated and imperfect cleaning and filtration technology. This contributes to an increase in the number of dangerous emissions into the atmosphere. Environmental problems of Kazakhstan are most clearly manifested precisely where a large number of people live. It is noted that in Karaganda and Pavlodar regions, 10.5 tons of toxic emissions per inhabitant in the early – mid-nineties accounted for. Every year, six million pollutants enter the air, half of which is" provided " by heat power. Also, harmful waste comes from the production of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemistry and petrochemistry. Kazakhstan's environmental problems may affect the Caspian Sea and Aktau. Factories-giants of industry of the Caspian mining and metallurgical enterprise dumped polluted water into the basin, which is located near the city of Aktau. In that place, a man-made lake Koshkar-Ata was formed, which contains a whole periodic table of toxic and radioactive compounds. The River Koshkar-Ata and the Caspian Sea is separated by a small coastal strip with a length of about eight kilometers, so there is a possibility of infecting the Caspian sea with the waters of a man-made reservoir. This reservoir is also dangerous because it periodically dries up and the plant suspends emissions. Dust is formed from toxic compounds. Mining and metallurgical complexes undermine the state of the environment in Kazakhstan. As a result of their activities, about twenty billion tons of waste and 230 tons of radioactive metals have accumulated on the territory of the country. Most of the toxic waste is placed in unsuitable places for its storage. In the late nineties and early twenty – first century, their formation grew from 92 million to 150 million. They are concentrated in Karaganda, East Kazakhstan, Pavlodar and Kostanay regions. Unfortunately, these are the environmental problems of Kazakhstan that are the main reason why the population of the country is exposed to a high risk of cancer.

Source: WebsiteNews and society. The environment.