ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF USING SMALL RIVER FOR LOG DRIVING

• Main Authors: А.Ю. Виноградов, Т.А. Виноградова, М.М. Кадацкая, С.И. Сазонова, С.В. Хвалёв
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: Для почтовых отправлений: 199155 Санкт-Петербург, а/я 136, Редакция журнала «Гидросфера. Опасные процессы и явления» / For mail: 199155 St. Petersburg, PO Box 136 Editorial Board of the «Hydrosphere. Hazardous processes and phenomena». 2019
• Subjects: log driving; small river; environmental pollution; logging industry; ecological status of small rivers; water catchment; молевой сплав; малые реки; загрязнение окружающей среды; лесозаготовительная отрасль; экологическое состояние малых рек; водосбор; Russian North; Siberia
• Online Access: https://hydro-sphere.ru/index.php/hydrosphere/article/view/40

The paper considers the issue of the log diving effect on the ecological status of small rivers and their catchments. There are analyzed the circumstances leading to the prohibition of the log driving and the consequences of this decision for nature and man. The main points of both positive and negative effects of the log driving are evaluated and specific steps are proposed for reducing the chemical and mechanical pollution of water bodies. A general conclusion is made that the damage to ecosystems from log driving is not as great as is it commonly believed. There is proposed specific reclamation plan with the aim of improving the recreational capabilities of small rivers, purifying water, improving the condition of the forest stock by reducing the flooding of its territory. The affected problem concerns both the condition of small rivers and the future of the logging industry and the related development of outlying areas that are currently experiencing large demographic and economic problems. The arguments presented by the authors show that in a nowadays economic situation, the prohibition of log driving is economically disadvantageous and even harmful. It impedes the further development the territories of the Russian North, Siberia and the Far East. The hypothetical damage to nature by log driving is not comparable with the consequences that cause as a result of the desolation of the huge territory of Russia. There are a confirmed decline in the economy, the come-down of the demographic situation and socio-cultural infrastructure today. Over the past decades the catastrophic situation has developed in the demography of the Trans-Ural regions and other regions of Siberia. Unfortunately, the great number opened in recent decades mines and processing plants are not designed for constant abode of the population. Settlements near such enterprises have a temporary status. Only the logging and wood processing industry can save this situation. So, an integrated approach to the problem of log driving can facilitate a ...