ABSTRACT

Technical particularities of oil deposits development on the shelf make difficult to estimate and prevent possible impact on fragile Arctic ecosystems during the natural resources exploitation. Environment safety in the Arctic Regions is assured by the legal environment protection. The paper shows that the legal base of the natural resources development in offshore Russian Regions is insufficient to promote environment safety in the Arctic. The authors present the measures of legal base development which will provide environment safety of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation in future. Existing state system of the ecological monitoring and experience of Russian United Monitoring System programs are presented. It is very important to estimate the ecological damage and liquidate it in time. The responsibility for nature pollution must be strictly defined by the special norm-legal documents. The results of the study can be used for the maintenance of the environment safety in the perspective regions of oil resources development and for the perfection of regional and international oil spills response systems in the Arctic.

INTRODUCTION

The significant part of the perspective oil resources is concentrated in offshore regions of the Russian Arctic. Extraction of mineral fuel and energy resources is the basis of economic development of the Russian Arctic regions in the next decades. The growing activity of oil production and transportation on the shelf of the Polar areas cause increase of environmental risks. Exploitation of mineral, oil and gas deposits is inevitably connected with environment changes. The scales and character of environmental impact must be defined and limited by corresponding regulating documents. The analysis of ecological and geo-ecological consequences of economic activity in the main oil and gas extraction areas of Arctic regions has shown negative tendency.

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