乌克兰的水污染：寻求可能的解决办法外文翻译

1、毕业论文外文原文外文题目：Water Pollution in Ukraine: The Search for possible Solutions 出 处：Agricultural Sciences,Imperical College at Wye ,Kent,UK作 者：NIKOLAI NAZAROV, HADRIAN F. COOK & GRAHAM WOODGATE原 文：Water Pollution in Ukraine: The Search for PossibleSolutionsNIKOLAI NAZAROV, HADRIAN F. COOK & GRAHAM WOODGA

2、TEAgricultural Sciences, Imperial College at Wye, Kent, UKABSTRACTIn Ukraine, average and maximum concentrations of certain pollutants in inland water bodies are unacceptably high, while the number of heavy pollution accidents (one-out effluent discharges capable of causing health hazards) is increa

3、sing. Meanwhile, the transition from a centrally planned to a free market economy is associated with severe economic downturn and a marked industrial decline. However, no comprehensive analyses related to issues linking water pollution and socio-economic situation during the period 19912003 have bee

4、n done. It is considered unlikely that much can be achieved to improve water quality, at the state level, in the near future. Some improvement can be achieved through changes in the system of pollution control and in public attitude, as well as obtaining relevant expertise and funds from abroad. Int

5、roductionThis paper attempts to link water pollution issues with the socio-economic situation in Ukraine. The methodology involves an analysis of official statistics concerning surface water quality in Ukraine in terms of concentrations of certain pollutants and pollution accidents.1 Then considerat

6、ion is given to relevant socio-economic issues and efficiency of pollution prevention in the country. The years emphasized in the analysis, 19931996, represent the initial period of rapidly worsening economic decline and de-industrialization following independence from the Soviet Union (USSR) in 199

7、1. Between 1996 and 2000, patterns of surface water pollution changed little (Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), 2000). Since then, the country has been pursuing a course of political democratization and economic liberalization, which has brought about significant changes in state politics,

8、 the national economy and public welfare. Economic difficulties continued through the late 1990s and Ukraines economy began showing signs of improvement only around the year 2000. During the period 19912003, patterns of environmental pollution changed and the average concentration of pollutants tend

9、ed to decrease. However, levels of river pollution became more variable and the Ukrainian MEP reports shortterm maximum concentrations reaching tens of standard maximum admissible concentrations (MEP, 1998, 2000, 2002). Problems of acute water pollution are especially pronounced in industrialized an

10、d densely populated areas where most sources of pollution, including that of surface water, are located (Gritzenko, 1995). At present, in most parts of Ukraine the quality of river water is not of a satisfactory standard and the authorities responsible for protection of the environment are unable to

11、 deal with the problem, mainly because of financial and staff shortages. Whether it is river pollution, poor air quality, soil contamination or any other environmental issue, it is inadequately addressed (Barannik et al., 1996; MEP, 2002).This paper intends to draw on major findings of research focu

12、sed on waterquality in Ukrainian rivers and upon major factors that influence it. The main objective of the research described is to identify sources other then national environmental protection authorities that could help to mitigate the problem of river (and environmental) pollution. Such analysis

13、 is relevant to consideration of policy importation to the former USSR states, including consideration of UK and EU policies for water protection.An Overview of Surface Water Pollution by River BasinsThere are eight major river basins in the country (Figure 1). The largest is the Dnipro river basin,

14、 which occupies about 45% of Ukrainian inland territory. The basins of the Pivdenny Bug and the small rivers of Crimea are located entirely within Ukraines territory, while many rivers of other basins originate outside Ukraine. This presents further problems for river basin management at the state l

15、evel.The pressure of human activities on natural ecosystems within the basins is spread unevenly. There are areas under urban and industrial development, mining, agriculture, nature reserves and wilderness. Therefore air and water pollution is highly Figure 1. Schematic location of river basins in U

16、kraine. Source: Gritzenko (1995).location specific and variable in magnitude. There exist heavily polluted areas with adverse ecosystem and human health implications, alongside areas where the natural environment has virtually been unaltered.Highly polluted areas usually coincide with densely popula

17、ted urbanized areas where most infrastructure and industrial production plants are located and, therefore, need to be given primary attention when implementing measures on prevention of pollution. According to information released by the Ukrainian MEP, average concentrations of certain pollutants in

18、 river water are often above 1 MAC (maximum admissible concentration), and acute short-term concentrations may reach 4090 MACs and more (MEP, 1998, 2002).At present there is chronic pollution of water in all of the major river basins of Ukraine. According to the MEP, in the late 1990s, 2000 and 2001

19、 there was neither major improvement nor deterioration of river water quality (MEP, 2000, 2002). The findings of an analysis dating from the mid 1990s therefore remain relevant. More significant changes took place during early post-independence years. The period 19921996 was characterized by rapid c

20、hanges from a centrally planned to a free Figure 2. Decline of GDP in Ukraine during the period 19891998, using 1989 as the baseyear (100%). Source: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (1999).market economy, hyperinflation, closure of many industries, development of service and trade se

21、ctors and a deterioration of living standards. However, with respect to national gross domestic product (GDP), after 1996economic decline slowed down significantly (Figure 2). In 2000, for the first time in a decade, there was an increase in GDP. GDP grew by an average of 7% for all states of the Co

22、mmonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Ukraine. The growth is primarily linked to profitable exports of natural resources by Russia, which has close trade links with CIS states (National Television Agency of Russia (NTV), 2001). From 2000 until the present the Ukrainian economy has contin

23、ued to grow. In 2001 national GDP increased by 9%, and in 2002 GDP grew by 4.1% (Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 2003). Official data issued by the Ukrainian MEP show that during the period 19931996 concentrations of a range of polluting substances constantly exceeded 1 MAC in all river basins (T

24、able 1). It should be noted that values of Ukrainian MACs are usually less strict than those of European Union (EU) MACs. However, taking into account that concentrations of certain pollutants sometimes exceed 1 MAC by many times, these levels of pollution are high enough to be of threat to human he

25、alth and water ecology (Barannik et al., 1996).With the exception of Crimea, all basins also experienced heavy pollution accidents (HPA). In some basins, pollution and number of HPA (NHPA) tended to decrease; in others there was an increase, or no clear change in pollution or NHPA. On some occasions

26、 there were hundreds of HPA (Table 2).In the largest river basin, the Dnipro, the annual average concentration (AC) of most pollutants was rather variable (Table 3).In 1996 the AC of seven selected pollutants was still too high1 MAC or more. This is serious because the Dnipro basin occupies almost h

27、alf of the entire territory of Ukraine. Furthermore, six large water reservoirs designed for the purposes of hydroelectricity and water supply are located within the basin. On the other hand, the basin is not heavily industrialized in terms of extractive and manufacturing industries.Compared to 1993

28、, by 2000 there was a 22% reduction in average concentration of the selected pollutants and also a 37% drop in the magnitude of recorded maximum concentrations (MC) of the pollutants (Table 4). At the same time, however, the Dnipro basin experienced a dramatic increase in NHPA between 1993 and 1996,

29、 from 10 in 1993 to522 in 1996 (more than 5100%). According to recent releases of data by the MEP, during the period 19972000 pollution levels in the basin declined, but not by more than about 2% per annum (MEP, 2000, 2002). In 2000, NHPA in Ukraine was still above 500 (MEP, 2002).In the same manner

30、, an analysis has been conducted for the Zakhidny Bug, Danube, Dnistr, Pivdenny Bug, Priazovie, Seversky Donetz and Crimea basins (see Table 4) using data from MEP reports on the state of the environment released in 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2002.Selected as an example, in 1996 the average and maxi

31、mum concentrations of certain pollutants in all river basins were significant (Table 5).Dramatic variations in pollutant concentrations might be due to the frequent HPA, but there is also a possibility that the quality of reported data is low as a result of poor and irregular monitoring of water qua

32、lity or misrepresentation of data in MEP reports.Many major rivers in Ukraine originate outside its borders, and so can be subject to water pollution abroad. For example, some pollutants in the River Danube come from Western and Central European countries located upstream, including the former Yugos

33、lavia, a region disrupted by recent military conflict.The basin of Crimea, with only a few individual small rivers, is very different from other river basins in Ukraine. In 1996, river pollution in the Crimea basin was still lower than that in other basins, probably due to the influence of tourist r

34、esorts. Crimea has traditionally been a resort region with a low number of manufacturing and processing industries capable of causing serious pollution. However, during the period 19932000 pollution levels in Crimean rivers were on the increase. The pollution here may not be coming through uncontrol

35、led industrial and municipal discharges, but from other sources, such as improperly treated sewage, leaking water mains or landfill sites (MEP, 1998, 2002; Semchuk, 1997).Comprehensive analysis of the information briefly mentioned earlier in this section would suggest that countrywide there was appr

36、oximately a 20% reduction in average levels of river pollution and nearly 50% increase in NHPA during the period 19932000. According to MEP reports (1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002), in 2000 the greatest pollution load per unit of basin area fell on the rivers of the Dnistr basin. This was followed in

37、descending order of magnitude by the rivers of the Seversky Donetz, Priazovie, Pivdenny Bug, Zakhidny Bug, Dnipro, Danube and Crimea basins.Ranking according to the number of HPA per unit of basin area, however, places the Dnipro basin at the top of the list, followed by Seversky Donetz, Zakhidny Bu

38、g, Priazovie, Danube, Pivdenny Bug, Dnistr and, finally, Crimea.The trends of change in NHPA and pollution levels do not correspond well for the Danube, Pivdenny Bug, Dnipro, Priazovie and Crimea basins. This is partly be due to basin size and water resource differences, the nature of economic activ

39、ities, and density and distribution of population, but can also be accounted for by non-heavy pollution accidents and unrecorded HPA: nonheavy pollution accidents are those related to small but frequent discharges of under-treated and untreated effluents. The actual numbers of unrecorded heavy and n

40、on-heavy pollution accidents are of course unknown, and this is a real limitation in the environmental information available for public access.It is not surprising that the general trend in pollution change is negative, because Ukraines economy experienced a deepening crisis throughout the 1990s, wh

41、ich caused many plants and enterprises to reduce or even completely cease activities. For example, in 1996, general water use in the country was 1675 million m3 (or 8.6%) less than that in 1995. However, the trend of deteriorating treatment of waste water and the growing number of pollution accident

42、s brings about the possibility of chronic river pollution above admissible levels, which may persist for many years, even decades.Sources of PollutionMost river pollution in Ukraine comes from point sources in the industrial and household sectors, as well as mining and landfill sites. Pollution from

43、 agriculture was significant before Ukraines independence in 1991. At present, discharges of agrochemical and organic contaminants from farms are insignificant, due to a lack of funds to invest into agricultural production (Barannik et al., 1996).Due to the predominantly industrial character of poll

44、ution, it is possible to identify the following oblasts (administrative territorial units): Zaporozhie, Kirovograd, Dnepropetrovsk, Lugansk and Donetzk (Figure 3). These are areas where a lot of mining and heavy metallurgy enterprises are located, together with all the major cities in the country th

45、at are centres of industrial production and are provided with large municipal waste-water treatment facilities. In 1996, at the scale of administrative regions, in nine (oblasts) river pollution tended to increase, while it remained stable or declined in 16 others (MEP, 1998). In 2000, increasing ri

46、ver pollution was noted only for seven administrative units (MEP, 2002).Hard hit by economic crisis, many national industries completely shut down, while others operated at only a fraction of their potential capacity. Export-oriented oil, gas, metal processing and agricultural enterprises, however,

47、have been less severely affected. Although there has been some economic upturn during the last few years, it has not yet brought about substantial positive changes to the general state of Ukraines industries and population welfare.As a result of economic decline, the welfare of most people has decre

48、ased significantly since 1990. For example, in 1990, when there was virtually no unemployment, the national average monthly wage was nearly US$200 and the price of bread was about US$0.15. In 2000, official unemployment was about 6%, the average monthly wage was about US$40, while the price of bread

49、 was US$0.2. Nevertheless, during the 1990s there appeared a small (up to 3% of the total population) but very rich and powerful stratum of population with incomes from tens to millions of US dollars a year (Sokolyk, 1998).Taking into account the economic hardships being experienced by most of the n

50、ational industries and the population alike, it is not surprising that enterprise managers as well as the general public do not pay due attention to prevention of environmental pollution. However, no comprehensive study of how the socio-economic situation in Ukraine influences the quality of water p

51、ollution prevention has been carried out.According to an earlier assessment, major pollutants in river water come from industrial and municipal sources (MEP, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000). Sharp fluctuations in pollutant concentration and NHPA suggest that river pollution is often caused by short-term hea

52、vy discharges of accumulated sewage. The sewage is inadequately treated or not treated at all by the many water users by whom it is generated.Causes of PollutionWhile state environmental legislation and policies emphasize the need to protect the environment, industries consider pollution prevention

53、uneconomical (Gritzenko, 1995). This is partly because no account is taken of the benefits of pollution abatement, such as improved human health, amenity, preservation of biodiversity, etc. Other factors include a shortage of funds in commercial enterprises, and state and local budgets; a lack of fo

54、reign expertise and financial assistance; limited public support; and, in particular, poor enforcement of legislation (Pavlyuk, 1997). There may also be technical errors regarding the reporting of information about monitored levels of river pollution.National enterprises struggling to operate in dif

55、ficult economic conditions are primarily concerned with reducing and covering production costs in order to remain in business. Because of the decline in economic activity, income to local and state budgets from taxes is not enough to address environmental problems adequately. For example, in 1996 th

56、e total state budget for Ukraine (a country of approximately 50 million people) was about US$15 billion, and formal expenditure for environmental protection only US$40 million (MEP, 1998). In practice, however, even these obligations were not met, nor were there any significant contributions from no

57、n-budget environmental funds (Table 6). In 2001 the size of the state budget was even smallerUS$7.6 billion (Agence France Presse (AFP), 2000).Another difficulty is that state funds allocated for environmental protection are utilized in the least satisfactory manner compared to any other sector of s

58、tate expenditure. For example, only 72.2% of the environmental funds allocated to enterprises and institutions in 1995, and just 58.7% in 1996, were utilized as intended (MEP, 1997, 1998).While a lot of foreign assistance has been provided for economic liberalization and political democratization, h

59、ardly any help has been given to abate environmental problems. Foreign experts do come to study environmental problems in the country, and suggest ways of dealing with them, but the experts are not well aware of local culture, politics and relevant social issues, and therefore can only give general

60、technical advice to national professionals. Also, implementation is costly; full charges are either paid directly by the government or from international loans, usually World Bank loans. With poor awareness of local social issues, and no funds to implement suggested ameliorative measures, such forei