气候变化领域集成服务门户

Current environmental problems of the two Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) in Far Eastern Russia, the Sea of Okhotsk LME and the West Bering Sea LME, were analyzed. The overall strategic problem for the sustainable regional development is the resource use conflicts and the resolution of these conflicts for long-term nature management purposes. This problem occurs due to registered hydrocarbon deposits on the shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk LME, as well as ore raw materials on the coast of Kamchatka, and possible damage to the renewable fish resources of the West Bering Sea LME during the exploration and production of mineral resources. Peculiar environmental issues are a) irrational use of bioresources, b) pollution of river and coastal water, and c) increase of industrial and domestic waste, including marine litter. The problem of industrial and domestic pollution is closely related with prevailing use of mineral resources. The total anthropogenic load on the Sea of Okhotsk LME is higher than on the West Bering Sea LME.