Māris kļaviņŠ, azamat azizov, JĀnis zaļoksnis environment, pollution, development: the case of uzbekistan

Table 10.1. 
Global environmental issues and the associated sectors of 
industry
Global  environ mental 
issue
Primary production
Secondary use
Climate change
Extraction of fossil fuel
Energy production, 
pro vision of transport 
system
Flow of toxic waste
Waste recovery and 
disposal
Use of recycled materials
Decrease in biodiversity 
and biosafety
Agricultural,  bio techno-
logical and pharma-
ceutical industries
Use of mineral fertilizers, 
pesticides and modified 
organisms in farms
Ozone depletion
Chemical industry
Production of refrige ra-
tors, electronic goods 
and aerosols
Spread of stable organic 
compounds
Chemical industry
Agriculture
Decrease in forest areas
Chemical and forestry 
industry
Timber industry
Pollution of the World 
Ocean
Oil extraction and 
transportation
Sectors that use oil 
products

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ENVIRONMENT, POLLUTION, DEVELOPMENT:  THE CASE OF UZBEKISTAN
 10.4. 
 Role of science and scientists 
in identification and tackling of 
environmental problems
Scientists  definitely  play  a  prominent  role  in  the  development 
of international documents pertaining to environ mental policy. 
Although it was traditionally believed that scientists were not directly 
involved in the process, the UN Conference on the Human Environ-
ment in Stockholm, 1972, actually brought out their special role.
At  the  intellectual  level,  problems  are  identified  and 
scientifically  described.  In  this  regard,  J. Evelyn’s  research  is 
notable; he announced that the quality of air in London was poor 
in a publication in 1661. Similarly, the French engineer Jean-
Antoine Fabre (1748-1834), after having carried out research in the 
mountains, informed the public about soil erosion in the Alps. 
J. A. Fabre’s  observations  concerning  soil  erosion  did  not  offer 
solutions to the problem. The same can be said about the talented 
and versatile polyglot George Perkins Marsh, ambassador of the 
USA to Italy, who in his book Man and Nature (1864) explained, in 
the scope of contemporary knowledge, the role of rivers, banks and 
surrounding wetlands in the origin of floods in continental Europe. 
He  predicted  the  possibility  of  floods  as  long  as  humans  would 
continue industrialising and adapting rivers to their needs. However, 
he did not solve the problem either.
In the early 20
th
 century, the Swedish scientist Einar Naumann 
explained the principles of eutrophication. He discovered that 
an excessive amount of nitrates and phosphates causes biological 
activity. The results turned out to be correct although no one gave 
careful attention to them until the problem gained topicality in 
connection  with  a  massive  loss  of  fish.  Consequently,  scientific 
research was necessary, yet it had been insufficient.
Speaking of scientists as discoverers of problems, the name of 
the Swedish chemist Svante Oden (1924-1986) is often mentioned. 
He discovered the complex and large-scale acidification mechanism 
and studied it in relation to burning fossil fuels. Indeed, for about 
a century scientists had had some general knowledge on it, but 
S.  Oden’s  article,  which  was  published  in  the  Swedish  newspaper 
Dagens Nyheter in 1967, turned out pivotal in tackling the situation 
in practice. The novelty was the more recent and precise data; yet 
most importantly, this information could be introduced to politicians 
who used it in decision-making. As a result, the concept of environ-
mental protection was worked out in the 1960s, and practical tasks 
were outlined. ‘Acid precipitation’ became an issue to be discussed in 
political circles, but the problem formulated by S. Oden became an 
environ mental problem as well.
Figure 10.9. 
The 
Swedish chemist Svante 
Oden (1924-1986) 
was the first to study 
the consequences of 
burning fossil fuel
He realised that 
sulphurous compounds 
in fuel can be oxidised in 
the process of burning 
and later might turn into 
sulphuric acid, which has 
a devastating impact 
on the environment. It 
was tested by the Inter‑
national Meteorological 
Institute in Stockholm, 
which since the 1950s has 
carried out measuring of 
atmospheric pollution.

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10. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
 217
In the 19
th
 century, global warming had not yet become an en vi-
ron mental problem. However, there were scientists who saw a link 
between the temperature rise and human activity. Svante Arrhenius 
(1859-1927), a physico-chemist at the Stockholm Högskola, had 
put  forward  the  theory  of  the  greenhouse  effect  already  in  1896, 
but in 1938 the British scientist Guy Stewart Callendar (1898-
1964) published an article in which he demonstrated a connection 
between this phenomenon and burning of fossil fuel. As a result of 
burning, carbon dioxide is emitted, and with its concentration in 
the atmo sphere rising, the air temperature also rises. However, even 
G. S. Callendar himself did not consider that to constitute an environ-
mental problem because it was not socially recognised. It did not gain 
recognition  up  to  1960  when  the  concept  of  the  greenhouse  effect 
was already in wide use and the global temperature rise had become 
a topical environ mental problem. The process of global warming was 
gradually progressing, and the problem had to be included in the 
programme of human activity.
Environ mental problems are not new, they have existed for 
hundreds of years and have arise in many places of the world. Yet 
they have been problems of local importance, dispersed and isolated 
in both time and space. They have emerged in various places and 
evaluated  as  well  as  tackled  differently  –  by  individuals  and  by 
society  at  large.  Scientists  and  government  officials  have  been 
involved, but sometimes these problems were left untreated, as was 
the case of the London smog. Londoners had complained about it 
already in the 13
th
 century, but practical measures were taken only 
in the 1950s – 700 years later.
When these social problems surfaced and were explained, 
their nature changed. People’s inconsiderate attitude to their 
environ ment was reflected in these problems. Along with the idea 
of the possibilities of nature and opportunities of environ mental 
protection, a convincing interpretation method was created and 
introduced to journalists, scientists, international organisations and 
individuals concerned about environ mental problems. Scientists 
created environ mental models, concepts and theories; to the general 
public, scientists were the activators of environ mental problems; 
it was only scientists who could use their methods to identify the 
borderline between what was ‘normal’ and ‘problematic’.
The scientist as a discoverer of environ 
mental problems 
performs other important functions in the modern society. The 
scientist is a teacher who disseminates knowledge on research 
and thus carries out the mission of educating the public about the 
questions of nature and the environ ment. The scientist is also a 
consultant who helps decision-makers to prepare optimum solutions; 
as a creator of new knowledge, the scientist works out the best 
Figure 10.10. 
Major 
contribution of the 
outstanding Swedish 
chemist Svante 
Arrhenius (1859-1927) 
to science was his 
electrolytic dissociation 
theory
However, Arrhenius 
was a pioneer in many 
different spheres. 
Already in 1896 he had 
advanced the theory 
that the rise of carbon 
dioxide concentration 
in the atmosphere was 
going to cause the effect 
of global warming. He 
may have got interested 
in this problem after it 
was widely discussed in 
relation to the discovery 
of the recent Ice Age. He 
calculated that doubled 
concentration of carbon 
dioxide would result in a 
temperature rise by five 
degrees. His calculations 
are very close to our 
present‑day notions.

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218 
ENVIRONMENT, POLLUTION, DEVELOPMENT:  THE CASE OF UZBEKISTAN
technical and social solutions for the problems of nature and the 
environ ment. The scientist also assumes the role of a responsible 
intellectual by entering discussions and explaining the interrelation 
between environ mental and political issues in the mass media.
Application and scientific interpretation of data on the environ-
ment are instrumental in assessing global tendencies and developing 
future tendencies. The case of the Danish scientist Bjorn Lomborg 
is an enlightening example. In 2001 he published the book The 
Skeptical  Environ mentalist to prove that the existing state of the 
environ ment was not as bad as other scientists found it. Lomborg 
was severely criticised for a methodologically unjustified selection 
of separate environ 
mental data to draw general conclusions 
inconsistent with the reality. However, he was not the only one to 
take a stand against the propagators of environ mental problems. 
Such has been the case with the problem of ozone depletion, the 
currently topical climate warming and other issues. This urges the 
environ mentalists to work even more assiduously and consider the 
complex and intricate nature of the phenomenon as well as be better 
prepared for the eventual attacks by sceptics and critics.
Science can take pride in being the driving force behind 
activity programs for nature and environ mental protection. How-
ever, its history has not been a linear process, clearly outlined 
and progressive. It has rather been a meandering advance, with 
numerous attempts, failures and the significant achievements of the 
second half of the 20
th
 century in creating models of nature and the 
environ ment. Science is also responsible for huge disasters, including 
harm to nature; yet future without science in inconceivable. Science 
remains a consequential factor in tackling problems of nature and 
the environ ment the humanity faces worldwide and in the Baltic Sea 
Region in particular.