Soils, plants, animals and nature protection

Material riches that people take from nature — minerals, water, air, soil, plants and animals — are natural resources. They divide into exhaustible (non-renewable and renewable) and inexhaustible (solar radiation, wind, climate). Air is polluted by transport, energy, industry and households, so cars cause much of the air pollution in big cities. To keep water clean, waste water must be purified; to protect soil from erosion, irrigation rules should be followed and organic fertiliser and biological pest control used. Ploughing, new settlements, wrong grazing and hunting have reduced the goitred gazelle, Bukhara deer and argali, and some animals have disappeared completely. To save rare species and places the Red Data Book of Uzbekistan was published and reserves, national parks and zakazniks were created. In a reserve economic activity is fully banned, while in a national park limited recreation and tourism are allowed along with protection.