Main approaches and methods of geoecological mapping the territory of Western Kazakhstan

Abstract

The deterioration of the environment in many regions, the modification and degradation of natural
geosystems and the conditions of life support for the population lead to a real ecological danger with far-reaching and unpredictable consequences for the existence of mankind. More and more popular and
promising are studies on assessing the state of the environment and determining the degree of favorable
or unfavorable conditions in specific areas for the population.
Interaction between society and the environment, which occurs in various zonal-natural and socioeconomic
conditions, at the level of specific modern geosystems, i.e. in certain areas, makes us consider
research as complex ecosystems represented by various natural-anthropogenic complexes, the core of
which is the person himself. In such ecosystems, a person lives not only in the natural, but also in the
technogenic, economic, social, ethno-cultural and many other environments that acquire territorial expression.
All these environments surrounding the human are interrelated, differentiated, integrated into
various structures and form a common geoecosociosystem, the functioning of which is determined by
the assessment of its state.
Deterioration of the state of natural environment and ensuring environmental safety require creation of
a visual image of a new environmental reality. This task corresponds most closely to the cartographic form,
which adequately reflects the ecological situation. Ecological maps have a special role in the implementation
of environmental control, organization of monitoring, implementation of environmental measures,
management of natural activities. The mapping of anthropogenic human influence on the environment is
a complex task, which is primarily due to the multiplicity of characteristics that require systematization. In
this respect, complex ecological mapping is comparable not with any particular thematic area (geological,
soil, socio-economic and other mapping), but with thematic cartography as a whole.
One of such regions for mapping is the territory of Western Kazakhstan. The purpose of mapping is
to analyze the ecological situation and its zoning, i.e. the identification of spatial and temporal variability
of environmental factors affecting the state of ecosystems. The mapping of ecological zoning should
be considered as the logical completion of an independent study – an eco-geographical analysis of any
territory aimed at determining those conditions and properties that characterize the environment surrounding
a person.
Ecological assessment and mapping of the territory aim at the practice of improving the ecological
and economic balance of the territory, its environmentally safe and harmonious development, abandoning
the destructive industrial and consumer ideology, and radically changing the system of priorities and
values in the sphere of nature management.