Environmental Protection, initiatives to rationally use and improve the environmental resources. The concept of “ resources” includes mineral resources such as the forest, water, soil, etc., territory (as the potential habitat of the population and site of production), recreational resources, places that are aesthetically unique, etc. Under capitalism, the rapacious use of natural resources, the desire to obtain maximum profit in the shortest possible time and the unwillingness to fund undertakings that improve the environment but yield low profits or have a long period of recoupment, led to the aggravation of ecological situation 123 (see Ecological Crisis). Under socialism, environmental protection is one of the most important areas of state activity; it is reflected in the Constitution of the USSR. The socialist system creates objective conditions for the rational use of natural resources, the control of natural processes in the interests of the people, and the improvement of the interaction between society and nature. Marx pointed out that in the work process "man of his own accord starts, regulates, and controls the material reactions between himself and Nature" (K.Marx, Capital, Vol. I, p. 173). Only the social forms inherent in socialist relations can adequately provide this regulation and control. The use of nature and environmental protection include the following activities: protection of live nature (flora and fauna, the establishment of reserves, the fight against poachers); the improvement of live nature (afforestation, breeding animals and birds, selection and anti-erosion work, etc.); the fight against pollution (the building and maintenance of purification works, recultivation); the rational use of mineral and power resources (reduction of losses in the exraction and processing of raw materials; use of waste and secondary raw materials); developing new technologies that prevent the pollution and destruction of the environment, scientific research and experimental design work in the use of nature, developing low-waste and waste-free technology; the elaboration of a system of “society-nature” relations (methodological problems, scientific research, education); organisational-economic mechanism of the use of nature. Thus, the economy of the use of nature involves questions of perfecting the entire system of relations of production and of the economic mechanism to improve and if necessary change the existing forms of including nature in economic activity, as well as those of evolving corresponding indicators of the evaluation of the rational use of natural resources, and of the activity of economic units at different levels so as to improve economic management, create less resource-intensive technology, work out planning methods with due consideration of ecological factors, etc. These are the following aspects of the economy of the use of nature: resource (by the use of certain kinds of resources—renewable and non-renewable), level (by certain levels of nature protection activity), “global” ( international, national, industry-wide, regional), problematic (by individual groups of questions—aims and appraisal of the resources, economic mechanism and the use of nature, management and organisation of nature protection activity, price formation, planning and decision making), and legislative. On the legislative side of nature protection there have been important decisions of the CC CPSU and of the Council of Ministers of the USSR—On the Intensification of Nature Conservation and Improvement of the Use of Natural Resources of December 29, 1972 and On Additional Measures for Intensification of Nature Conservation and Improvement of the Use of Natural Resources of December 1, 1978. Special decisions and laws have been adopted for the whole country on certain natural complexes and especially important resources like On Air Protection and On the Protection and Use of the Animal Kingdom (June 1980). Measures are being carried out to improve the operating of bodies engaged in nature conservation, to expand their functions and authority, to improve the planning of nature conservation undertakings and the use of nature, to introduce stricter controls over the state of the environment and observation of fixed standards of discharges, and to ensure the comprehensive examination and evaluation of new construction sites and land development and training of the necessary personnel. A mechanism is being evolved to ensure material incentive for enterprises and organisations in environmental protection and in the comprehensive use of resources. A system of encouragements and sanctions is used for this purpose along with a system of financing conservation initiatives and the appraisal of their effectiveness, an appraisal of the natural resources and consequences of pollution, an account of the time factor and measures to stimulate the comprehensive processing of raw materials 124 and reducing material and power intensity. Nature conservation is of special significance when developing new areas and in conducting regional policy.