ABSTRACT
Ecological security is an essential cornerstone for the sustainability of human societies and nature ecosystems. Ecological security depends on the balance between human demands and actions in consumption and alteration of resource base and the sustainability, vulnerability and resilience of environmental systems that provide ecosystem services. This is a particular concern for regions with sensitive and fragile ecosystems and ecotones, with trans-region and cross-boundary movements such as transportation of pollutants through water and air systems and migration of human populations and other species, and with potential intra- and inter-state conflicts in demographic, environmental, political, and resource issues. Inventory and monitoring of ecosystem conditions become critically important under the facts of intensified human-induced land-use and land-cover change, fragmentation of habitats and effects of climate changes. Natural resources and ecological security of the Changbai Mountain region in Northeast Asia deserve attention.
