On the issue of the legal concept and criteria of nature-like technologies

Rednikova Tatiana Vladimirovna PhD in Law Senior Scientific Associate; Department of Environmental, Land an Agrarian Law; Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences 119019, Russia, Moscow, Znamenka str., 10 trednikova@gmail.com Other publications by this author

The article was prepared with the information support of SPS ConsultantPlus.

In recent decades, humanity has faced an increasing number of global challenges and threats, while not only the traditional risks to its existence, such as environmental degradation, global warming, food and energy shortages, and loss of biological diversity, have increased significantly, but new ones have also emerged. First of all, they are related to the impact of technological progress on the economic well-being and development prospects of countries, the health and life expectancy of the population, as well as on the interaction of man and nature. The higher the level of technological development of a country, the more its population benefits from the introduction of innovative technologies that have a significant impact on the quality of life. At the same time, modern society is characterized by the processes of globalization, defined by scientists as the processes of socio-technological and natural development of the world ^{[14, p. 11]}. Globalization makes a significant contribution to the interstate interaction of countries in the economy, politics, science and culture, and views and approaches to various phenomena do not always coincide, and over the years established ties and information exchange can be severed due to the deterioration of the political situation and the emergence of conflicts between individual states and their associations.

It should be noted that the history of mankind in the XX-XXI centuries demonstrates an increase in the number of interstate conflicts, arising primarily from a shortage of resources and competition for them. At the same time, the accelerating processes of global warming act as a multiplier of the root causes of such conflicts, which leads to economic and political instability, including in countries with an insufficiently high level of economic development. In turn, political and economic contradictions hinder cooperation between the countries in the field of technological development. It is for political reasons that over the past five years the long-standing scientific ties between Russian and Western scientists who carried out joint research in various fundamental branches of science: physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and many others have been practically severed. This negatively affects the speed of technological progress and forces States to make additional efforts, including by taking additional political and legal measures to stimulate scientific research in order to ensure technological sovereignty.

As noted by M.V. Kovalchuk, O.S. Naraykin and E.B. Yatsishina, an important feature of global strategic priorities is that in the course of their implementation, revolutionary changes take place in the entire scientific and technological base of civilization, a fundamentally new technological image of the world is being formed and, as a result, a new geopolitical reality ^{[1, p. 455]}. The technological gap between developed countries and the so-called third world countries is becoming insurmountable, thereby causing the collapse of developing countries' hopes for a better future and a significant increase in the well-being of their citizens, which is one of the reasons for the growth of migration processes around the world ^{[2, pp. 38-40]}.

Today, one of the main strategic priorities of the state, which form the basis of its national security, is the acceleration of scientific and technological development in all directions. Ensuring technological sovereignty is becoming a goal without which the very possibility of the existence of a state in the modern world can be questioned. The leadership of the Russian Federation is fully aware of the urgency of finding constructive solutions in the development of the technological component of all branches of science and industry, which is reflected in the adopted strategic documents. To date, the country has adopted and is implementing a new Strategy for scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation (approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated February 28, 2024 No. 145 // SZ RF. 2024. No. 10. Art. 1373), according to which "the purpose of scientific and technological development is to ensure the independence and competitiveness of the state ... by to create an effective system for building up and making the fullest use of the nation's intellectual potential."

Among the priorities and prospects of scientific and technological development that need to be implemented in the next decade, the Strategy includes "the transition to the development of nature-like technologies that reproduce systems and processes of wildlife in the form of technical systems and technological processes integrated into the natural environment and natural resource turnover."

In June 2024, a decree of the President of the Russian Federation approved priority areas for scientific and technological development and a list of the most important high-tech technologies (Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated June 18, 2024 No. 529 // SZ RF. 2024. No. 26. Art. 3640), which classified nature-like technologies as the most important high-tech end-to-end technologies, however, this document It does not contain any more detailed explanation of which technologies can be classified as such. In addition to nature-like technologies, the document contains a number of other technologies whose connection with nature, its phenomena and processes seems obvious. So, out of 21 critical technologies, 10 have a direct connection with nature or influence it, and also copy the processes taking place in it to one degree or another. The most striking example is the use of biohybrid, bionic, and neurotechnology technologies to develop new-generation medical devices.

Given the high priority of the development of nature-like technologies, it seems extremely necessary, first of all, to determine the scope of this concept and the criteria for classifying a particular technology into this category. The corresponding task to determine the basic principles and criteria for classifying technologies as nature-like was set to the Government of the Russian Federation in Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 818 dated November 02, 2023 "On the development of Nature-like technologies in the Russian Federation" (Law RF. 2023. No. 45. Art. 8035), which introduced the concept of nature-like technologies into legal circulation. In addition, an action plan for the development of these technologies was to be developed within 6 months, and the scientific management of the implementation of the action plan, as well as monitoring and evaluating scientific results in the field of nature-like technologies, was entrusted to the Federal State Budgetary Institution National Research Center Kurchatov Institute. However, to date, there is no regulatory consolidation of the basic principles and criteria for classifying technologies as nature-like, nor has the aforementioned action plan been officially published, nor has the decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On the Strategy for the Development of Nature-like (Convergent) Technologies" been signed, the draft of which was prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and posted on the Federal Portal of Draft Regulatory Legal Acts (ID project 01/03/06- 22/00128578; URL: https://regulation.gov.ru/Regulation/Npa/PublicView?npaID=128578 (date of access: 06/20/2025)). However, this fact does not negate the need for a more detailed analysis of the content of the concept of nature-like technologies.

What is the attraction and value of nature-like technologies created on the basis of natural phenomena, objects and processes, whose viability and effectiveness have been proven for more than 3.5 billion years of life on earth? With the development of technology and the technological evolution of society, its energy consumption has steadily increased, and humanity is currently facing the most acute problem of energy scarcity. In terms of energy consumption, nature is designed to be as optimal and energy efficient as possible. At the same time, as noted by M.V. Kovalchuk and O.S. Naraykin, the technologies created by mankind, being torn out of the natural context, are inherently poor copies of natural processes, and to overcome the consequences of the global crisis, first of all, a qualitative leap is needed, a transition to completely different principles of energy production and consumption based on the model and likeness of natural processes. capable of changing the entire face of the technosphere. In their opinion, the inclusion of technologies in the natural resource turnover, created on the basis of the development of integrated interdisciplinary science, is a strategic goal of modern civilization ^{[6, p. 104]}. The advantage of nature-like technologies is the combination of high technological capabilities and efficiency. At the same time, new opportunities borrowed from nature and breakthrough technological solutions created on their basis should include the task of taking maximum care of the planet's resources and ensuring an environmentally friendly future for all generations of people.

Let's focus on several important aspects that can be brought into people's daily lives through the introduction of nature-like technologies. Here are just a few of them:

– significant reduction in energy consumption due to the rational use of natural patterns;

– improving the stability and reliability of structures capable of withstanding heavy loads and mechanical damage, for example, by studying the strength characteristics of bones, wood and other natural materials and components;

– reducing the negative impact on the environment through the use of technologies modeled after natural systems (minimizing the amount of toxic waste, the use of "green" roofs, self-cleaning surfaces, materials with low levels of toxic substances);

– optimization of logistics processes, allowing to improve transport logistics algorithms based on the study of fish migration routes, insect flight and ant movement;

– materials imitating natural ones may have unique properties (for example, lightness, elasticity, strength);

– creation of special coatings and composites resistant to high temperatures and aggressive chemical environments, based on the study of the properties of certain types of bacteria capable of surviving in space or on the ocean floor;

– sustainable waste management and the neutralization of environmental pollution using, for example, algae that purify water and bacteria that restore soil or decompose plastic waste.;

– architectural solutions created on the basis of natural forms, allowing to create buildings that optimally fit into the environment, as well as with increased thermal insulation properties, as well as reduced consumption of all types of energy.

Speaking about the appearance of the term "nature-like technologies" in Russian scientific usage, it is necessary to refer to the speech of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin in 2015 at the plenary session of the 70th UN General Assembly, in which he spoke about "the introduction of fundamentally new nature-like technologies that do not cause damage to the surrounding world, but exist with it in harmony will help restore the balance between the biosphere and the technosphere that has been disrupted by man." He attributed the creation of such technologies to challenges on a global scale, for which humanity has the intellectual potential to respond. (URL: http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/statements%20/50385 (date of request: 20. 06.2025)). Since that moment, this term has been actively used in various branches of Russian science and applied to a wide range of technologies in various industries – in energy, agriculture, medicine, transport, waste disposal, etc. However, as V.B. Agafonov rightly notes, there is still a common understanding of the essence of nature-like technologies and the content of this concept. It did not work out in Russian science and practice ^{[3, p. 23]}. O.A. Khalturina and N.E. Tereshkina come to a similar conclusion in their research, who note that in Russian science there is no unambiguous understanding and content of the phrase "nature-like technologies" ^{[4, p. 145]}. It seems that, taking into account the close attention of the state to the development of these technologies, as well as the expected further development of legal regulation in the field of their development and application, the lack of a legally fixed definition and criteria for classifying technology as such is a significant obstacle to the formation of relevant legal norms.

Both in the Russian Federation and abroad, various terms are used to define technologies that can be classified as nature-like. According to N.E. Tereshkina and O.A. Khalturina, the term bioeconomics (biotechnologies) is the closest in meaning to the term "nature-like technologies" that is literally unused abroad ^{[5, p. 505]}. However, in addition to this term, a number of similar terms are used to define such technologies (mainly in scientific research, not in legislation), each of which reflects one or another meaning of the relationship (similarity) of technology to nature and emphasizes a certain aspect of the interaction of nature and technology. At the same time, the meaning inherent in them is similar and reflects the desire to create effective and environmentally sustainable technological solutions that repeat the principles of the functioning of wildlife. The terms Nature based/Nature-like Technology (based on nature/similar to nature) can be considered the closest in meaning, while others have different semantic connotations, reflecting in each case a certain specificity of the relationship between technology and nature.

Here are some examples of similar terms. The first of them translates as technologies inspired by nature (English: Nature Inspired Technologies). These technologies borrow their solutions, ideas, and approaches directly from natural processes, organisms, or ecosystems ^[12]. This term can also be considered as general as possible and applicable to a wide range of such technologies.

Another term that comes from the English word "mimetic" (imitation, imitation) is "biomimetics" (English – Biomimetic/Bioinspired Technology). Such technologies copy the principles of the structure of living beings, natural materials, or the mechanisms of animal behavior. For example, hydrophobic coatings used in the automotive industry, construction, and clothing industries that repel water and dirt are based on the structure of lotus leaves.

Another term that can be considered to a certain extent synonymous with "nature–like technologies" can be considered ecomimetic systems and environmental engineering, which consist in creating engineering solutions that reproduce the behavior of natural ecosystems and are used in the sustainable development of urban and rural infrastructure, as well as the creation of environmentally friendly industrial clusters. For example, so-called vertical forests (greening of building facades to create a microclimate and maintain the biological diversity of urban ecosystems), green roofs (planting plants on the roofs of buildings to create natural thermal insulation, absorb and purify rainwater and reduce the level of heat radiation from the building) ^[13].

To date, the legally established term "nature-like technologies" (in any of its semantic editions) is not contained either in international agreements or in legal acts at the national level, it is not directly fixed as a separate legal definition. However, many States and organizations use this concept indirectly, formulating texts of legal norms or developing strategic documents related to sustainable development, environmental protection and innovative technologies.

Most legal acts use the term "biotechnology" or its variants using the appropriate prefix "bio" – biomedicine, bioengineering. It is noteworthy that according to the criterion of imitation of nature, they can also be considered nature-like technologies. For example, the production of biomaterials for implantation.

From the point of view of the legal regulation of public relations in these areas, these concepts need to be distinguished.

Another type of technology that should be distinguished in the legal sense from nature–like technologies is environmentally friendly/sustainable technologies (eng. – Green/Sustainable Technology) – technologies aimed at reducing the negative impact on the environment and the use of renewable resources. At the same time, such technologies can be either nature-like or not. It seems premature to classify these technologies as nature-like solely on the basis of the possibility of their integration into the natural cycle. The detailed consideration of the content of the concept of "green technologies", as well as the criteria for classifying technology as such, are beyond the scope of the purpose of this article and were considered by us earlier ^[7]. However, it seems necessary to emphasize once again the need for legal consolidation of criteria for classifying technology as nature-like, so that it does not turn out the way it did with "green" technologies, when the phenomena of greenwashing are widespread, which consist in the misuse of this name for the purpose of promoting products and services on the market that are not friendly to the environment. environment, but on the contrary causing damage to it ^{[8, p. 34]}.

When developing these criteria, first of all, the basic principles that nature-like technologies should meet need to be understood. It seems logical that they should comply with the principles implemented in living organisms and inanimate objects created by nature. These include the principle of saving resources, since all natural systems use minimally sufficient resources for their functioning: the materials from which their bodies are built, the energy they consume, or the space they occupy in the process of vital activity.

The next important principle is the efficiency and productivity of natural processes, which have been improved over millions of years in the course of evolution. The principle of self-regulation means that all natural processes are constantly interconnected with each other, and natural systems are self-regulating, in other words, they have the ability to compensate for changes occurring in them.

Ideally, the nature-like technologies being developed should be able to integrate into natural ecosystems, minimally disrupting the balance of their inherent processes. Ideally, any technology, as well as products produced with its help, should have minimal negative impact on the environment throughout their entire life cycle ^[9], however, despite attempts, for example, in the European Union to develop and adopt appropriate legislative measures in this area, this has not been implemented so far. This is probably due to the high costs of achieving this goal, which make such products uncompetitive.

In nature, the ability to self-repair to varying degrees is not only of ecosystems, but also of specific organisms, for example, after mechanical damage or disease. In this regard, the technologies being created, which can be classified as nature-like, should be durable and maintainable, if not self-repairing. It should be noted that the implementation of this principle in all complex and multicomponent products (cars, household appliances, etc.) that require large expenditures of natural resources and energy both in their production and disposal would significantly reduce their negative impact on the environment and its components, in case of greater maintainability, legally a guaranteed requirement for the production of spare parts for many years, which would ensure the possibility of maximizing their service life.

The principle of nature-like technologies should also be their suitability for multiple reuse, which will also minimize their negative impact on the environment. The possibility of recycling waste products based on nature-like technologies to a state in which the final components can be assimilated into the natural environment and incorporated into natural processes of metabolism and energy can also become one of the most applicable in the ideology of nature-like technologies. However, it should be noted that, depending on the technology, not all of these principles can be implemented in each specific case at the same time.

Based on these principles, criteria for classifying technologies as nature-like can be developed. The scientific and non-fiction literature contains a whole range of suggestions on what these criteria should be. Some of them seem quite obvious and applicable to all types of such technologies, such as, for example, the principle of functional similarity to nature: technology should be based on natural processes, mechanisms or structures. In other words, it is the application in a technical device or process of ideas present in living and inanimate natural objects or ecosystems.

Related to this criterion is the use of natural materials or structures in technology, which consists in the use of natural components or synthetic materials with a structure and functionality similar to natural ones in the manufacture of a product or process.

Generally applicable criteria include the criterion of environmental safety, which means that nature-like materials and technologies should not harm the environment, should be easily recyclable or recyclable, be compatible with natural cycles, and contribute to the conservation of biological diversity. The criterion of minimal interference in nature proposed in some sources essentially coincides with the criterion of environmental safety.

There are a number of other criteria:

– criteria for energy efficiency and resource conservation – in this case, the product or process must be energy- and material-intensive;

– the criterion of self-organization and adaptability implies the ability of a nature-like system to change its state depending on external factors, maintain homeostasis (the ability to maintain the constancy of its internal state) and adapt to changes in the external environment;

– a criterion of stability and self-healing, which means that a structure or system is capable of self-repair after damage, similar to cell membranes, bones, or other elements of living organisms.;

– the criterion of synergy with the environment is a harmonious interaction with the external environment with the absorption of its signals and a reaction to its change.

It seems that the list of criteria for classifying technology as natural-like, developed taking into account a scientifically based interdisciplinary approach and legislatively fixed, on the one hand, should ensure transparency and validity of this process, and on the other hand, be open and applicable in the case of the development of any previously non-existent technologies.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the introduction of nature-like technologies has a number of advantages, which include increasing the efficiency of their application, optimizing energy consumption, reducing the environmental footprint of economic activity in various fields, optimality, durability and reliability of products based on them. The use of nature-like technologies allows you to create a comfortable living environment, including by improving the quality of the environment. A thoughtful study of natural objects and processes opens up new horizons for innovation, as well as allows us to find new non-standard solutions that were previously considered unrealizable or ineffective. The interdisciplinarity of developments in the creation of nature-like technologies enriches the process of cognition and creates conditions for the emergence of fundamentally new scientific discoveries.

Another key point in the development and application of nature-like technologies is to monitor the consequences of their use for each person and the non-infringement of their fundamental rights, as well as the global consequences for all mankind. Since in the modern world some of the most important universal values are increasingly given a social character ^{[10, p. 7]}, it is necessary to remember about the social responsibility of the state, which controls and directs the development of nature-like technologies.

Law as a means of regulating social relations, the basis for determining the directions of social development and their adjustment in the era of scientific and technological progress and informatization is facing a number of new challenges. Leadership in the implementation of cutting-edge technologies, including nature-like technologies, is the cornerstone of ensuring the national security of the state. The possibility of effective implementation of the goals of the Strategy of Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation, both in general and in terms of the development of nature-like technologies, is inextricably linked to the improvement of the domestic legislative system, which should ensure, on the one hand, their development itself, ideally at a faster pace, and on the other hand, meet the goals of effective prevention of possible risks of their use. Solving this problem requires non-trivial efforts on the part of Russian scientists, lawyers and legislators.

In addition to interdisciplinarity with other branches of science, an interdisciplinary approach to the development of legislation in this area should also be ensured between different branches of law – civil, administrative, information, environmental, energy and other industries. The ecological sphere as a whole, which is based on nature and the processes taking place in it, as M.M. Brinchuk notes, "represents a common base, the basis for the development of the country, the state, and, of course, the life of people" ... "at the same time, some universal environmental imperatives arise, including legal ones that are mandatory for others. if not all branches of law ^{[11, p. 76]}, which is essential for the development of legislation in the field of nature-like technologies.

It should also be noted that a number of the most innovative nature-like technologies can also be classified as information constituting a state secret, which also requires taking this fact into account when creating a system of legal regulation, including criteria for differentiation.

When forming the legal concept of nature-like technologies, it seems necessary to include their most general essential characteristics in it. In this context, the formulation contained in the Strategy of Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation regarding the reproduction of systems and processes of wildlife in the form of technical systems and technological processes is a good one. However, from our point of view, the proposal to make such a criterion as the integration of nature-like technologies into the natural environment and natural resource turnover mandatory cannot be attributed to all technologies classified in this category, but only to a part of it. For example, technologies that reproduce a natural process at the molecular level do not always have any impact on the environment and cannot be included in the natural resource cycle by definition. Therefore, in this case, a separate formulation is necessary, which is fixed in the legislation, specifying which category or categories of nature-like technologies must be integrated into the natural environment and natural resource turnover without fail in order to be recognized as such.

The question of the need to include the maximum number of man-made technologies and objects in the natural resource cycle cannot be questioned, regardless of whether they are nature-like or not. And this should become an independent goal of scientific and technological development of mankind.