Most of the water flowing into the sea comes from coastal rivers. The quantity and quality of this water, particularly that of the Volga, are key variables in the balance of the Caspian Sea. To this [..]
Most of the water flowing into the sea comes from coastal rivers – currently supplying 300 to 310 cubic km a year. The Volga alone accounts for 80% of inflow. But it has dropped substantially during [..]
The prospects for rapid oil wealth contrast with fast spreading poverty following the collapse of the Soviet economy. Although massive investment has suddenly been channelled into the area, its effect [..]
Purchasing power parity (PPP) measures how much a currency can buy in terms of an international benchmark (usually dollars), since the cost of goods and services differs between countries. PPP is [..]
Changes in the Greater Asian Mountains area with reduced biodiversity and ecosystem function as a result of human development in infrastructure and associated resource exploitation between 2000 and [..]
Presentation of areas where infrastructure development, intense land use or agriculture has resulted in biodiversity loss in the Greater Asiam Mountain region. The locations illustrate some of the [..]
The tropical Lewis Glacier retreated by more than 800 m between 1893 and 2004 and lost almost 16 m water equivalent of its thickness between 1979 and 1996. Located on Mount Kenya, this is one of few [..]
Increasing temperatures will likely affect major crops such as tea in Kenya. Major impacts on food production will come from changes in temperature, moisture levels, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, CO2 [..]
The average annual rate of change in total forest area from 1990 to 2000 for the whole of Africa was estimated to be -0.74 %, equivalent to losing more than 5 million ha of forest a year, an area [..]
For many years, coastal navigation has connected republics in the former Soviet Union. It used the only outlet from the Caspian, the Volga-Don canal, which connects the Black Sea and the Russian canal [..]
The Caspian Sea runs north and south, extending over 1,200 km, with an average width of 320 km. It covers approximately 400,000 sq km (an area slightly larger than Germany). The population of the [..]
Decline in public expenditure on health and education, the general level of public health is either steady or actually declining. Inequality is on the rise, with the switch to a two-tier health [..]
Several countries and provinces – Iran, Daghestan, Turkmenistan and parts of Azerbaijan – still enjoy very high population growth rates (in excess of 10 per 1,000). Many of the population tends to [..]
Even if over the last two decades, or perhaps longer, the fertility rate has dropped significantly, the authorities nevertheless have to cope with all the health, education and employment problems [..]
In all the areas bordering on the Caspian, priority must be given to diversifying activities and investment. Particular attention should be given to sectors such as tourism, agriculture and food [..]
