Four years ago Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia agreed to restrict further export of commercial fish products. All three countries, as well as Iran, are party to the UN Convention on International [..]
The Caspian area is the world’s main producer of wild caviar (83% in 2003) and supplies the three largest markets, the European Union, Japan and the USA. The construction of several hydroelectric [..]
Biochemical oxygen demand is an indicator of the organic pollution of freshwater. Alkalinity (concentration of calcium carbonate or CaCO3) is another indicator of freshwater quality. These graphics [..]
Infrastructure development, intensive agricultural expansion, urbanisation and coastal development are increasing the flow of sediments and sewage into the ocean. The situation is most severe around [..]
The locations of major problem areas for invasive species infestations or occurrence of exotic species in the marine
environment. The impacted areas are concurrent with the areas subjected to the [..]
Coral reefs are marine ridges or mounds, which have formed over millennia as a result of the deposition of calcium carbonate by living organisms, predominantly corals, but also a rich diversity of [..]
The world's marine fisheries have stagnated or slightly declined in the last decade, offset only by increases in aquaculture production. A major reason why the decline has not become more evident is [..]
Climate change may, through effects on ocean currents, elevated sea temperatures, coral bleaching, shifts in marine life, ocean acidification and much more severely exacerbate the combined actions of [..]
The Global Solar UV Index (UVI) is a simple measurement of the UV radiation level at the Earth's surface. It has been designed to indicate the potential for adverse health effects and to encourage [..]
Countries receive funds according to their compliance needs. That is, they receive funds to phase-out specific amounts of ozone depleting substances (ODS) production and consumption. Hence, ODS [..]
All countries can claim “climate credits” by their phase out of ozone depleting substances (ODS) under the Montreal Protocol, and some are beginning to document this contribution. Article 5 countries [..]
In the mid-1990s, when CFCs were phased-out in industrialized countries (non-Article 5 countries), illegal trade in those chemicals emerged. By 1996 this trade had reached alarming proportions, [..]
Ozone depleting solvents were used in dry cleaning, and to clean metal parts in almost all electronic devices, refrigerating equipment and cars. They also played a part in tasks such as laminating [..]
Since the discovery of their destructive nature, other substances have gradually replaced ozone depleting substances (ODS). In some cases it is difficult to find and costly to produce replacements, [..]
The global average surface temperature has increased over the 20th century by about 0.6 degrees Celsius. This increase in temperature is likely to have been the largest for any century in the last [..]
