South Caucasus Faces Urgent Environmental Challenges

 

Environmental challenges, primarily soil erosion, deforestation, and unplanned urbanization, are jeopardizing food security and public health in the South Caucasus.
Unsustainable agricultural practices and rapid urbanization are exacerbating environmental degradation, leading to a decline in natural resources and increased health risks.
Researchers emphasize the need for comprehensive planning and sustainable land management strategies to address these pressing issues and promote environmental conservation in the region.


Environmental degradation is hindering socio-economic development across the South Caucasus, according to published research conducted by regional experts. While the three South Caucasus states — Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia — have adequate legislative frameworks to address environmental challenges, they lack comprehensive planning mechanisms to promote sustainable growth.

The findings, contained in an academic work titled Biodiverity, Conservation and Sustainability in Asia, have broad implications for public health and food security in the region. The three issues identified by the researchers as posing the most immediate environmental threats are soil erosion, deforestation and ill-planned urbanization.

“At the present stage, an important task is the creation of a methodology for determining not only the condition but also the potential of the transformed landscapes,” the authors state in their book chapter, titled Main Problems of the Sustainable Development of South Caucasus and Processes of Transformation of Landscape (Ecosystem) Biodiversity.

Soil degradation is closely tied to unsustainable agricultural practices. According to metrics used by the authors, over 50 percent of the region’s landscapes are “strongly modified,” exacerbating soil erosion and land degradation. Overgrazing by livestock is a major source of soil deterioration, spurring desertification in some areas. This, in turn, places additional economic pressure on many rural communities, making them “even more dependent on imported goods,” the authors contend.

Visit us at: 

Website: environmentalscientists.org

Nomination: Nominate Now

#YoungScientistAward #Science #Innovation #Research #2024Awards #Astronomer, #Astrophysicist, #Geophysicist, #Hydrologist, #Paleontologist, #PlanetaryScientist, #Seismologist, #PetroleumGeologist, #Oceanographer, #Hydrographer, #SoilScientist, #EnvironmentalConsultant, #ConservationScientist, #SustainabilitySpecialist, #UrbanPlanner, #Demographer, #Sociologi