The rapid changes in the former Soviet Union have rendered most pre-1992 works on its environment obsolete. A more specifically geographic approach that highlights the particular situation in each republic and region is offered by Philip R. Pryde’s new work, Environmental Resources and Constraints in the Former Soviet Republics. Focusing bro

Europe still retains large areas which play host to numerous native and free-functioning ecosystems and lack roads, buildings, bridges, cables and other permanent manifestations of modern society. In the past such areas were considered wastelands, whose value lay only in their potential for cultivation and economic exploitation. Today, these wilderness areas are increasingly cherished as places for rest and recreation, and as important areas for scientific research, biodiversity conservation and the mitigation of and adaptation to certain climate change effects. This book provides the first major appraisal of the role of international, European and domestic law in protecting the remaining wilderness areas and their distinguishing qualities in Europe. It also highlights the lessons that can be learned from the various international, regional and national approaches, identifies obstacles to wilderness protection in Europe and considers whether and how the legal protection of wilderness can be further advanced.

Since 1898, the former communist countries of Eastern Europe have gained international prominence. The continuing socio-economic transition and the instability evident in areas like the Caucasus and Former Yugoslavia have drawn the western world into uneasy interactions with the region. At the same time, closer commercial and cultural contacts are providing opportunities for rewarding relationships which have now resulted in many of these countries joining the EU. This book provides detailed coverage of the transition from communism to a market economy. Covering the whole range of East Central European and former Soviet Union countries, it charts the diversity within the region, offering in-depth coverage of specific areas as well as a broad view of development across the region. The book is organised into three comprehensive sections: the historical, socio-economic and environmental. The socio-economic section considers the critical issues of restructuring to effect the transition from central planning to a market economy, while the historical material provides an essential context for the constraints and opportunities affecting the region. The environmental section places emphasis on results of environmental neglect inherited from communism as well as looking to the future implications of EU directives on the problems of biodiversity and pollution in the region.

The effects of man-made substances (xenobiotics) on the natural environment are described in this volume. It explains why these effects need to be understood, monitored and curtailed, especially in developing countries.