Rescue of Sturgeon Species in the Ural River Basin (NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security)

While almost every aspect of society-nature interactions can be treated as an environmental security issue, the threats to human societies originating from inadequate freshwater management constitute one of the most wi- spread and pressing problems. For thousands of years rivers and river valleys have been the cradle of human civilizations. Rivers have provided not only food and freshwater, but also shelter and means of transportation, and they are still an essential component in every national and regional economy. In turn, growing needs of human societies, accompanied by growing abilities, have caused significant river alterations and ecosystem changes that have resulted in river contamination, biodiversity loss and general riverine ecosystem degradation. The extinction of sturgeon species is one of the most eloquent examples of the negative and irreversible influence of human society on river e- systems. The sturgeon, sometimes called the “living fossil” or living “dinosaur” of the fish world, is known to have lived since the time of the dinosaurs, for at least 250 million years, and is currently on the verge of extinction solely due to anthropogenic impacts. Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Environmental Security and the Role of River Regimes in Fostering (Environmental) Cooperation: Case of the International Sava River Basin Commission....Pages 5-27 Challenges and Prospects of Transboundary Water Management in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia....Pages 29-38 Successful Transboundary River Basin and Estuary Cooperation: Benchmarks for the Ural River Basin?....Pages 39-52 The Issues of Transboundary Rivers in South Caucasus at the End of the 20th and Beginning of the 21st Centuries....Pages 53-58 Migratory Fish Stocks in Transboundary Basins — Implications for Governance, Management and Research....Pages 61-86 The Key Threats to Sturgeons and Measures for Their Protection in the Lower Danube Region....Pages 87-96 Rescue Efforts to Save Sturgeons in America....Pages 97-109 River Rehabilitation: A New Approach to the Design of Fish Passes through Dams....Pages 111-123 The Ural River Basin: Hydrology, Characteristics and Water Use....Pages 129-161 River Flow Formation in the Russian South Urals....Pages 163-171 Climate Change and Water Resources in North Caucasus and South Urals....Pages 173-189 The Ural River Sturgeons: Population Dynamics, Catch, Reasons for Decline and Restoration Strategies....Pages 193-276 Field and Genetic Approaches to Enhance Knowledge of Ural River Sturgeon Biology....Pages 277-292 Fish Biodiversity of the Orenburg Region and Their Parasitic Diseases....Pages 293-298 Establishment of the International Ural Sturgeon Park to Secure Sturgeon Conservation and to Facilitate Sustainable Integrated Water Management....Pages 301-323 Results of the First International Ural River Basin Workshop (NATO-ARW)....Pages 325-330 Back Matter....Pages 331-333 The Ural river, the third longest river in Europe, is a unique ecosystem. Unlike other large European rivers the river has not been regulated and the natural hydrological regime is still intact. Thanks to that it has the only remaining spawning habitats in the entire Caspian basin for all sturgeon species. Nevertheless, this fact is not well known to the broader scientific and environmental communities. The Ural river is also an interesting place due to its rich history of sustainable use of aquatic resources in general and sturgeons in particular. The traditional life style of the local communities, Ural Cossacks, was focused on the preservation and rational use of sturgeon species. This interesting experience of sustainable river-related management is not adequately reported in literature. To secure further Ural sturgeon preservation the river basin ecosystem and human activities in the region must be managed in an integrated sustainable manner. The sturgeon species can be used as a natural indicator and an incentive for such transboundary IWRM cooperation taking into account all three components of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. To secure basin IWRM and sturgeon stock restoration the International Ural Sturgeon Park should be established. The role of the Park will be to secure the natural reproduction in the Ural as the primary strategy for the sturgeon stock replenishment. The Ural River Basin Project, which aims at the creation of such a Park, was launched in 2007. This volume is devoted to the uniqueness, history and problems of the Ural river basin, its sturgeons and perspectives of their conservation The Ural river, the third largest river in Europe, is the only remaining spawning habitats in the entire Caspian basin for various sturgeon species. This book describes the uniqueness, history and problems of the Ural river basin, its sturgeons and perspectives of their conservation Edited By Viktor Lagutov. Published In Cooperation With Nato Public Diplomacy Division. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.