The Case of The Southern Caucasus

Environment and Security / 17

Southern Caucasus

Environment and security priority areas in the Southern Caucasus

Gagra

South Ossetia

Abkhazia

Sukhumi

Ochamchire

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Zugdidi

Caspian Sea

South Osset ia

Chiatura

Kulevi

Kutaisi

Tskhinvali

Black Sea coastal zone

Supsa Poti

Zestafoni

Tbilisi

Borjomi

GEORGIA

Black Sea

Adjaria

Batumi

Rustavi

Kuba

Greater Baku

Madneuli

Kura

Alaverdi

Ijevan

Vanadzor Debed

Mingachevir

Ganja

Central Caucasus transboundary area

Sumgait

AZERBAIJAN

ARMENIA

Baku

Sevan Lake

Yerevan

Kura

Nagorno- Karabakh

Ali-Bayramli

TURKEY

Medzamor

Ararat

Stepanakert/ Khankendi

Salyani

Vaik

Araks/Araz

Ararat and Vaik valleys

Araks/Araz

Nakhichevan (Azerbaijan)

Kafan

Kajaran

0

50

100

150

200 km

Megri

Lenkoran

Nagorno-Karabakh territory and adjacent regions of Azerbaijan

THE MAP DOES NOT IMPLY THE EXPRESSION OF ANY OPINION ON THE PART OF THE THREE AGENCIES CONCERNING THE LEGAL STATUS OF ANY COUNTRY, TERRITORY, CITY OR AREA OF ITS AUTHORITY, OR DELINEATION OF ITS FRONTIERS AND BOUNDARIES.

Sunik region

Kura River Estuary and southern coast of the Caspian Sea

MAP BY PHILIPPE REKACEWICZ UNEP/GRID-ARENDAL - JULY 2004

IRAN

Grey dashed lines represent Former Soviet Union administrative boundaries of autonomous regions.

Environment and security priority areas

Land degradation

Infrastructure

Ageing Soviet industrial complex, mining centre or processing plant (oil terminal, refinery,...) major source of air, soil and water pollution

Soil degradation: contamination due to high levels of pesticides and/or heavy metals (mainly inherited from the Soviet period), salinization and erosion due to poorly maintained irrigation system and rise of water table

Nuclear power plant

Area affected by deforestation

BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan): oil pipeline route

Pastures degraded by overgrazing

TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe Caucasus Asia) : Renovated or new multimodal transportation corridor (road, railroad, pipeline)

Arable land degraded by oil exploitation

Security issues

Former Soviet Union administrative boundaries of autonomous regions. (South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh have been officialy disbanded)

Water pollution

Areas of conflict out of control of central authorities

Transboundary and domestic polluted waters

Line of contact

Coastline and infrastructures affected by sea level rise, and oil pollution

Areas vulnerable to ethnic or political tension

Coastline affected by bacterial or nutrient loading and coastal erosion

Concentration of landmines