Environmental Justice And Sustainability In The Former Soviet Union

An examination of the awareness of environmental and social justice issues in the former Soviet republics--from the Western-style democracies of the Baltic region to the totalitarian regimes of Central Asia--and the resulting activism in those states. The legacy of environmental catastrophe in the states of the former Soviet Union includes desertification, pollution, and the toxic aftermath of industrial accidents, the most notorious of which was the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. This book examines the development of environmental activism in Russia and the former Soviet republics in response to these problems and its effect on policy and planning. It also shows that because of increasing economic, ethnic, and social inequality in the former Soviet states, debates over environmental justice are beginning to come to the fore. The book explores the varying environmental, social, political, and economic circumstances of these countries--which range from the Western-style democracies of the Baltic states to the totalitarian regimes of Central Asia--and how they affect the ecological, environmental, and public health. Among the topics covered are environmentalism in Russia (including the progressive nature of its laws on environmental protection, which are undermined by overburdened and underpaid law enforcement); the effect of oil wealth on Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan; the role of nationalism in Latvian environmentalism; the struggle of Russia's indigenous peoples for environmental justice; public participation in Estonia's environmental movement; and lack of access to natural capital in Tajikistan. Environmental Justice and Sustainability in the Former Soviet Union makes clear that although fragile transition economies, varying degrees of democratization, and a focus on national security can stymie progress toward "just sustainability," the diverse states of the former Soviet Union are making some progress toward "green" and environmental justice issues separately.

In this study of Soviet environmental problems and their management, the author examines the pervasive nature of biosphere disruption and environmental contaminants in the country. He discusses the extent to which they are damaging the Soviet populace and the resource base upon which it depends.

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

This book, originally published in 1992, describes the Soviet environment at its crisis point in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Beolorussia and the Ukraine had, as a result of the Chernobyl accident, been declared ecological disaster zones and across the country as a whole as many as 20 per cent of the population lived in environmental danger areas and another 35-40 per cent in unsatisfactory conditions. According to a Supreme Soviet Environment Committee report of 1989, 80% of all illness in the USSR related either directly or indirectly to environmental problems. In this book, leading specialists from both the West and the Soviet Union present a comprehensive analysis of these problems. The contributors examine the aftermath of Chernobyl, the catastrophic causes and effects of the Aral Sea's shrinkage, the environmental issues and public unrest. The depth of analysis in this volume together with the breadth of topics addressed will ensure that it is read by students and specialists of the Soviet Union and environmental issues, as well as by all government officials, journalists and industrialists with an interest in the Soviet environment.

Broad indictment of the environmental practices and policies of the Soviet Union.

The field of sustainability continues to evolve as a discipline. The world is facing multiple sustainability challenges such as climate change, water depletion, ecosystem loss, and environmental racism. The Handbook of Sustainability will provide a comprehensive reference for the field that examines in depth the major themes within what are known as the three E’s of sustainability: environment, equity, and economics. These three themes will serve as the main organizing body of the work. In addition, the work will include sections on history and sustainability, major figures in the development of sustainability as a discipline, and important organizations that contributed or that continue to contribute to sustainability as a field. The work is explicitly global in scope as it considers the very different issues associated with sustainability in the global north and south