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The Caspian Sea region is profoundly important to global and regional environmental security. New geopolitical and economic conditions have created a mix of competition, reluctant collaboration, and legal, political, economic and ideological wrangling. There is intense debate on how the Caspian Sea and its resources should be divided between the littoral states and how the resources are to be developed. Development of the area's immense hydrocarbon potential poses a risk to the unique and fragile ecosystem. The issue is extremely complex, and vital economic, political and environmental interests are involved. The present book provides the most recent scientific assessments of the environmental threats in the region, articulates the standpoints of the various stakeholders from the littoral states, and presents the diverse approaches of interest groups from other nations currently involved in Caspian developments. Key to the work is the way it addresses the almost untouched questions of how to foster cooperation in resource sharing and environmental security issues and how to structure international cooperation to ensure its effectiveness

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- Contributors -- 1 BASIC CONCEPTS OF DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT -- 1.1 Development Theory: Introductory Concepts, Criteria, and Measurements -- 1.2 Natural Resources and Environmental Services -- 1.3 Epistemology of the Field -- 2 SUSTAINABILITY -- 2.1 Basic Sustainability Concepts -- 2.2 Measurements of Sustainability -- 2.3 Philosophical Approaches and Social Movements -- 2.4 Sustainable Development Outlooks and Models -- 2.5 Sustainable Development Strategy and Agenda Statements -- 2.6 Sustainable Society: Challenges, Institutions, and Mechanisms -- 3 MAIN FACTORS BEHIND DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE -- 3.1 Population, Poverty, and Underdevelopment -- 3.2 Affluence and Consumption -- 3.3 Technology -- 3.4 Political Economy -- 3.5 Worldviews and Social Traps -- 4 INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY OF ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT -- 4.1 Globalization -- 4.2 Capital Shortages and Foreign Debt -- 4.3 International Trade -- 4.4 Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration -- 4.5 Security and Sustainable Development -- 5 DECISION MAKING -- 5.1 Analytical Tools for Environmental Decisionmaking -- 5.2 Environmental Policy Instruments and Principles -- 5.3 Business Sector Responses to Environmental Problems -- 5.4 Population and Consumption Responses -- 5.5 International Environmental Management -- 6 MAJOR PROBLEMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT -- 6.1 Agricultural Decline and Pollution -- 6.2 Air Pollution -- 6.3 Biodiversity Loss and Conservation Efforts -- 6.4 Climate Change -- 6.5 Deforestation and Forestry -- 6.6 Desertification -- 6.7 Energy Shortages and Pollution -- 6.8 Fresh Water Scarcity and Pollution -- 6.9 Global Environmental Change -- 6.10 Hazardous Wastes -- 6.11 Natural and Humanmade Disasters -- 6.12 Ocean's Resource Use and Degradation -- 6.13 Space and the Electromagnetic Spectrum -- 6.14 Ozone Depletion -- 6.15 Transportation Energy Consumption and Pollution -- References -- Index