Suchergebnisse

Georgien ist eines der Kaukasusländer mit hohem landwirtschaftlichem Potenzial, das nicht voll ausgeschöpft wird, da sich die Bedingungen für die Landwirtschaft nach dem Zerfall der Sowjetunion stark verschlechterten. Aufgrund des Mangels an Zugang zu Betriebsmitteln, Krediten und Absatzmärkten sowie durch die hohe Fragmentierung der Anbauflächen ist die Produktivität der georgischen Landwirtschaft sehr niedrig. Durch die geringe Größe der Anbauflächen ergeben sich hohe Transaktionskosten bei der Vermarktung von Agrarprodukten, die jeder Landwirt einzeln auf lokalen Märkten verkauft. Eine geeignete Institution für die nachhaltige Entwicklung der Landwirtschaft sind Servicekooperativen, die in Georgien nur wenig verbreitet sind. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Einstellung von Landwirten zu Kooperativen anhand einer empirischen Studie (n=406) und zeigt Möglichkeiten für ihre Einrichtung auf.

On 7th of December 1988, an earthquake shook the northwest of Armenia. It was one of the most devastating and most lethal earthquakes at the end of the 20th century that resulted in approximately 25000 fatalities. It was the largest earthquake in the region until then, and attracted great international attention, which led to a turning point in the politics of the USSR: The Soviet government requested relief of the international community outside the USSR. This contribution aims at analysing the structures of national and international help under Soviet conditions, the reasons for the great damage the earthquake caused, and its socio-economic implications for the local population at time of the catastrophe until today. As to the methods used to investigate the earthquake of Spitak, we studied the relevant literature and conducted a semi-structured qualitative interview with an Armenian NGO, which was founded directly after the catastrophe.

Nature conservation has a long tradition in the South Caucasus, a region with very high biodiversity. Alongside century old nature reserves (NR) in Azerbaijan and Georgia, two new transboundary national parks (NP) have recently been created in Armenia and Georgia. All of these protected areas exert an influence on the local populations, which use land located inside or in proximity to these areas. To investigate the impact of protected areas on the local populations, we conducted a qualitative study close to two neighbouring, historical NRs in Georgia (Lagodekhi) and Azerbaijan (Zaqatala), and close to the two new transboundary NPs in Armenia (Lake Arpi) and in Georgia (Javakheti). We collected the opinions of the local populations, local administrations, and environmental NGOs regarding the impact of protected areas on the livelihoods of the local populations and investigated whether the local populations developed strategies for dealing with these impacts. Results show that the land use restrictions entailed by protected areas cause conflicts of interests between the goals of conservation and those of the local populations on the one hand, and competition between different local groups with regard to scarce resources such as pastures on the other hand. These land use restrictions are due to the land use regulations of the protected areas and concern the use of pastures and forests. All sorts of tourism could provide a possible solution to settle conflicts and to increase incomes.