ESTABLISHMENT OF THEINTERNATIONAL URAL STURGEON PARKTO SECURE STURGEON CONSERVATIONAND TO FACILITATE SUSTAINABLEINTEGRATED WATER MANAGEMENT

摘要

The only free-flowing river in the Caspian basin, the Ural River, is a uniqueecosystem with a preserved natural hydrological regime and the last remaining in theCaspian basin unaltered sturgeon spawning habitats. To secure its further preservation theriver basin ecosystem and human activities in the region must be managed in an integratedsustainable manner. Though there is now an international consensus on the need for anintegrated approach to sustainable river basin management, there is no standard definitionof the term "sustainable" or consensus on how to reach this state. Sustainable developmentof watersheds should consider three main components: economic, social and environmental,which can hardly be reached in real-life watershed management. Using sturgeon species asa natural indicator and an incentive for transboundary IWRM cooperation in the Ural riverbasin is suggested. To secure basin IWRM and sturgeon stock restoration the Ural RiverSturgeon International Park should be established. The Ural River Basin Project, whichaims at the creation of such a Park, is described in this paper. Activities towards successfulintegrated water management in the Ural Park will not only work towards sustainablewatershed management, but also secure preservation and restoration of sturgeon. Localcommunities (Cossacks) involvement in sturgeon conservation and water management alsoresolves social and economic problems by restoration of the traditional life style.