Official name Georgia
Population 4,646,003 (2007 estimate)
Area 69,700 sq km
Capital Tbilisi 1,103,500 (2002 estimate)
Population growth rate
-0.34 percent (2006 estimate)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $3,800 (2005)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry,
fishing 17.8 percent (2004)
Industry 25.4 percent (2004)
Services 56.9 percent (2004)
Natural resources
Forests, hydropower,
manganese deposits, iron ore, copper,
minor coal and oil deposits;
coastal climate and soils allow
for important tea and citrus growth
Languages
Georgian (official),
Abkhaz (official in province Abkhazia),
Russian, Armenian, Azeri, other
Religion
Orthodox Christian 83.9%
Islam 9.9 %, Armenian-Georgian 3.9%
Roman Catholic 0.8%, Other 0.8%, None 0.7%
Introduction
Georgia (Georgian: Sakatvelo, Russian: Грузия) is a transcontinental in Caucasus region, at border between Europe and Asia. Georgia is the westernmost country of the South Caucasus (the southern portion of the region of Caucasus), and along with Armenia and Azerbaijan, occupies the isthmus between the Black and the Caspian sea.
Georgia is a country of extremely diverse terrain, with high mountain ranges and fertile coastal lowlands. Ethnic Georgians constitute a majority of the population. Georgia became a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1922. After Georgia gained independence in 1991, the country was plagued by civil war and political upheaval. The economy suffered from these events and from severed trading ties with other former Soviet republics, but in the mid-1990s it stabilized when the political strife ebbed and free market reforms were instituted. Georgia’s first post-Soviet constitution was adopted in August 1995.
Georgia includes two autonomous republics: Ajaria, located in Georgia’s south western corner, and Abkhazia, in the north western arm of the republic. Both republics include stretches of the Black Sea coast. Georgia also contains the autonomous region of South Ossetia, which is located in the north central part of the country. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are bordered on the north by Russia, and Ajaria is bordered on the south by Turkey.
History
Two first Georgian kingdoms, both being among earliest countries embracing Christianity, were known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, and have been mentioned in different ancient myths. Both kingdoms were fragmented by the early medieval times, due to being suitable as a battlefield between Persia and Byzantine. After a short period under Turkish occupation, Georgians united into a new kingdom, which had reached its peak in a period of 12-13 century. However, before too long, Georgian kingdom has been defeated and occupied by Mongols, and after the complete disintegration in 15th century, divided between Persia and Ottoman empire.
In 1800 incorporated in Russian Empire, and after several political overturns – brief independence and Soviet era, in 1991. Georgia declared independence.
Environmental Issues
Like other republics of the USSR, Georgia suffered severe environmental degradation during the Soviet period, when economic policies emphasizing heavy industry were implemented with little regard for their environmental consequences. Significant amounts of agriculture lands have been lost in land erosions. As a legacy of these policies, Georgia now suffers from serious pollution. Municipal waste is disposed in poorly managed landfills. Air pollution is a problem in the major cities, particularly in Rustavi, which has a giant steel plant and other metal and chemicals production. Traffic is another great contributor to the pollution of an air. Furthermore, the Kura River and the Black Sea are heavily polluted with industrial waste. As a result of water pollution and the scarcity of water treatment, the incidence of digestive diseases in Georgia is high.
Due to low production and low economic development, the industrial waste has significantly decreased during late 1990s and early 2000s, however at the moment there are no industrial waste treatment facilities, therefore all the waste produced is being disposed into the environment without a treatment. The use of pesticides and fertilizers has increased soil toxicity as during 1980s up to 30,000 tons of pesticides have been used in Georgia annually.
The biggest threat to the environment are over 2,5 tons of hazardous chemicals that have been buried at the Mt. Iagluji, at the depth of 20 meters, over 10 years, since mid 1970s.
Georgia does not energy resources and it is dependant on Russian gas and oil. Environmental protection did not become a major concern among Georgians until the mid-1980s, but even then systems to control harmful emissions were not readily available. Georgia’s economic problems have hindered the application of recent emission-control technologies. Hardship and low life quality forced people to over use natural resources, particularly firewood. The protection of upland pastures and hill farms from soil erosion is another pressing issue that the government has not addressed owing to lack of economic resources. The government has ratified international environmental agreements pertaining to air pollution, biodiversity, climate change, ozone layer protection, ship pollution, and wetlands.
Effects from climate change
Global warming has quite similar effects on all high mountains, therefore Caucasus region faces the same threat as, for example the Alps, in Europe, the Rocky Mt. in the USA, the Andes of south America or Kilimanjaro Mt. in east Africa. Glaciers in North Caucasus have retreated for 50% in the 20th century, with most drastic changes since 1998. Melting of snow and ice sheet changes the water regime within the region, where most people depend on reserves of water preserved in glaciers over winter, which are being released during the summer, depending on hydropower of rivers formed by glaciers, and their contribution to agriculture.
Avalanches on Caucasus always posed a threat, however, with the higher average temperatures, melting snow may cause these catastrophes to occur much more frequent.
Followed by these habitat and ecosystem changes, biodiversity of Caucasus is vanishing. This region is known as biodiversity hotspot, teeming with life, since it represented on of the greatest European refugium for species, during The Great Ice Age. Today, life in Caucasus is threatened with both direct human activity within the area, and global consequences of human activity, such as greenhouse gases emission and warming.
