Observations on the Mapping of Critical Environmental Zones in the Former Soviet Union

A senior American specialist on the environment in the post-Soviet successor states examines the evolution of the concept of critical environmental zones in the region and of programs designed to identify and map them. Coverage focuses on persistent shortcomings of such maps—despite their potential to convey important environmental information in a form sufficiently standardized to permit spatial and temporal comparisons—and their relationship to analogous sections of the recent Russian Federation environmental law. 4 figures and 24 references.