The Demogeographic Crisis in Racha, Georgia: Depopulation in the Central Caucasus Mountains

Köhler, Thomas; Elizbarashvili, Nodar; Meladze, Giorgi; Svanadze, D.; Meessen, Heino

doi:10.1659/mrd-journal-d-17-00064.1

Cited by 28 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Cecchini et al (2019) note that the size of the population and its structure affect the regional resilience and are an important driving force of land use, while demographic trends make it possible to identify socioeconomic resilience and to formulate strategies aimed at encouraging faster recovery of local systems from external shocks. As noted by Kohler et al (2017), depopulation and aging have consequences beyond the scope of demography, since the aging will require better health and social care, which will increase costs, and tax revenues will decrease, just like local capacities for innovation and development, and depopulation will lead to a decline in effective delivery of services. The main indicator reflecting the reproduction of population is birth rate.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality of life of the population resident at the radioactively contaminated area in Zhytomyr Region

Romanchuk¹,

Herasymchuk²,

Kovalyova³

et al. 2019

Ukr J Ecol

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The article provides the assessment of the quality of life of the population resident at the radioactively contaminated areas of the Yemilchyno, Malyn, Korosten, Narodychi, Olevsk, Luhyny and Ovruch raions of the Zhytomyr region. The basis for the study and assessment of the quality of life of the population of radioactively contaminated administrative raions of the Zhytomyr region were the statistical data of the Main Directorate of Statistics in Zhytomyr Region, the Health Directorate of Zhytomyr Region State Administration, as well as our own results of a sociological survey. It was established that for the period between 2002 and 2018, the population of radioactively contaminated areas decreased by 24.7% (maximum values are representative of Malyn and Korosten raions). Natural population decline rates in rural settlements exceeded the corresponding values for urban settlements from 1.4 (Malyn raion) to 13 times (Olevsk raion). There is also the aging of the population, the largest share of the elderly (65 years old and older) - 21.7% and 20.8% are resident in the Korosten and Narodychi raions. The values of birth rates (7.5 (Ovruch raion) - 13 (Olevsk raion) per 1,000 of present population) did not have a positive effect on the demographic situation as a whole because of the high mortality rate exceeding the birth rate by 1.1 (Olevsk raion) - 2.9 times (Malyn raion). The main causes of death are diseases of the circulatory system (75.4%), cancer (10%) and external factors (7.3%). It was noted that there is a deterioration of the health of the local population; they pointed out that diseases related to the ChNPP accident include cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the circulatory, nervous and endocrine systems, diseases of bones and joints, headaches. The living conditions of the population resident at the radioactively contaminated areas of Zhytomyr region are unsatisfactory, which is confirmed by both objective data and subjective assessments of the residents themselves. The housing stock is outdated and it needs renovation. In order to improve the quality of life of the population of radioactively contaminated territories in the Zhytomyr region, it is necessary to reform the state policy, to provide financial support for their revival and creation of normal living and reproduction conditions for the population.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality of life of the population resident at the radioactively contaminated area in Zhytomyr Region

Romanchuk¹,

Herasymchuk²,

Kovalyova³

et al. 2019

Ukr J Ecol

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“…The mountains still have vast areas where the wildlife endemism and relicts are accumulated what further augments their ecological and scholastic importance.. The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), in developing the national and global environmental projects, makes the principal accent on the areas distinguished for the natural diversity and values of the mountainous areas [8].…”

Section: Fig 3 Members Of Flora and Fauna Species In The Caucasus [4]mentioning

confidence: 99%

Main concepts of sustainable development and mountainous regions (on the example of the Caucasus)

2018

HGJournal

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Main concepts of sustainable development are focused on: The economic problems (sustainable development relies on and considers the rational use of exhaustible natural resources, development of resource-saving technologies, focus on inexhaustible and restorable resources, ecological production, minimization and reuse of waste); The social problems (sustainable development relies on and considers the stability of social and cultural systems, environmentally friendly and legally justified use of the national wealth, protection of cultural and historical values, publicity of decisions and maximum engagement of the society in the planning and management process); The ecological problems (sustainable development relies on and considers the integrity of ecological (biological, landscape) environment, maintenance of the viability and functioning mechanisms of ecosystems, improvement of stability and self-restoration mechanisms of the natural environment, due determination of the social-economic functions of the natural landscapes, ecology-oriented territorial (landscape) planning, landscape service and management, creation of the esthetic environment). All three concepts of sustainable development, despite the diversity of the considered issues, can be considered as components of a single system. They are interconnected and mutually determinative, and consequently, sustainable development, as a problem, is quite difficult to solve and is a long civic and scientific process, with more than one scientific branch related to it considering the objectives and opportunities of sustainable development at either branch, or component level. Caucasia is one of the most important natural, ecological, geopolitical, religious, ethnic, transport, etc. crossroads of the world. The Caucasia plays one of the most important geopolitical roles in the modern world, particularly in the Near East and Western Asia. Its role is also essential in the economic relations; however, this role is diminished by the different developmental trends of the countries of the region. The problems of the sustainable development of the Caucasia can be solved only at the expense of the cooperation between the countries of the region.

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“…In certain mountains, this process started already in the 19th century, and it became the rule in the 20th century. Depopulation was described from the Alps (Bätzing et al 1996), the Mediterranean mountains (McNeill 2003;Collantes and Pinilla 2004;Pejnović and Husanović-Pejnović 2008;Vogiatzakis 2012), several middle mountains in Europe (André 1998;MacDonald et al 2000;Latocha 2012;Latocha et al 2016Latocha et al , 2018Telbisz et al 2016), the Caucasus (Kohler et al 2017), the Himalaya (Bhawana et al 2017), Japan (Okahashi 1996), China (Li et al 2013;Wang et al 2019) and Latin America (Grau and Aide 2007). The timing of depopulation, the beginning time and the rate of this process are varied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Topographic and lithologic controls behind mountain depopulation in Zlatibor District (Western Serbia)

2020

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Mountain depopulation is a worldwide phenomenon observed in all continents. It has varied socioeconomic reasons; among others, the low profitability of traditional agriculture, the better job possibilities and the higher level of services in urban settlements. However, it is often recognized that depopulation is related to natural factors such as elevation, slope or lithology. It is also observed that protected areas are frequently established in depopulated mountain regions. Their primary aim is the conservation of nature, but they may help tourism development as well. Tourism, in turn, may slow down or even reverse the process of depopulation. In this study, we investigate the impact of topographic and lithologic factors, namely of karst settings, on mountain demographic processes and the relationship of protected areas and tourism through the example of the northern part of Zlatibor District (Western Serbia). The study area is characterized by mountains and hills at elevations from 200 to 1600 m a.s.l. Our aim is to find GIS-based statistical relationships between topographic, lithologic factors and demographic characteristics. In this area, mountain depopulation started after WWII, and we proved that this process was strongly controlled by topographic factors. The higher and more dissected the area, the more significant is the decrease of the population and the more advanced is the ageing. As a result, population density contrasts are much more pronounced now than 70 years ago. After WWII, depopulation and ageing became gradually more serious on karstic terrains than on non-karst. However, by using compound topographic and lithologic types, we proved that it is not the effect of karst, but the effect of topography. The flow of population from hills and mountains to valleys and basins are closely related to the restructuring of the economic sectors. At present, for the study area, the development of tourism is unequivocally naturebased and connected to protected areas, namely to Tara National Park, Zlatibor Nature Park and Šargan-Mokra Gora Nature Park. In this paper, we also demonstrate how lithology influences tourism possibilities. The leading role of Zlatibor in tourism development is largely thanks to its favourable position on a main transit route.

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The Demogeographic Crisis in Racha, Georgia: Depopulation in the Central Caucasus Mountains

Cited by 28 publications

References 13 publications

Quality of life of the population resident at the radioactively contaminated area in Zhytomyr Region

Quality of life of the population resident at the radioactively contaminated area in Zhytomyr Region

Main concepts of sustainable development and mountainous regions (on the example of the Caucasus)

Topographic and lithologic controls behind mountain depopulation in Zlatibor District (Western Serbia)

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