Georgia (Nation)

A SMALL COUNTRY with a population of under six million, the nation of Georgia is located at the juncture of Europe and Asia. In 1991, Georgia gained its independence from Russia. Despite inadequate sewage management that has left the Black Sea heavily polluted, experts view Georgia's environmental problems as less serious than those of more industrialized former-Soviet countries. National security and economic problems have demanded more immediate attention. Nevertheless, Georgia is party to a dozen international agreements on the environment, including the Kyoto Protocol and the Ozone Layer Protection, a United Nations agreement involving Countries with Economies in Transition (CEITs).

Ironically, the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a substantial decline in Georgia's greenhouse gas emissions. The year before Georgia declared its independence, its CO2 ...