Environnement : quoi de neuf à l'Est ? L'état de l'environnement dans les anciens pays du bloc soviétique

Environment: What’s New in the East? The Environment in Coun-tries of the Former Soviet Bloc, Arnaud Comolet
In spite of some ecological catastrophes largely covered by the media (Chernobyl for example), we became fully aware of the disastrous shape of the environment in Eastern Europe only after the collapse of the USSR.
Arnaud Comolet describes the situation ten years later in seven of the new independent States: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Byelorussia, Georgia, Moldavia, Russia and Ukraine.
On the basis of available data, and so far as they can be considered reliable, the author shows that the emission of many industrial pollutants has decreased somewhat, due to the collapse of industrial activity. In general, however, he stresses that the environmental situation in these countries keeps getting worse: deterioration of natural spaces and water, increase of waste sites and multiplication of environmentally damaging industrial accidents. In brief, the Soviet legacy is difficult to cope with, especially since the political and economic situation of these countries means that decision makers give lower priority to environmental concerns.
Arnaud Comolet concludes that the rise of ecological movements, however des-irable, has not been followed by action. The independent States face immense challenges which will be difficult to address without external help, especially from the European Union.