This work refers to the awareness by the global community that, in the 21st century, people in various regions around the world will likely face problems of water quality and quantity. These problems have surfaced in several locations, and this work focuses on the Dead, Aral and Caspian Seas.

One of the richest regions in the world with regard to oil and gas reserves, its environmen-tal problems (oil and waste pollution, desertification, the survival of the sturgeon, and the fluctuating sea level) will only serve to worsen other regional political problems, unless they are addressed in the near future. This volume attempts to raise as many questions as it answers about Eurasian water crises. These cases will serve as lessons of actions to be taken--or not taken. Iwao Kobori is a programme advisor at the United Nations University in Tokyo. Michael H. Glantz is a senior scientist in the Environmental and Societal Impacts Group of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.