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1.1 The processes of change in the Community of Independent States (CIS), whether economic, social, political, or in institutions of research and development, are very rapid. Therefore, the results cited in this report are only provisional. They must be regularly brought up to date by other missions and by consultations with experts and organizations concerned.

1.2 It is impossible to understand desertification and, more widely, any degradation of the natural environment in the countries of the CIS without considering the geography and history of the Soviet Union, even that of Czarist Russia. Until the end of 1991, the Soviet Union was the largest country of the world (22.4 million km²), extending from the ice deserts of the north, across the tundra, through pine, mixed, and deciduous forests, to the steppes, the semi-deserts and the sub tropical deserts of the south. In the Russian language, as in English, the word "desert" (pustyni) is used both to describe deserts in arid and semiarid zones, where the paucity of vegetation and animal life results from a deficit of water, and to designate ice deserts where this scarcity is essentially due to cold. Occasionally, the term "desert" is used for high-altitude lands above the snow line. However, this term can only be used without an adjective to describe deserts in arid or semi-arid zones; in other cases, an adjective is indispensable (liedovyïe pustyni - ice desert, gornyïe pustyni - mountain desert). The term "desertification" (opustynivaniïe) is only used to refer to lands in arid or semi-aria zones.

1.3 This mission is concerned exclusively with the deserts of arid and semi-arid zones. The difference between scientific research pertaining to subtropical deserts and to ice deserts is so important that these problems are approached in the CIS by different scientific institutes, and when, rarely, within the same geographic institute, by different teams of scientists. We have not seen a case of collaboration between specialists of subtropical deserts and specialists of ice deserts, nor of a scientist who deals with the problems of both regions.

1.4 Arid and semi-arid zones were described in Russia relatively late, some not until the end of the 19th century (the deserts of central Asia). Scientific research on deserts began at almost the same time as the «conquest." In relation to the questions arising about climate change and the possibility of aridification, research has been carried out by the main centres at St. Petersburg and Moscow. In particular, the limnological work of L.S. Berg has contributed to the dominant opinion that in Central Asia it is a question of the more or less cyclic variation of rainfall rather than of the aridification of the climate or of desertification (cf. bibliographical entry 116). This has undoubtedly caused a lessening of interest in the issue of desertification, especially theoretical work. The emphasis has been on technical questions relating to the management of arid and semi-arid lands.

1.5 After the creation of the Soviet Union, almost all the arid and semi-arid regions of the country were found outside the borders of the Federal Republic of Russia, the largest and the politically and economically dominant republic, in Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, in the Caucasus and in the Ukraine. In the Soviet system of organization, the Academy of Sciences had the major research role, not the universities. The centre at Moscow held the dominant position, but all the republics had their Academies of Science which concentrated on their own problems. This meant that questions concerning arid and semi-arid zones (including desertification) came up in the research centres of republics outside Russia. The centres at Ashkhabad (Turkmenistan), Baku (Azerbaijan), and Alma Ata (Kazakhstan) were the most dynamic. Nevertheless, almost all their publications were published in Russian.

1.6 The goal of most scientific projects was to modify the natural environment; the official thesis extolled the harmony between the development of the socialist economy and the rational exploitation of natural resources. This had a considerable effect on the character of scientific research. The problems of desertification in arid lands in the USSR were scarcely addressed.

1.7 In the mid-1970's, information on desertification appeared in only a few articles analytic studies concerning relatively small areas (cf. bibl. entries 76, 110, 147). The same is true for work on the degradation of the natural environment in the USSR at that time. However, there were numerous studies, often very detailed, concerning the natural environment of arid and semi-arid regions (vegetation, soil, geochemistry, landscape cf. bibl. entries 80, 122) which described methods of combating desertification and the implementation of concrete actions (cf. bibl. entries 5, 62, 120).

1.8 At the end of the 1970's, the problem of desertification became one of the most important scientific issues world-wide. Soviet scientists' interest in desertification increased remarkably, all the more because acknowledging the catastrophic state of the natural environment slowly ceased to be taboo, thanks in part to the work of Soviet dissidents (cf. bibl. entry 42). During the United Nations Conference on Desertification in Nairobi in 1977, the USSR presented documents dealing not only with the management of deserts but also with the degradation of arid and semi-arid lands. In their terminological work relative to the natural environment of deserts, Soviet scientists made a significant contribution to global thinking on desertification (cf. bibl. entries 59, 70). However, this work still dealt with desertification in an indirect rather than direct manner. After 1977, documents on desertification were published in the USSR which emphasized the process of degradation and the biological systems involved (cf. bibl. entries 12, 44, 45, 79, and others). At the end of the 1980's, in "Problïemy osvoïeniïa pustyn'», articles treating desertification directly become predominant. These are regional studies, analyses of processes, and methodological and terminological texts (cf. bibl. entries 35, 36, 48, 103, 143, and others).

1.9 The evolution of Soviet opinion on the subject of desertification can be seen by taking the example of publications concerning the Aral Sea. At first, official optimism is the rule: thanks to the diversion of Siberian rivers, it was considered possible to accomplish enormous irrigation projects (cf. bibl. entries 49, 61, 87, 106) and to assure the future of the sea. Contemporary publications, on the other hand, describe the catastrophic state of the sea and its surrounding environment, as well as the absence of solutions.

1.10 During the last ten years, there has been a growing interest among Soviet scientists in work taking place in other countries. Although this has always been the case, today it is becoming more and more apparent. The regions which most interest scientists in the CIS are the deserts and semi-deserts of Asia and Africa (cf. bibl. entries 3, 48, 63, 85, 111).

1.11 Works on desertification published in the USSR generally show a marked concentration on biological and geochemical issues and a neglect of social questions. Studies concerning the natural environment are much more concrete than those, less numerous, on social problems, which fall into ideology and are full of generalities. This tendency prevails during the entire period analyzed and is equally apparent today, as is reflected in a bibliography dominated by work in the fields of biology, pedology, geochemistry, etc.

1.12 As for the future of arid and semi-arid lands, it is not easy to pronounce a forecast. During the last several decades, there has been significant development, but at the same time there has been environmental degradation. It is difficult to foresee the consequences of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Several scenarios are possible. On the one hand, land and water are beginning to acquire an economic value, and privatization and the decentralization of management could contribute to limiting waste. But on the other hand, the solution to these problems - such as the particularly serious one of the Aral Sea, which requires the cooperation of at least 5 countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan) and probably Russia - needs financial means that none of these countries has available.

1.13 The break-up of the USSR could have very negative effects on desertification research. The "pessimistic" scenario, which is not inevitable, predicts that the scientific institutes of all the CIS countries will publish their work exclusively in their national languages, which are less known in the world than Russian. It is also feared that cooperation between institutions will stop, many scientists of Russian origin working in other countries will leave for Russia where they will not be able to work as easily in the field of drylands development, and even that scientific institutes might be liquidated due to financial difficulties and internal conflicts. It is also clear that lack of money will limit work on drylands management and on combating desertification.

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