sinks
rescue of sturgeon species in the ural river basin
p the ural river the third longest river in europe is a unique ecosystem . unlike other large european rivers the river has not been regulated and the natural hydrological regime is still intact . thanks to that it has the only remaining spawning habitats in the entire caspian basin for all sturgeon species . nevertheless this fact is not well known to the broader scientific and environmental communities . p the ural river is also an interesting place due to its rich history of sustainable use of aquatic resources in general and sturgeons in particular . the traditional life style of the local communities ural cossacks was focused on the preservation and rational use of sturgeon species . this interesting experience of sustainable river related management is not adequately reported in literature . p to secure further ural sturgeon preservation the river basin ecosystem and human activities in the region must be managed in an integrated sustainable manner . the sturgeon species can be used as a natural indicator and an incentive for such transboundary iwrm cooperation taking into account all three components of sustainable development economic social and environmental . to secure basin iwrm and sturgeon stock restoration the international ural sturgeon park should be established . the role of the park will be to secure the natural reproduction in the ural as the primary strategy for the sturgeon stock replenishment . the ural river basin project which aims at the creation of such a park was launched in 2007 . this volume is devoted to the uniqueness history and problems of the ural river basin its sturgeons and perspectives of their conservation .