Watersheds, supplying crucial ecosystem services to humans, seem to be a logical territorial unit to integrate societal benefits and environmental needs in order to evaluate the sustainability of natural resource use patterns. Based on this belief the book is an attempt to initiate a comprehensive environmental security assessment in the basin of the Azov Sea, shared by Russia and Ukraine. Though the region provides a variety of essential services and plays a strategic role in national and international development plans, it has been excluded from most regional environmental discussions. At the same time there is an alarming degradation rate of basin freshwater ecosystems that has occurred due to overutilization of certain prioritized services (e.g. transportation). The collapse of neglected services (e.g. fishery and freshwater supply) poses serious threats to the national economies as well as the local population, and to mitigate these threats priority in water management should be given to securing sustainability of the regional freshwater ecosystems.
In addition to the review of the current status of Azov ecosystem services, the authors analyze likely future availability and challenges. The relevant experience derived from basin management of the Black Sea and other similar basins is also discussed.

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The Azov Basin: Services, Drawbacks and Challenges. The Azov Ecosystem: Resources and Threats; V. Lagutov and Vl. Lagutov.- Ecosystem Serviced of Rivers: the Don River (Russian Federation) and the Roanake River (USA) B. Rashleigh et al.- Climate Change, Water and Agriculture in the Azov Sea Basin; N. Dronin and A. Kirilenko.- Ecological and Hydrogeological Assessment of Ukrainian Part of the Azov Sea Basin; M. Kharytonov et al.- Multipurpose Water Scheme Assessment of the Tsimlyansk Reservoir; E. Shavrak et al.- The Black Sea Experience. Black Sea Environmental Status Improvement Through the Restoration of Wetlands along the Danube River; D. Cogalniceanu.- Fish Stock Management Cooperation in the Lower Danube Region: A Case Study of Sturgeons and Pontic Shad; M. Lenhardt et al.- Distributed Geocomputation for Modeling the Hydrology of the Black Sea Watershed; N. Ray et al.- Governancve of the Protection of the Black Sea: A Model for Regional Cooperation; V. Velikova and N. Oral.- Vulnerability of the Black Sea to the Impacts of Climate Change; G. Celikyilmaz-Aydemir.- Transboundary Water Management. Spills of the Aral Sea: Formation, Functions and Future Development of the Aydar-Arnasay Lakes; K. Rodina and R. Mnatsakanian.- Caspian Sea: Problems and Prospects; A. Mansurov.- Water Management and Use in the Amur-Heilong River Basin: Challenges and Prospects; N. Pervushina.- Participatory Futures Resear h and Social Learning for Integrated Watershed Management; A. Segrave et al.