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The article offers information on the PICES Twentieth Annual Meeting which took place in Khabarovsk, Russia from October 14-23, 2011. During this meeting, a workshop was held on the theme "Pollutants in a changing ocean: Refining indicator approaches in support of coastal management." Peter Kershaw explained the activities of the United Nations-sponsored Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection.

The problem of cross-border cooperation as a catalyst of local development is considered. Emphasis is placed on the difference and interrelationship of cross-border and interstate cooperation on the territory of the cross-border regions, because the effectiveness of implementation of state projects depends on the ability of a local socium to integrate them into the local life. A skeptical view of the future prospects of cross-border cooperation in the Khabarovsk segment of the Russian-Chinese border is complemented by a constructive assessment of the limits of utilization effectiveness of this instrument. It is pointed out that a further development of cross-border cooperation necessarily runs into a contradiction between the goals of ensuring the country's security, which are of particular current importance on the border, and the requirement for economic openness. Any economic project in the cross-border zone involves a geopolitical perception, and the adopted political decisions become effective when they are converted to concrete projects. Attention is focused on the limitedness of the potential of cross-border cooperation, and on the fact that it cannot be used to compensate for the deficit of regional development accumulated for many years. The main effect of cross-border cooperation is associated with a reduction of the shadow component of the cross-border economy, cooperation in the solution of the common problems, historical reconciliation, and with the growth of mutual confidence. The Conclusions section considers the issue related to the readiness of the Khabarovsk inhabitants to be involved in cross-border cooperation corresponding to the regional agenda. It is concluded that by combining the state-level initiatives with the public interests in the implementation of concrete projects, it is possible to transform the partial advantages of the location along the border to a further development of the city. The areas of activity are defined, which hold promise for a successful realization of such a scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term dynamics of the runoff of mineral oxidized forms of nitrogen in the Amur River near Khabarovsk City is discussed. An increase in nitrate nitrogen runoff by a factor of 2.1 is recorded as compared to the period of 1981-2000. It is shown that the Sungari River is now responsible for the formation of the anthropogenic component of the runoff of mineral nitrogen forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specific features of feeding of the Amur tiger ( Panthera tigris altaica) in the Bol'shekhekhtsirskii Reserve located in a densely populated locality (15 km to the north of the city of Khabarovsk) have been investigated. For a long time (1992-2000) the diet of tigers consisted 100% of wild animals, although the accessibility of domestic animals, dogs, in particular, was high. From 2000 to 2007, in their feeding, the proportion of dogs increased (up to 47%), and the proportion of wild animals decreased (50.8%). Tigers attacking dogs were physically weakened (broken fangs, wounds, inflicted by humans, diseases). It was shown that even in a densely populated locality, the tiger's diet includes domestic animals only at exposure to different negative factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]