Disputes-international: dispute with Romania over continental shelf of
the Black Sea under which significant gas and oil deposits may exist;
agreed in 1997 to two-year negotiating period, after which either
party can refer dispute to the International Court of Justice; has
made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to
do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation; certain
territory of Moldova and Ukraine-including Bessarabia and Northern
Bukovina-are considered by Bucharest as historically a part of
Romania; this territory was incorporated into the former Soviet Union
following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940
Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly
for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; used as
transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs to Western
Europe and Russia
______________________________________________________________________
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
@United Arab Emirates:Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian
Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 54 00 E
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total: 82,880 sq km
land: 82,880 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries:
total: 867 km
border countries: Oman 410 km, Saudi Arabia 457 km
Coastline: 1,318 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: desert; cooler in eastern mountains
Terrain: flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of
vast desert wasteland; mountains in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 2%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 98% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 50 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent sand and dust storms
Environment-current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources being
overcome by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from
oil spills
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
Geography-no
|