Mother Kura - comprehensive information about the Kura River

Abstract

The Kura River is a transboundary river system that links geography, biodiversity, settlement, agriculture, water supply, hydropower, cultural history and environmental management across the South Caucasus. This article develops the submitted “Mother Kura” educational research document into a structured interdisciplinary review while preserving its original organization around geographical location, tributaries, natural features, economic importance, historical significance and conservation. The analysis uses secondary-source synthesis to examine the river from its headwaters in Türkiye through Georgia and Azerbaijan to the Caspian Sea, with particular attention to the Azerbaijani section and the Mingachevir water management system. The review shows that the river’s value extends beyond direct water extraction. Riparian habitats, fish and waterbirds, irrigation, hydropower, drinking-water supply, settlement and landscape identity form an interconnected socio-ecological system. Environmental pressures include untreated wastewater, agricultural runoff, solid waste, excessive withdrawal, hydrological alteration, drought and habitat degradation. These pressures can reduce both ecological integrity and economic resilience by weakening ecosystem services and increasing water-management costs. The paper interprets the Kura as natural capital within a green-economy framework and identifies efficient irrigation, water-quality monitoring, wastewater treatment, riparian restoration, data sharing and environmental education as complementary responses. The study concludes that long-term protection of the Kura requires integrated basin management that connects historical and cultural value with present-day water security, ecosystem sustainability and future-oriented economic development.