Documents

The tourist brochure describes interesting species of flora and fauna of the Ural River Delta and the adjacent coastal zone of the Caspian Sea.

This brochure has been produced on behalf of the consortium developing the hydrocarbon deposits beneath the North East Caspian defined under the North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement of 1997.

The concession area lies in a region of rich biodiversity recognized as being of international importance for its wildlife, including several species that are classified as endangered. The widely varying conditions in the North East Caspian include extreme seasonal temperature variations, long-term sea level change, short-term sea surges and retreats, high levels of turbidity and sediment movement, ice cover in winter and scouring of the seabed by moving ice.

This dynamic environment presents challenges for those who live and work in the area. It also means that the fauna and flora on land and at sea, are adapted to a significant level of environmental stress from continually changing physical conditions. 

The approach used in this assessment was to collect and analyze information on biodiversity and related areas through documentation searches and interviews with key individuals and organizations concerned with biodiversity, both throughout Kazakhstan and in Washington, D.C. (see Annex C, List of Persons Contacted). An extensive series of field trips was undertaken. 

The Forum is the first event held in the framework of theDay of Caspian Sea celebration .

"Oil and gas offshore fields' development, which is beingcarried out at difficult geological conditions, increases man-caused impacts on environment of the region and creates real emergencies, including oil spills, as hydrocarbon deposits are located in an ecologically sensitive area of ​​the sea. The consequences of possible industrial accident capable of impacting the territories of neighboring countries", said Bapy.

According to his words, for monitoring of oil fields in thenorth-eastern part of the sea, there was established the North Caspian ecological base for oil spill response. "Ak Beren" blowout response group specialists are annually trained in the UK.

Delegations from five Caspian littoral states - the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan attended the first meeting of the Commission.