Documents

The Caspian region is a priority region for Russia in ecological, marine and economic aspects.  This is confirmed by the implementation of federal and regional programs, the development of academic and applied research in the Caspian Sea region of Russia, the regular various national/international meetings on the Caspian Sea issues and by the public active involvement.

The Tehran Convention, being a legal tool of the regional environmental cooperation, has a pivotal role to play in preventing and overcoming the region’s ecological problems.  The effective use of its mechanisms will make it possible to contribute to the implementation of the national project “Ecology” and the federal project “Clean Country”.

In the city of Makhachkala (the Republic of Dagestan), on 6-7 August, 2019, an event dedicated to the celebration of the “Caspian Sea Day” took place in the framework of the Tehran Convention (Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea).  It was organized following the Fifth Caspian Summit-2018 and ahead of the Sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Tehran Convention (November 2019, Baku, Azerbaijan).

The event was organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Dagestan through the National Convention Liaison Office- Center for International Projects.  I was held within the framework of meeting the national obligations under the Tehran Convention.

Draft Caspian Sea Plan Concerning Regional Cooperation in Combating Oil Pollution in Cases of Emergency (Aktau Protocol Implementation Plan).

The arrangements in the Aktau Protocol Implementation Plan are intended to facilitate the development of joint response operations and to co-ordinate the use of the available resources in the region. They also outline in advance the financial conditions and administrative clauses of the actions, thus permitting rapid intervention in case of emergency by removing the need for lengthy negotiations during the course of the event.

The present report on the State of the Environment of the Caspian Sea was developed in accordance with the requirements of the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (Tehran Convention, 2003) and is one of the regional environmental cooperation mechanisms to assess the state of the marine environment of the Caspian Sea, in particular, pollution and its impact, based on the reports provided by the Contracting Parties and any competent international organization.

The Caspian Sea SoE 2 Report in higher resolution can be dowloaded here. 

This volume aims to provide background information on the Caspian Sea in order to support the recommendations in the National Caspian Action Plans (NCAPs) and the Strategic Action Programme (SAP). Thus, this TDA is not merely a State of the Environment report, but also a look into the future based on the current political situation, socio-economic conditions, and legal/regulatory framework. 

This TDA relies on and benefits from the dedicated work of numerous individuals, agencies, institutes, projects and corporations. The major building blocks are the studies and research works conducted and
carried out by the Caspian Regional Thematic Centres. These works have been mostly produced by the national experts of the Caspian countries and have been effectively led and substantially assisted by the National Focal Points (NFPs) and the Management Advisory Group and Inter-sectoral Assistants (MAGICAs). Production of the TDA would have not been possible without the efficient project execution assistance of UNOPS. The overall conceptualization, design, production monitoring and editing of the TDA has been led by the Programme Coordination Unit (PCU) including the Data and Information Management Theme in Baku, Azerbaijan.