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.

In the Caspian Sea basin Mangistauskaya and Atyrauskaya oblast of Kazakhstan are located. The Ecological program of Mangistuskaya oblast for 2005-2007 directed to solve such problems as liquidation of historical pollution, biodiversity conservation and prevention of desertification and soil degradation, reduction of the volumes of industrial and household waste, etc. All regional programs are obligatory submitted to the approval of Ministry of Environment Protection of Republic of Kazakhstan (MoEP RK), and then it can be approved in regional Maslikhats. The Ecological program of Atyrauskaya oblast for 2006 - 2008 is approved in the MoEP and now is on the confirmation in the regional Maslikhat.

The Caspian Sea, world largest lake, is bordered by Azerbaijan Republic, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Republic, Russian Federation and Turkmenistan. Its biodiversity is comprised of 1354 plant, animal and more than 122 fish species. Out of 122 fish species and subspecies living in the Caspian Sea, 40 species are commercial and presently 25 species are the main exploited fish. The Caspian Sea fishes are divided to four main groups, including 53 species Marine fishes (43.5%), 42 species (13.4%) of freshwater origin, 18 species (14.7%) anadromous and 9 species (7.4%) semi-anadromous. At present sturgeons, kilka and Caspian Sea seals are considered as shared stocks between Caspian Sea range states.

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.