Documents

Unified, Integrated and Affordable Caspian Environment Monitoring Programme Among the Contracting Parties to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea was welcomed at COP4, Moscow, Russian Federation, 10-12 December 2012.

The objectives of the EMP to develop a framework providing the necessary data and information on the Caspian environment in order to; initially provide data on the state of the Caspian environment, highlight pollution problems, provide biological related data which will support the broad objective of tracking changes of the health and diversity of ecosystems in, and adjacent to, the Caspian Sea.

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.

Marine litter, including plastic and microplastic, is a global concern affecting all the oceans and seas of the world. It poses environmental, economic, health and aesthetic problems that are rooted in poor solid waste management practices, lack of infrastructure, indiscriminate human activities and behaviours and an inadequate understanding on the part of the public of the potential consequences of their actions. Development of the Caspian Marine Litter Action Plan is embodied in the Moscow Protocol against pollution from land-based sources. 

The preparation of the draft Caspian Regional Marine Litter Action Plan (CRMLAP) was undertaken by the national experts from the Caspian Sea littoral states and an international expert. For that purpose, five National Experts were contracted to provide their national inputs and contributions for the development of the Caspian Marine Litter Action Plan where the International Expert fully facilitates the development of the Caspian Marine Litter Action Plan.

Agreement on Cooperation in Emergency Prevention and response in the Caspian Sea was signed on 29 September 2014 in Astrakhan, Russian Federation, during the Fourth Caspian Summit.

The cooperation in the field of civil protection in the Caspian Sea will contribute to disaster risk reduction and minimization of negative consequences of emergency situations of natural and man-made disasters in the Caspian Sea. The agreement allows informing about the risk of an emergency, which could affect the state on the other hand, sharing experiences in the field of forecasting and monitoring of emergency situations, as well as training of the population to act in their threat and occurrence as well as to train and prepare experts in the field of civil protection educational institutions of member states.

The document is presented in all languages.

Natural seeps and easily exploited surface deposits of crude oil on land have been utilized in the Caspian Sea region earlier than 300 BC. The modern-day picture is a region with oil reserves of global importance, facing a key challenge of the transportation of crude oil to markets. There has been considerable focus on developing oil spill preparedness in the Caspian Sea region. This has involved the governments, regional bodies, the oil industry and a range of other stakeholders and international organizations (notably UNEP, IMO and OSCE). This effort is in addition to the primary focus on preventing spills.

Countries are developing and implementing National Contingency Plans in order to have effective national response systems, which also act as the basis for regional cooperation.