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At the meeting point of the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, the Caspian region includes steppe land in the north, cold, continental deserts and semi-deserts in the northeast and east, and warmer mountain and highland systems in the south and southwest. The coastal wetlands of the Caspian basin include many shallow, saline pools, which attract a variety of bird life and biodiversity; over 400 species are unique to the Caspian. In addition, the sea's native sturgeon is famous the world around for the roe it produces: sturgeon from the Caspian Sea accounts for approximately 90% of the world's caviar industry.

This Regional Water Quality Monitoring Programme has been developed as part of the project “Caspian Water Quality Monitoring and Action Plan for Areas of Pollution Concern’s (Caspian MAP)”. This project has been financed by the Tacis Programme of the European Union (EU) which amongst others promotes regional co-operation on environmental protection. On of the main objectives of the Caspian MAP is to support the Caspian Environment Programme (CEP), which is a partnership between the five littoral states - Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation and Turkmenistan, and International Partners like EU, UNDP, UNEP, and the World Bank. The CEP's mission is to assist the Caspian littoral states to achieve the goal of environmentally sustainable development and management of the Caspian environment for the sake of long-term benefit for the Caspian inhabitants.

The Regional Pollution Action Plan for the Caspian Sea (RPAP), has been prepared as part of the project “Caspian Water Quality Monitoring and Action Plan for Areas of Pollution Concern’s (hereafter: Caspian MAP)”. The project is financed by the Tacis Programme of the European Union (EU), which has as one of its objectives the promotion of regional co-operation on environmental protection. The overall objective of the Caspian MAP is to achieve improved quality of the marine and coastal environment of the Caspian Sea. In particular, the RPAP (current Report) provides recommendations to regional strategies for pollution reduction, with a focus on the identified Areas of Pollution Concern. The Caspian MAP also developed a proposal for a Regional Water Quality Monitoring Program.

In the frame of the current Project the estimation on contents of nutrients, petroleum hydrocarbons, phenols and heavy metals in water and bottom sediments in the basins of rivers Terek, Sulak and Samur over the last years was carried out. Research was conducted within a framework of the State Monitoring Programme on Roshydromet in the central and lower parts of the Terek delta. The data of Roshydromet standard investigations was used to assess the concentration of pollutants, namely petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals, phenols, detergents, nutrients (nitrites, nitrates, ammonium and total nitrogen) and silicates, and also expenditure of river water during the estimation of their flows at hydrological Karagalinsky hydro system and
Alikazgan stations in the Terek delta. The Roshydromet data cover the period 2002-2005.

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan and Caspian Environment Programme by supporting of UNDP agreed with NGO "Ruzgyar" to organize of 1st professional level monitoring of POPs in Kura-Araks basin till Caspian Sea. "Ruzgyar" contracted professional environmental research company "Azecolab" to implement of standard sampling and lab analytical processes.

Map of the Caspian River Basin.

Produced by Manana Kurtrubadze

Daily extractions of crude oil and gas and transportation of them are the main pollution sources of the Caspian Sea. Many trucks for charring oil from ports along the Caspian Sea are considered as point and nonpoint sources along the seaboard. In addition, many ships, which are navigating in the Sea, are emitting pollution to the Sea. Many cities and industries surround the Caspian Sea. Pollution from these cities and industries enter the Caspian Sea either directly or through rivers. The purpose of this paper is to look at the benefits of environmental management strategies in pollution prevention such as waste minimization and clean technologies. This minimizes the environmental problems due to waste generation and eliminates the cost of treatment and disposal of the waste. The benefits of the environmental management program along the Caspian Sea will ensure the clean water and the better environment of the Sea.