Documents

Strategy for Civil Society Engagement in the Protection of the Caspian Sea Marine Environment was presented at the COP3 in Aktau, Kazakhstan, 10–12 August 2011. It contains an analysis and a number of recommendations to improve access to information and participation in decision-making and action towards the implementation of the Tehran Convention and its Protocols at the local, national and regional levels.

Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea was signed on 29 September 2014 in Astrakhan, Russian Federation, during the Fourth Caspian Summit.

The entry into force of the Agreement opens new opportunities not only for information exchange, but also for the interaction in other fields of hydrometeorology ranging from carrying out of observations to forecasting of weather and climate.

The final output of this cooperation is ensuring the safety of navigation and other activities in the water area and on the coast, which depend on changes of weather and climate. Everyone working in the Caspian Sea needs accurate hydrometeorological forecasts, timely storm alerts and the information required to design hydraulic structures.

Alongside with this, hydrometeorological information is essential for environmental protection, conservation of Caspian Sea biodiversity and efficient use of its natural resources. Now hydrometeorologists and ecologists may interact more closely: due to the signing of the Agreement there emerged a legal basis for the cooperation with the Tehran Convention.

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.

Agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of aquatic biological resources of the Caspian Sea was signed on 29 September 2014 in Astrakhan, Russian Federation, during the Fourth Caspian Summit.

The Parties agree upon cooperation on (i) giving priority to the conservation of aquatic biological resources, (ii) sustainable use of aquatic biological resources, (iii) application of accepted international rules, (iv) ecosystem preservation and biodiversity protection, (v) conservation of aquatic biological resources in scientific research and use this as a basis of common aquatic biological resources management, and (vi) taking measures for sustainable use and conservation of aquatic biological resources in the Caspian Sea and for management of common aquatic biological resources. The Parties shall develop the cooperation by research studies, data collection, exchange of scientific and technical documents, experience and information, preventive measures for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and by development of short, medium and long-term programs for aquatic production and for their reintroduction into their natural habitats. 

The document is presented in all languages.

The Caspian Sea, abundant with natural living and fossil resources, its coastal areas home to more than 15 million people, faces a series of environmental challenges.

This State of the Caspian Sea Environment Report should be seen and considered as a first try out and starting point towards the creation of a shared environmental information system promoting and securing data collection, monitoring, analysis, harmonization and public communication in support of full implementation of the Tehran Convention and its protocols. We hope that it will improve the Caspian information base, enhance the quality, accessibility and relevance of data and ultimately, contribute to strengthening the regional environmental governance framework.

The Caspian Sea SoE 1 Report in higher resolution can be dowloaded here. 

This study is an attempt to develop an integrated methodology to predict the impact of the Caspian Sea on flooding using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and hydrodynamic modeling. A rise in the sea level might lead to major flooding events, and have a severe impact on the spatial development of cities and regions. The feasibility of simulating a flood event along a drain channel is evaluated near residential development areas along the Chapakroud drain.

The study shows that at these elevations environmental and social problems arise with regards to the drain. The results also indicate that GIS is an effective tool for floodplain visualization and analysis. It should be noted that the mixture of salt and soft water, as a result of rising sea water level, is a problem that was not investigated in this study and should be examined in the future. 

The Synthesis Report distils and integrates the findings of the three Working Group contributions to the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the most comprehensive assessment of climate change undertaken thus far by the IPCC: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis; Cli- mate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability; andClima- te Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. The SYR also incorpo- rates the findings of two Special Reports on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (2011) and on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (2011). 

The present synthesis paper will provide an overview of past and present private sector support, it will compare and summarize the five national analysis reports and on the basis of the specifics in each country will make suggestions for next steps to attract further engagement.

The main focus of review: To determine the Status of invasive species with special attention to the most aggressive invader Mnemiopsis leidyi in the Caspian Sea.

Objectives:

1. To assess vectors, pathways of invasive species introduction, their composition and their role in the Caspian ecosystem.

2. To analyze seasonal and interannual dynamics of the Mnemiopsis leidyi population in the all areas of the Caspian Sea; its impacts on the Caspian ecosystem including food recourses (zooplankton) and fish stocks along with other emerging environmental threats such as increased nutrient load from the coast, structural and quantitative changes in phyto-and-zooplankton communities, the appearance of harmful algal bloom (HAB) in the Southern Caspian.

3. To prepare recommendations for follow-up actions on invasive species management: - for the protection and control of the Caspian Sea from any sources of accidental invasive species introductions - for possibility of biological control of invader Mnemiopsis leidyi.

The primary source of this Review has been national reports from every of the five Caspian littoral countries, which included results of national observations of ecosystem state and biodiversity of the Caspian Sea. But due to fragmental data of the national observations on invasive species