Documents

The Caspian Environment Programme is a regional partnership between the five littoral states of the Caspian Sea (Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan) and international organisations (the EU, UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank). The goal of the CEP is the environmentally sustainable development and management of the Caspian Environment. Part of the process in achieving this goal is identifying the priority environmental issues and developing a regional Strategic Action Programme and five National Caspian Action Plans , one for each of the  littoral countries.

National Brief on Legislative and Institutional Measures for the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Caspian Sea Environment in the Russian Federation was made by the ANO "Centre for International Projects" (CIP) on the commission of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation in line with the preparation of the position of the Russian side to the 1st Conference of the Parties to the Tehran Convention, and according to the Memorandum of Understanding between UNEP/ROE and CIP.

The main objective of this work is assessment of the preparedness level of the national environmental legislation of the Russian Federation to provide implementation of the Tehran Convention provisions, as well as its protocols, which drafts are under the preparation by the experts from the Caspian littoral countries.

During the 6 years after the preparation of the national report, new pieces of legislation have emerged. These include The Caspian Sea Protection Convention and The 4th Social, Economic and Cultural Development Plan of the country. This report provides an updated overview of the laws, regulations and institutional frameworks in place with regard to the protection of the Caspian Sea.

The present report has been prepared by the regional legal expert – Irina Krasnova, professor of environmental law of the Russian Academy of Civil Service under the President of the Russian Federation, doctor of juridical science.

The report is prepared within the framework of the Caspian Environment Programme in accordance with the relevant UNEP project, the Terms of Reference for the Regional Legal Expert.

The Report is based on the National Briefs on Legislative and Institutional Frameworks for the Protection and Sustainable Management of the Caspian Sea Environment prepared by National Legal Experts of the five Contracting Parties to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (further – Tehran Convention), on the materials provided by the UNEP/ROE, and obtained from various information and data base sources, advice and cooperation of the CEP/PCU.

Financial Rules for the Administration of the Trust Fund for the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea.

Adopted at COP 1 in Baku, Azerbaijan, 23-25 May 2007.

The CEP TDA Revisit was completed in December 2007 following an intensive desk study of materials collected from the second phase of the Caspian Environment Programme. The intention of the CEP TDA Revisit is to provide a follow on review of the priority transboundary issues, to assess the efforts conducted during the CEP Phase II implementation, and to extrapolate where additional efforts are warranted. The SAP and NСAPs are reviewed followed by an analysis of the priority areas of concern as identified in the SAP. The issues addressed in the TDA are: decline in biodiversity; decline in environmental quality (pollution); decline in bioresources (fisheries); decline in coastal infrastructure and habitat; and impacts of the oil industry in the region. This is supplemented by an analysis of governance mechanisms, socioeconomic conditions in the region, and stakeholder analysis and public involvement strategy.

The seal is the only marine mammal in the Caspian Sea, feeding on tulkas and other small fish, and preyed upon by land animals. It is an endemic species for the Caspian Sea and is vulnerable on that point of view. During its life history the Caspian seal migrates from the frozen North Caspian waters in the winter to the South Caspian in the summer timer and back to the North to give birth to the pups on the ice. During these migration time the seals can be found everywhere in the sea.

Active conservation efforts will be required to assure the Caspian seal does not eliminate from the Earth. As a major mammal, anchoring one end of the food web, it also plays an important role in the biodiversity of the Caspian Sea and is a remarkable indicator of the Caspian ecosystems health.

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 Caspian Sea Encyclopedia” is the second one in the new series of encyclopedias about the seas of the former Soviet Union published by Springer-Verlag. The first volume – “The Aral Sea Encyclopedia” was published by Springer in 2009. The series will be continued by “The Black Sea Encyclopedia” in 2010.

The document represents the second national report of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It presents national situational analysis, information on emissions and removals of greenhouse gases (GHGs), overview the activities Azerbaijan undertakes to implement the Convention, assessment of vulnerability to climate change, and calls for adaptation measures.

The document is published within the framework of the joint project of the Government of Azerbaijan and United Nations Development Programme "Enabling Activities for the Preparation of Azerbaiijan's Second National Communication to the UNFCCC" with the financial support of the Global Environmantal Facility (GEF).

The Tauw Consortium (TC) formed by Tauw bv - the Netherlands, Milieukontakt International (MKI) - the Netherlands, International HCH and Pesticides Association (IHPA) - Denmark and COWI A/S - Denmark, was selected by the World Bank in October 2009 to execute a Caspian regional POPs workshop in Azerbaijan. TC forms a strong OP, POP and hazardous chemicals team that has cooperated in different combinations in many projects in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Local partner was Mr. Islam Muslim Mustafayev the director of the Azerbaijan branch of the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network.

The workshop aiming at the improvement of obsolete pesticides management was held at the World Bank Office in Baku, from 7 till 11 December 2009 with participants from the five Caspian littoral states and donor organizations (World Bank, FAO). The workshop comprised sessions on: - An update on implementation of international requirements related to obsolete/ POPs pesticides - Development and strengthening of legal and institutional framework - Public awareness raising - Technical problems and priorities The workshop was held as an interactive workshop in which participants presented the current state of the abovementioned aspects of pesticide management for their country. Difficulties and gaps were discussed and ideas were developed in order to bridge the gaps identified. A legal gap analysis showed that in all countries there are gaps in legislation concerning the pesticides cycle. POPs often are not included and legislation needs to be aligned with international requirements. There is a lack of coordination between institutions and stakeholders in most countries. In many countries environmental and human health problems related to obsolete pesticide stocks are aggravated by a lack of awareness. Russia and Azerbaijan presented their experiences with inventory and technical difficulties. The presentations showed that there are problems with planning and coordination, a lack of environmentally sound storage capacity, a lack of knowledge concerning the scale of the problem (reliable and complete national inventory) and a lack of knowledge concerning handling of liquid pesticides. Action plans were presented, which for some countries like Russia, were plans of different options (signing the convention, detailed inventory, pilot on implementation PSMS). Also for Turkmenistan, ratification of the Stockholm Convention is a big challenge. For other countries like Azerbaijan, there is a follow up project about to start. Therefore the action plan for Azerbaijan comprises a number of defined steps already (capacity building, full national inventory). Iran presented an action plan for repackaging of obsolete pesticides in the Golestan province.

This project aimed at inventory training for 10-15 people, mainly from the four Ministries with a designated role in the management of obsolete pesticide stocks (MoA, MoE, MoEm, MoH). The training comprised training on the inventory process, health and safety during inventory, management of inventory data with PSMS, different approaches for stores and burial sites and on the job inventory training (practical part). The practical training was performed on sites of five former pesticide stores including one site where pesticides were buried and soil and groundwater sampling was trained. This World Bank project will be followed on by a TCP project approved by FAO regarding capacity building in pesticide management in Azerbaijan. The TCP project aims at (amongst others) a full national inventory, risk quantification and action plans for high risk sites. For repackaging, there is no project approved yet. In the evaluation of the training, the trainees were confident to be able to train others in order to perform a full national inventory. Further assistance might be needed on selected topics. The trainees did not see a problem concerning knowledge transfer. It is recommended to select trainees more carefully in the future. Ideally, the participants of the inventory training are the people doing the inventory and to keep all steps of the pesticide stockpile management cycle in mind during the individual steps in order to have funding for the following steps like repackaging, safeguarding and final disposal or destruction.

Sampling was conducted from the vessel Svetlomor 2 by personnel from AmC, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources (MENR) and SOCAR. Sediment samples for physical and chemical analysis consisted of 2 replicates, while 3 replicates were taken for biological analyses. Analyses were carried out at AmC Caspian Environmental Laboratory.

The sediment characteristics and metal concentrations around Chirag were found to be highly variable within and between stations, with generally little change being observed from 2008. Despite the detection footprint remaining unchanged from previous years, LAO concentrations continue to reduce. THC and PAH concentrations were generally low, with the highest concentrations being recorded at stations directly to the northeast of the platform.

Ba concentrations were highest within the LAO contamination footprint, suggesting the higher concentrations to be the result of historical drilling discharges. As observed on previous years the concentration of Cd was also highest within this area. The LAO and Ba footprint, indicating the extent of contamination from platform drilling discharges was found to extend 1250m NE, 500m N, 750m E, 1000m W and 250m S of the Chirag platform position.

The 2010 macrobenthic community was numerically dominated by polychaetes and amphipods.

Abundance and species richness were highest at stations on the periphery of the survey area and decreased towards the platform. The lowest abundance an taxonomic richness were found at stations within the LAO and Ba footprint, with the sparsest communities being present at stations directly to the northeast of the platform. Despite a continual reduction in hydrocarbon concentrations from 2006, a general reduction in abundance and taxonomic richness has been observed at the Chirag survey area from 2000 to 2008. This negative trend has reversed in 2010, with a survey wide increase in annelid abundance and amphipod abundance and taxonomic richness being observed. No distinct change in the physicochemical characteristics has been observed between 2008 and 2010 that can be attributed to the abrupt reversal of these trends.

No additional physicochemical impacts from operational activities have been observed between 2008 and 2010 and in general contamination levels continue to reduce