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The paper is presented by the author in her personal capacity and opinions expressed in this paper should be attributed to the author.  They are not mean to represent the positions or opinions of the UNEP or the State Parties to the Framework Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea.

The Caspian Sea is the largest completely enclosed body of salt water in the world and constitutes a particularly fragile ecosystem. It contains great fishery resources, including 90% of the world’s stock of sturgeon, as well as vast oil and gas deposits in the subsoil. It is crossed by important transportation routes connecting Europe and Central Asia. For much of the twentieth century it was within the exclusive domain of Iran and the USSR, with the latter enjoying naval dominance. With the collapse of the Soviet Union the geopolitical situation in the region changed significantly. Instead of two, there are currently five riparian states – Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan – each filing differing legal claims.

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.

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.

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. 

National Convention Action Plan NCAP of the five Parties - Year 2012

Objectives of the project included the organization and performance of the coast-wide awareness campaign in Turkmenbashi and Awaza area devoted to the Caspian Sea Day celebration. The project was prepared and agreed with the program of Celebration with the Ministry of Nature Protection of Turkmenistan, which supposed to be held in hotel “Dayanch” on the Caspian coast. The events were planned for August 10-11, 2012. However due to force-major reasons, upon arrival of participants of the event to Turkmenbashy city, the organizers were asked to postpone the event. It was decided to perform it in Ashgabat at the premises of the Institute of Deserts. Due to the summer beach time, it was impossible to change tickets and go back to Ashgabat earlier. Thus the Caspian Day event was then again prepared and performed in Ashgabat.

The calculations were made using the MARKAL modeling tool and were based on strategic development plans for different economic sectors. The Communication assesses electricity saving potential in respect of energy efficiency and lower carbon intensity. It also reflects the possible costs related to GHG emissions reduction measures in all economic sectors.

For the first time in Kazakhstan we have analysed the influence of climate change on forests and human health, as well as the data on mudflow activity and the change in glaciers. For climate change calculations, we used the data of the hottest decade (1995- 2005) combined with unified WMO methodology and climate change indices. Climate change scenaria were developed using the most recent ocean-atmosphere circulation models.

Nurgali Ashimov
Minister of Environment Protection Republic of Kazakhstan 

State Nature Reserve "Akzhaiyk" (Kazakh "Aқzhayyқ" memlekettіk tabiғi reserves) is located in the Makhambet Atyrau region, in the surrounding lands outside the city of Atyrau. It was created by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on February 6, 2009 in the delta of the Ural River and the adjacent coast of the Caspian Sea. [1] The Ural River Delta and the adjacent coast of the Caspian Sea is included in the list of wetlands of international importance. The reserve was the second Kazakh territory after the Tengiz-Korgalzhyn lake system, which went down in the list. The hydrological regime is characterized by a gradual rise the water level in the Ural River in the second half of April, with the transition in May-June in spring and summer, with a peak at the end of May or the first half of of June. After the first flood peak starts fast and then gradual decline, passing in August and September in the autumn low water.

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.

Sediments around Central Azeri were very poorly sorted, the majority being a mixture of sand and gravel. At many stations, the two replicates were substantially different, indicating patchiness of physical characteristics on a small spatial scale (metres).

LAO was detected at 7 stations in 2010. There was little evidence of change at the majority of stations, and the overall area within which LAO was observed remains very similar to that observed in previous surveys. In general the hydrocarbon concentrations were low or very low and UCM and NPD content were indicative of weathered material being present throughout the survey area.

For the majority of trace metals the data show no clear trends or gradients which could be associated with platform activities. Three elements – barium, cadmium, and lead – exhibited very similar concentration patterns. These were the only elements which indicated a ‘footprint’ which was spatially related to the platform location. A similar association was evident in the 2008 data.

The macrobenthic community was numerically dominated by amphipods which were also the most taxonomically rich group. There was a general tendency towards lower species richness and abundance at stations to the north of, and immediately to the south of, the platform, as was also noted in 2008.

The 2010 data for sediment composition, chemistry and macrobenthic biology suggest that there is an area immediately around the platform in which some degree of sediment alteration is present, and where there is a slightly lower macrobenthic community biomass and diversity relative to more distant stations. However, there are no stations which could be considered biologically impoverished compared to previous surveys.

Technical Summary

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 sediments around East Azeri were very poorly sorted with generally good agreement between replicate samples.Variation between metal concentrations was low.

Metal and hydrocarbon concentrations were, with the exception of Ba and Cd, within the range of baseline conditions for the ACG contract area, and in many instances were lower in 2010 than in 2008.

The condition of the macrobenthic community throughout the survey area was, in 2010, better than in 2008, and was closer to the original baseline conditions. There was no evidence that any physical or chemical parameter was associated with impaired community structure or function, although it was clear that the dominant taxonomic groups were more diverse and abundant in coarser sediments.

Specifically, the results of the 2010 survey show no evidence of sustained impact as a result of continuing platform drilling and production operations; there has (with the possible exception of Cd) been no evidence of direct contamination, and the diversity, abundance and biomass of the macrobenthic community has improved since 2008.