Tourism, flora and fauna at risk, as Caspian Sea shrinks – Azerbaijani experts
The shrinking of the Caspian Sea is raising concern among the Caspian-littoral states, with experts warning of serious environmental and economic consequences. Addressing the extended session of the SCO, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev initiated the establishment of a Water Resesituarch Center to coordinate the actions of the region’s countries. Kazinform correspondent discussed the issue with experts from Azerbaijan.
Rovshan Abbasov, member of the Public Council at Azerbaijan Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, noted that in recent decades the sea level has been falling due to climate factors and excessive water use in the basins of the Volga, Ural and Kura rivers.
“There are now more than 800 reservoirs on the Volga River with a total area exceeding 30,000 square kilometers. Evaporation and infiltration lead to huge water losses. Similar processes occur in other rivers as well, but the scale of the Volga is much greater. Excessive water intake accelerates its decline,” the expert says.
He emphasized the need to assess the Caspian Sea water balance and determine river inflows under different scenarios to stop the shrinking process.
“Caspian-littoral states must commit to rational water use. Azerbaijan has already included the sea level decline into the National Adaptation Program and developed measures to limit water withdrawal from the Caspian basin rivers,” he pointed out.
Fikret Jafarov, Chairman of the Sustainable Development Public Association, spoke on the economic impact of the Caspian Sea shrinking.
“Falling sea levels are already causing serious economic and social damage. Offshore oil and gas infrastructure requires reconstruction. Platforms and pipelines will become vulnerable, some areas will be unsafe for shipping. All sea ports of Azerbaijan will need dredging and construction of new berths. Tourism on the Absheron Peninsula, as well as in the Yalama and Lankaran-Astara regions will also be affected as the shoreline retreats by 2-3 kilometers. Fish stocks of the Caspian Sea, already weakened by the invasive comb jelly Mnemiopsis, will decline further, with feeding grounds and plankton biomass reducing,” the speaker said.
Jafarov also warned of severe ecological consequences.
“Increasing salinity will impact marine ecosystems. Native and endemic species of animals and plants may disappear. Apart from that, Northern Caspian waters are heavily polluted by hundreds of thousands of toxic waste brought by the Volga. This contamination spreads across the entire sea,” he noted.
Experts say that the introduction of modern technologies and international cooperation are vital to tackling the problem.
According to Jafarov, Azerbaijan is exploring the projects aimed at producing water from atmospheric air and reconstruction of major canals built during the Soviet period without concrete lining, where water losses exceeded 40%.
International collaboration with Turkiye, Georgia, and Iran, he says, helps coordinate river water balance and apply effective technologies of water resource use.
Ahead of the COP29 Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan and international partners proposed implementing seaweed farming projects.
“Creating seaweed gardens would help restore local ecosystems, reduce evaporation and limit pollution,” Jafarov concluded.
As it was reported, addressing the SCO Plus summit on September 1, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev drew the participants' attention to the alarming situation around the Caspian Sea. "The situation is approaching an ecological catastrophe," he said.
