Scientific, Environmental, and Political Issues in the Circum-Caspian Region (Nato Science Partnership Subseries: 2, 29)

On behalf of the Russian Federation Committee on Water Economy, I would like to welcome the participants of the NATO-sponsored Workshop on the Problems of the Caspian Sea and the Circum-Caspian States. The world's largest intercontinental sea/lake is well known for its wealth mineral and fuel resources and sturgeon stocks' the products of which (oil and caviar) are in constant demand on the world market. During the last half-century the Caspian Sea has been the focus of the scientific community concerned with its level fluctuations. We were, and still are, solving a two-faceted issue: to rescue the Caspian Sea and to rescue the population from the Caspian Sea. To rescue the Caspian Sea is to address a broad spectrum of environmental issues related primarily to water pollution by waste water and petroleum products. To rescue the population from the Caspian Sea means that an almost 2.5 m sea level rise in the last two decades has resulted in flooding of vast coastal areas deteriorating economic and social spheres of activity. Solutions to these issues are linked to the numerous mysterious aspects of recent Caspian Sea behavior. Regrettably, the collapse of the USSR has led to a decline of marine observations and control over the use of marine resources in the region. Coordinated international action on the protection of living marine resources have terminated, generating disastrous consequences. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Regionalization of Climate-Related Environmental Problems....Pages 3-10 Closed Areas and the Case of the Caspian Sea Basin....Pages 11-16 Overview: History and Causes of Caspian Sea Level Change....Pages 17-25 Assessment of the State of the Caspian Sea....Pages 27-39 Environmental Problems of the Caspian Sea Region and the Conflict of National Priorities....Pages 41-52 Toward Regional Cooperation in the Caspian: A Legal Perspective....Pages 53-66 Front Matter....Pages 67-67 Iranian Research on the Caspian Sea Level Rise....Pages 69-77 Ecological Problems of the Caspian Sea and Perspectives on Possible Solutions....Pages 79-95 Ecological, Social and Economic Problems of the Turkmen Caspian Zone....Pages 97-103 The Problem of the Caspian Sea Level Forecast and its Control for the Purpose of Management Optimization....Pages 105-117 Problems of Ecological Safety of the Astrakhan Region due to the Rise of the Caspian Sea....Pages 119-129 Biological Aspects of Caspian Sea Level Rise....Pages 131-137 Front Matter....Pages 139-139 Europe’s First Desert....Pages 141-144 Studies of Aerosols from Kalmykia’S Black Lands and Their Influence on Environment....Pages 145-153 Front Matter....Pages 155-155 Socio-Ecological Characterization: A Framework for Ecosystem Management Information....Pages 157-164 An Overview of Global Environmental Change Research....Pages 165-183 Development of the Caspian-Aral Seas Program: An ICWC Perspective....Pages 185-190 Iranian Perspective on Environmental Problems in the Caspian Sea Region....Pages 191-209 Front Matter....Pages 211-211 An Overview of the Environmental Issues in the Black Sea Region....Pages 213-226 Environmental Problems of the Baltic Sea Region....Pages 227-244 Front Matter....Pages 211-211 Identifying Sources of Radioactive and Heavy Metal Contamination in the Caspian Sea: Future Research Opportunities....Pages 245-254 Front Matter....Pages 255-255 The Rising Waters of the Caspian Sea and Possibilities for International Cooperation....Pages 257-262 Strategic Planning for the Scientific and Technical Cooperation Among the Littoral States of the Caspian Sea....Pages 263-274 Perspectives for Regional Cooperation on Major Environmental Issues in the Caspian Sea Basin....Pages 275-281 Do International Organizations have a Role in Addressing Caspian Environmental Issues?....Pages 283-290 Back Matter....Pages 291-312 The rising waters have inundated coastal areas, including buildings, settlements, transportation infrastructure, and farmlands in each of the five countries that border the sea. The Caspian Sea is also rich in resources such as fisheries and hydrocarbons. The caviar of the Caspian sturgeon is a highly valued export commodity, but the fishery is at risk from the rising sea level, pollution and oil spills. The oil reserves of the region are second in size only to the Persian Gulf. Only recently the Caspian was shared by two sovereign nations: the Soviet Union and the Islamic Republic of Iran. With the breakup of the USSR in 1991, three additional sovereign riparian States were added to the Caspian coastline: Azerbaijan, Kazakstan and Turkmenistan. International oil politics have become more complicated and more intense since the breakup, raising such international legal issues as the legal status of the sea (or is it a lake?) and its overland pipelines across different countries to sea ports with access to world markets. Problems in other semi-enclosed bodies of water are also discussed, since such seas share similar environmental problems and potential solutions Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on The Scientific, Environmental, and Political Issues of the Circum-Caspian Region, Moscow, Russia, 13-16 May 1996