15 November 2012: The Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) has reported on the Caspian Ecological Forum, which provided a platform for dialogue and cooperation for the wise use of the resource-rich Caspian Sea.
The Forum, which took place on 5-6 November 2012, in Turkmenistan, was hosted by Tukmenistan’s Ministry of Nature Protection. The Forum was attended by representatives of environmental and fisheries agencies and academics of the Caspian countries, with delegations from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and the Russian Federation, in addition to Turkmenistan. The event was also attended by representatives of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD), and oil and gas companies operating in the Caspian shelf.
The Ramsar Secretariat underlines that the Caspian Sea is the world’s largest landlocked water body, and is home to about 400 endemic species, including the world’s largest herd of sturgeon (90% of the world reserves) and the endangered Caspian Seal Pusa caspica.
The Caspian littoral States ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (Tehran Convention) in 2006. The agreement defines the general requirements and institutional mechanism for the protection of the marine environment of the Caspian Sea. Four protocols to the Convention have been developed by the countries, with a focus on: biodiversity conservation; land-based sources of pollution; preparedness, response and cooperation in combatting oil pollution incidents; and environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context. [Ramsar Press Release]