Environment and Security: Transforming risks into cooperation

12

Environment and Security

and a considerable threat for vulnerable so- cieties such as coastal communities and ecosystems. The Caspian Sea coast is highly vulnerable to rapid and destructive fluctuations in sea level. The latter, together with other natural hazards, including storm surges, earthquakes and regional epidem- ics, presents a serious risk to human se- curity and loss of livelihoods for the whole Caspian Sea region. A number of these ecological problems were inherited from the past, whereas new challenges are arising from the region’s economic development since independ- ence. As the economic life of the region is closely linked to the development of energy resources, it is an open question whether adequate measures are being taken to en- sure environmental safety and sustainable development of the eastern Caspian. An- swering such a question is a complex task. On the one hand, many positive initiatives have been implemented. For example, the natural canal between the Caspian Sea and the Kara Bogaz Gol has been reopened, al- lowing the bay to fill once more with water, which has in turn significantly improved its bio-diversity. National authorities consider the Caspian Sea region as an important and vulnerable area since all five Caspian states signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Caspian Sea Marine Envi- ronment (the Convention was signed in Te- hran in 2003 and came into force in 2006). The Caspian Environmental Programme (CEP) was instrumental in launching this Convention, facilitating the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) of the Caspian Sea in 2002 and its update in 2007, estab- lishing expert working groups and regional thematic centres. Several international projects and national actions have been catalyzed and implemented since then 3 . Signatory states have also developed Na- tional Caspian Action Plans, which aim to implement nationally the Framework Con- vention. These initiatives show that gener-

ally, Caspian Sea states have been able to develop a positive dialogue on how to deal with environmental issues in the region. Local environmental authorities have been entrusted with decision-making power over environmental performance in the Caspian area, a measure accompanied by improved financial resources allowing them to miti- gate some of the environmental problems. National environmental legislation and regulations were improved and, for exam- ple, Kazakhstan approved in 2007 a new Ecological Code 4 including a critically new approach to the issues of environment pro- tection, including inter alia special status for the Caspian Sea, and a zero-emissions policy for the land and sea. Several national and international oil compa- nies have introduced ISO 14000 standards addressing various aspects of environmen- tal management and better technologies for environmentally safer oil exploration and production. Energy companies and littoral states have embarked on remediation ac- tivities on polluted land and oil-storage pits. Globally significant biodiversity regions such as the Khazar reserve and the Ural river delta have received valuable support. Mass media and public organisations have helped draw attention to the issues of oil industry development and made ecological information more transparent for the pub- lic. Related activities include media tours around the Caspian, public Environmen- tal Impact Assessment (EIA) hearings and ecological expertise, and regular coverage of environmental issues in the local and na- tional newspapers. On the other hand, a number of existing and emerging environment and security problems are still unsolved and appropri- ate action is needed at both local and na- tional level in cooperation with neighbouring countries, as recommended in the conclud- ing chapter of this report.