Environment and Security: Transforming risks into cooperation

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Eastern Caspian

Environment and Security

Overview The Caspian region

Located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia, Russia and Iran, the Caspian Sea is the world’s largest body of inland water covering 371 000 sq km, slightly larger than Germany. It is landlocked and drains inward. For this reason the inflow of its rivers largely deter- mine the level of the Caspian Sea. With no outlet the Caspian Sea is the repository of all that is transported by and discharged into its waters by the rivers, including pollution. Human life and the rural economy in these rugged conditions depend on the ecosys- tem’s resilience and stability. Globally signifi- cant biological species of sturgeon, Caspian seals, pink flamingo, and about 400 endemic species live in the sea. Sturgeons look very much as they did 100 million years ago, in the age of dinosaurs. Migration routes of rare species, such as saigak antelope, wolves

and foxes pass along the semi-desert coast- al zones of the Caspian Sea. The north Cas- pian shelf, Ural river delta, Mangystau penin- sula – which boasts impressively diverse and unique geological sites – and the Turkmen- bashy gulf are amongst the most important biodiversity areas. They also hold the great- est potential for local eco-tourism. The coastal regions located to the northeast and east of the Caspian in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan display many similarities: a dry climate 5 and a mostly desert landscape with very low population density. The majority of the population currently lives in urban set- tlements along the coast. There are marked differences between coastal and hinterland regions, the latter usually depending on cat- tle farming whereas the coastal regions fea- ture well-developed industries.

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