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Environment and Security

58

Human activities have affected the Caspian

environment in several ways. First of all, the

flow of river water, especially in the Volga,

has been regulated by dams, changing the

hydrological balance of the sea. The gulf of

Kara Bogaz Gol, a large shallow lagoon cov-

ering 18 000 sq km, was separated from the

sea in the 1980s in an effort to halt the fall-

ing sea level. Contrary to many people’s ex-

pectations the level has risen steadily since

1978. This separation caused the gulf to dry

out with the formation of a salt basin that

harmed biodiversity, particularly birdlife. In

1992 the flow of water was restored and the

water level in the gulf rose quickly.

Since the Caspian Sea is landlocked, con-

taminants such as persistent organic pollut-

ants and heavy metals entering the water

body have no way of being removed. They

are consequently retained. Pollution of the

sea has increased due to industrial devel-

opment of the coastal region and transport

of pollutants by rivers. In the late 1970s pol-

lution with organic contaminants, including

oil products and DDT, reached the biologi-

cal limits of tolerance for sturgeon and their

muscular tissue was exfoliated and weak-

ened (CEP 2002; Berkeliev 2002). Tumours

have been reported in common fish. Twenty

mass die-offs of Caspian seals (

Phoca

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Marine resources and biodiversity

Environmental degradation and security