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Environment and Security
The geographical focus of this report used
to be a classical hinterland. For a long peri-
od in history the area was even called Tran-
scaspia, in other words the land behind the
Caspian Sea. Also from the perspective of
the now independent former Soviet Repub-
lics Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan the strip
of land bordering the Caspian Sea is a dis-
tant province remote from the capitals.
But things are changing. The geopolitical
centre of gravity has shifted east and with
the rapid development of China’s economy,
another pole has emerged, rendering the
terms ‘trans’, ‘hinter’ or ‘behind’ invalid for
this region. And with the rapid develop-
ments linked to oil and gas exploration in
Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, the sleepy
provinces along the coast are waking up.
Aktau, for instance, has become a boom-
town by international standards.
Now this assessment puts the region centre
stage, where it belongs. What are the impacts
of these tremendous dynamics on the envi-
ronment, and, going one step further, can en-
vironmental issues, such as pollution on land
and sea, desertification, species extinction
be a threat to security? What are the poten-
tial impacts of climate change? Would these
threats be confined to the region or would
they affect much larger areas? Or does the
environment build bridges, does it connect?
This set of relatively simple questions
serves as the guiding principle for how the
environment and security initiative works.
Both Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan joined
the ENVSEC club early on and asked for as-
sistance in addressing common issues of
environment and security, outlining possible
solutions, and communicating the findings
in a way that can be understood by a larger
public both in and outside the region and its
constituencies.
This publication is the result of more than
three years of intensive work done by Ka-
zakhstan, Turkmenistan and international
organisations: first diplomatic, then more
hands-on environmental assessments in-
cluding field work and consultations, writing
texts and making maps and graphics. Con-
sidering the perceived sensitivity of some
of the topics the report was dealing with,
further diplomatic efforts have deployed to
ensure that countries agreed about the key
outcomes of the document. After all, there is
no more hinterland, in the traditional sense,
east of the Caspian Sea.
Hinterkaspien