German official cites alarming Caspian pollution level

The pollution caused by oil that is driving economic growth should be prevented on time, otherwise, it could turn out costly for the Caspian littoral states, a German official has said.

The contamination of the basin, which stands out for its bio-diversity, poses a serious threat to the sea, Astrid Klug, State Secretary of the German Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, told an international conference on “Strategies for Sustainable Development of the Caspian Sea” that started in Baku Thursday.

“The five coastal nations should offer a special emergency climatic regime and capitalize on international experience in this area,” she said.

Klug said that to accomplish these goals, it was important to create a common structure and voiced hope that the initiatives and proposals put forth at the conference would step up cooperation in this area.

“The Framework Convention co-signed by the littoral states is the only document on Caspian environmental protection so far. I hope that new projects will be approved to step up effort in this respect, as pursuing a common policy on climate is important,” the German official said and added that her country was ready to assist Caspian states in environmental protection activities.

Azerbaijani Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Huseyn Baghirov said the conference aimed to develop a strategy on ways of solving the problem of Caspian pollution. He said the five coastal nations should base their activity on relevant issues of principle, while fully taking into the account the productivity of the Caspian Sea.

“The overall productivity should be determined based on what activities are to be carried out by each state in their respective sectors of the sea - how much fish is to be caught in every country, control over fishing, etc.,” the minister said.

As part of the conference, a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation regarding Clean Development Mechanism project activities was signed between the German ministry and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani minister, who co-signed the document, said the projects envisioned would be implemented in Azerbaijan to put an end to the thermal effect caused by emissions.

A final declaration will be signed in conclusion of the conference on Friday.

The main purpose of the event is to analyze the causes of Caspian Sea pollution, sustainable use of its resources, capacity building for achieving goals for solution of environmental and sustainable development problems by uniting all interested parties and attracting attention of international organizations and donors to this problem. The conference is attended by representatives of littoral states Turkmenistan, Iran and Kazakhstan.*