The Caspian Sea the worlds largest inland body of water is shrinking. Its retreat is visible in satellite imagery, in kilometres of newly-exposed sandbanks, and at sea ports and fishing villages that are finding themselves farther and farther from the shore.
The science behind this decline is complex, but there is growing evidence that water levels will continue to fall significantly over the next 50 years, impacting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people from the five countries that share the Caspian coastline. Rising global temperatures caused by climate change and the increased evaporation that results is hastening the water levels decline.
Alongside the human and economic impacts, the environmental impacts of a retreating coastline could be severe. The Caspian Sea is home to several threatened species including 90 percent of the planets last remaining sturgeon, which are now struggling to access the river deltas they need to swim upstream and breed.
The Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea, also known as the Tehran Convention, was signed in 2003 by all five littoral states. The convention provides a framework for the environmental protection and sustainable development of the Caspian, underscoring the importance of multilateral cooperation to protect a resource on which both people and ecosystems depend.
For many people the Caspian Sea is part of who they are, their memory, their traditions and their way of life, says Faig Mutallimov, Senior Advisor to the Office of the Representative of the President of Azerbaijan on Climate Issues. Protecting it is our shared duty, and I believe that we should act now, collectively, responsibly, to ensure that this story continues.
Azerbaijan is the host of World Environment Day, an annual celebration of the planet that this year will focus on solutions to climate change.
About World Environment Day
World Environment Day. celebrated annually on 5 June, is one of the planet's largest platforms for environmental outreach and is led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This year's iteration, hosted by Azerbaijan, will focus on the mushrooming climate crisis. See how you can get involved .
