BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 9. Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has warned that the Caspian Sea's environmental crisis could have serious economic consequences, calling for urgent measures to protect its ecosystem.
This was reflected in a press release issued today by the press office of the Kazakh president.
Speaking at the first Caspian Environmental Summit in Turkmenistan, Tokayev thanked Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov for initiating the meeting, describing it as historic given the Caspian Sea's strategic importance to the region.
“The Caspian is a unique natural treasure, a source of prosperity for millions of people, and a key transport and energy hub of the entire Eurasian continent. Therefore, preserving the Caspian Sea ecosystem requires special attention, primarily from our states,” Tokayev said.
He agreed with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that the situation had become not merely an environmental crisis but, in essence, an economic crisis with potentially dangerous consequences.
“From 2000 to 2025, the total area of the sea's waters decreased by more than 16,000 square kilometers. In some areas, the coastline has receded by tens of kilometers,” Tokayev said.
He attributed the deterioration to declining water inflows, climate warming and human pressure, which are negatively affecting the sea's fragile ecosystem and biodiversity.
Tokayev also expressed concern over the fate of Caspian seals, whose population has fallen from one million to 270,000 over the past century.
He warned that without urgent and decisive action, the environmental situation would deteriorate rapidly, causing irreparable damage to the peoples of the Caspian littoral states and the wider international community.
