BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 9. Kazakhstan supports Azerbaijan’s proposal to establish an intergovernmental commission on Caspian Sea shallowing at the level of deputy prime ministers, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
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 said that although an international legal and institutional framework for Caspian cooperation was already in place, existing measures were insufficient to address the sea’s declining water levels.
He noted the importance of the Tehran Convention, which marks the 20th anniversary of its entry into force this year, and highlighted the contribution of the United Nations Environment Programme to environmental protection efforts.
Tokayev also said that the Caspian littoral states had approved Kazakhstan’s proposal to develop an interstate program for preserving the Caspian Sea’s water resources.
“It is time to move toward coordinated action to mitigate the effects of the Caspian Sea’s shallowing and help our economies and ecosystems adapt to the ongoing changes,” Tokayev said.
He also cited Kazakhstan’s environmental restoration efforts as examples that could be applied to the Caspian Sea. According to him, the area of the North Aral Sea has increased by 36%, improving water quality, restoring fish stocks and gradually reviving economic activity in surrounding areas.
Tokayev added that Kazakhstan had restored saiga populations, supported snow leopard populations and was returning rare animal species to their natural habitats.
He also noted that Kazakhstan was implementing a special program to restore the Turan tiger, thanking Russia and President Vladimir Putin for providing several Amur tigers that are now adapting to conditions in Kazakhstan.
