Turkmenistan OKs documents on Caspian Sea's delimitation, protection
By Aynur Karimova
The Turkmen Parliament reviewed and approved a draft decree ratifying the agreement on delimitation of the Caspian Sea's bottom between Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan on May 23.
The agreement was signed between the two countries on November
7, 2014 with an aim “to ensure favorable conditions for realization
of sovereign rights on the development and use of resources of the
bottom and subsoil of the Caspian Sea.”
The document expresses conviction that the agreement will
facilitate the further strengthening of good-neighborliness and the
development of mutually beneficial and equal cooperation between
the parties.
The document also said the bottom and subsoil of the Caspian Sea
are delimited between the parties along the line, which is based on
the median line taking into account the principles and norms of
international law, as well as the parties’ agreement.
The parties, in line with international and national environmental
norms, requirements and standards, exercise sovereign rights within
their sections of the bottom for the purpose of exploration,
development and use of the resources of the bottom and subsoil of
the Caspian Sea.
They also exercise sovereign rights for the laying of cables and
pipelines under the Caspian Sea, the creation of artificial
islands, dams, piers, platforms and other engineering structures,
as well as for carrying out other legitimate economic activities on
the bottom.
In July 1998, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to implement sovereign rights for subsoil use, and the protocol to this agreement was signed in May 2002. Agreements on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and the protocol were signed on November 29, 2001 and February 27, 2003 respectively.
Also, an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea was signed by Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia May 14, 2003.
Protocol on biological diversity approved
The Parliament also reviewed and approved a draft decree on the ratification of a Protocol on Biological Diversity to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea.
The protocol was signed in 2014 at one of the forums held in Ashgabat.
This document is expected to contribute to the development of the protected areas and the protection of rare species of biological diversity at the national and regional levels.
The Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland water reservoir not linked to any world ocean, is home to about 141 fish species. It is unique for preserving various relict flora and fauna, including the world's largest shoal of sturgeon.
The legal base for the protection of the Caspian Sea is the UN Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (Tehran Convention), signed in 2003.
The Framework Convention was the first legally binding regional agreement signed by all the five Caspian littoral states, laying out general requirements and an institutional mechanism for environmental protection in the resource-rich Caspian region.
Today this resource-rich water reservoir still awaits a solution for its ecological problems, which have occurred as a result of the development of hydrocarbon reserves in the sea and its surrounding areas, high density of population and industry in the adjacent areas, intensive agricultural development in valleys which have rivers flowing into them, and the fact that it is a closed basin.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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