Azernews.Az

By Seymur Aliyev

Scholars from the Caspian Sea littoral states should not work on their own and have to develop common scientific approaches to solve the environmental problems facing the resource-rich basin shared by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran, a Russian researcher has said.

Boris Golubov, a senior researcher at the Institute of Geosphere Dynamics of Russia's Academy of Sciences (RAS), told a Baku-Moscow-Astana multimedia teleconference that it is necessary to adopt a new protocol within the Tehran convention on the protection of the Caspian's marine environment in order to develop a new common policy on protection of the sea and create a unified monitoring system of the seabed.

Addressing the teleconference, which was dedicated to the 19th anniversary of the Tehran convention, Golubov noted that the rich hydrocarbon reserves of the Caspian Sea attract an increasing number of oil companies. He also stressed the increasing militarization of the region.

Azerbaijan also expressed its concern over the Caspian Sea's pollution. Protection of the Caspian from pollution from land-based sources and rivers flowing into it is the most important issue, an Azerbaijani environment ministry official said at the videoconference.

Rasim Sattarzade, head of the Department of Environmental and Conservation Policy at the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, said Azerbaijan has done extensive work on the modernization of existing and construction of new sewage treatment plants along the Caspian coast.

"In addition, construction of a new wastewater treatment plant is underway in Sumgayit. Treatment facilities will be set up in all parts of the country as a result of this work," Sattarzade said.

He said the main purpose of the Tehran convention is to reduce the pollution of the Caspian Sea, to take measures on protecting the sea from pollution caused by vessels, to protect its biodiversity and to jointly monitor the basin.

According to him, hydrocarbon production is not the main cause of pollution of the Caspian Sea.

"Oil has to be produced, but the risks have to be reduced through the use of modern technologies and methods of control," Sattarzade said.

Russia offers to create a common monitoring system of the Caspian states, Aleksey Kuchenko, a remote sensing expert, said during the multimedia videoconference.

"Each Caspian coastal country should conduct local cosmic analysis. For example, in Russia, the analysis is carried out by request of Lukoil company. In the framework of the Convention, it is possible to integrate these systems into a single one," Kuchenko said.

According to him, this initiative could be capital intensive but it will open up new opportunities for researching process in the Caspian Sea region.

Chairman of Kazakhstan's Environmental Union of Associations and Enterprises, Tabigat, (Nature), Mels Eleusizov, believes that the convention for the protection of the Caspian environment is not enforced effectively.

"I believe that the Convention on the Caspian Sea does not fully work and all meetings on the sea [related issues] are just talks," Eleusizov said during the teleconference.

Eleusizov said that the main threat to the Caspian is oil production. The problem with the protection of its environment is currently underestimated by the Caspian littoral countries.

He said it should be taken into account that the Caspian is a large lake and it will not be purified in case of contamination.

Eleusizov added that it is necessary to close obsolete oil wells that are dangerous. He recalled that during the Soviet period the Caspian was a prohibited area, but extensive oil production began in the basin after oil reserves were discovered.

"There was an accident on [Kazakhstan's giant] Tengiz field in the Soviet period," he said. "A well had been burning for 14 months. We faced difficulty while extinguishing it with the help of other countries."

"We were surprised that there is no protection for the Caspian Sea," he said. 'While developing Kashagan [oil field in Kazakhstan], thousands of kilometers of pipes had been laid. Around 40 islands were created. If an accident happens, it will be impossible to extinguish it."

The expert also said there is still a problem of preserving sturgeons and protecting seals in the Caspian.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Tuesday voiced his opinion about Caspian pollution. Answering a question about BP's possibly polluting the Caspian Sea, Mehmanparast said this issue is under strict control of the coastal states.

"There are conventions between the Caspian littoral states, and these conventions include the issues of ecosystem and environment. The pollution issue has been carefully addressed, and specific measures are being taken to stop the pollution of the Caspian Sea," Mehmanparast said.

He added that oil companies follow strict rules regarding their operations in the Caspian, and they will not be allowed to spread pollution.