Caspian Sea Basin

CE397: Transboundary Water Resources

L. White

Littoral states

113,800 (2)2,400Iraq

22,450 (12)37,600USA

94,390 (4)7,000Iran

51,220 (7)9,300Russia

273 (53)5,500Turkmenistan

2,709 (28)6,300Kazakhstan

586 (41)3,500Azerbaijan

Oil (proved reserves in 106 bbl)GDP per capita (USD)Country

Oil and natural gas basins

Pipeline politics

Environmental Issues

• Present

– Discharge and spills from oil and gas drilling– Untreated waste– Agricultural run-off– Overfishing

• Potential– Construction of new pipelines and infrastructures– Rise of the Caspian Sea– Political instability of the region

Caspian Environment Programme

• Aim of the CEP (1998):

“Environmentally sustainable development and management of the Caspian Sea environment, including living resources and water quality, so as to obtain the utmost long-term benefits for the human populations of the regions, while protecting human health, ecological integrity, and the region’s sustainability for future generations.”

Legal issues

• Currently: no multilateral agreement as to how to divide the seabed and the waters.

• Main problems:

– Iran claims that bilateral agreement between Iran and USSR is still valid

– Hinders development of legal framework for environment

– Sea or lake ?

Legal issues

• Many bilateral treaties (to share seabed and/or waters)

• Until general agreement, “median line” convention signed by Ru, Az and Kz

• Iran disagrees. It wants to equally divide the sea (20 % each)

• Tk disagrees. Method does not take into consideration geographical peculiarities

Legal issues

• Turkmenistan proposes the 45-mile division

• Rest of the sea is open for shipping

• Iran still wants 20 % of the sea

How would the lack of strict environmental regulations affect international companies (used to complying with laws) investing in the Caspian Sea Region ?

How would competition against local companies be affected ?

Discussion

Fishing constitutes the primary interest of Russia in the Caspian Sea whereas Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are focused on oil production.

The latter are less concerned about environment degradation than the former.

Given these divergent objectives, how could we provide the littoral states with coherent and practical environmental regulations ?

Discussion

One of the major investors in the region is the US. However, US law prohibits US companies to directly trade with Iran.

How canceling the embargo would modify the geopolitical landscape in the region ?

Discussion

As the new littoral states (mainly Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan) move toward free markets, is the state of the environment in the Caspian Sea more likely to improve or degrade ?

Why ?

Discussion

To what extent can we trust international organizations when it comes to environmental protection ?

Discussion