From December 4-6 this year, meetings were held in Astana as part of the World Bank's pre-assessment visit to prepare the project "Restoration of the ecosystem of the Caspian Sea: capacity building in the field of pollution management and conservation of biological diversity" ("Blueing the Caspian Sea"), funded by grants from the Global Environment Facility.
This project is planned to be implemented in three Caspian littoral countries (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan) with a total budget of $12 million and includes three main components: protection of the Caspian Sea from pollution; conservation of biological diversity; sustainable coastal zone management.
The negotiations were attended by employees of government agencies and organizations of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of the World Bank, the Interim Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (Tehran Convention) – UNEP, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and an expert from the UNDP Permanent Mission in Kazakhstan. Representatives of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Fisheries Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, RSE Kazhydromet and the International Water Assessment Center took part from the Kazakh side.
During the meetings, the participants discussed priority areas within the framework of the project, regional integration activities, national pollution management and biodiversity conservation activities. national and regional mechanisms for the implementation of the project.
The Kazakh side noted the importance of improving environmental and hydrological monitoring systems in the Caspian Sea, the development of research activities between the Caspian countries and joint work on the conservation of the Caspian seal population.
A seminar on aquaculture of the Caspian and Aral Seas was also held, during which a discussion was held on the sustainable development of aquaculture, the production and household chain in aquaculture. Representatives of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan presented presentations on the topic "The state and challenges for aquaculture". The participants also conducted group work on the creation of a roadmap for the study of aquaculture in the countries of the Caspian Sea basin and the countries of the Aral Sea basin.
As a result of the event, an agreement was reached to hold online meetings in January 2025 to finalize the coordination of the project components with each country separately.
In conclusion, the participants expressed hope for the successful implementation of the project in the Caspian Sea region and expressed gratitude to the Kazakh side for the hospitality.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/ecogeo/press/news/details/898742