Today, the III Caspian Economic Forum, which brought together delegations from the five Caspian littoral states - Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan, began its work in Tehran. The main topics discussed were transport cooperation, ecology, healthcare, tourism, transit transportation, trade relations and the development of interaction in the banking sector.
At the fourth thematic session entitled "Environmental, Healthcare and Tourism Cooperation of the Caspian Littoral States", Vice Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zh.Sh. Aliyev made a report.
In his speech, he noted that strong cooperation has been established between the countries of the Caspian region in the field of environmental protection, where one of the important environmental issues on the agenda is preventing the shallowing of the Caspian Sea.
“However, in recent years, climate change has become more pronounced in our region, creating serious problems for the environment, economy, and social well-being. "Solving this requires joint action by all countries located on the shores of the Caspian Sea," the vice minister added.
In addition, as you know, the level of the Caspian Sea is subject to long-term, interannual and seasonal changes.
For example, since 2006, the level of the Caspian Sea has been decreasing - currently it has decreased by 1.9 meters.
Kazakhstan supported the initiative of the Azerbaijani side to establish a working group to study the decrease in the level of the Caspian Sea within the framework of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29).
As part of this initiative, an ecological sensitivity map was developed last year in the protected area of ​​​​the Kazakhstani sector of the Caspian Sea, which is an important tool for planning measures to prevent and eliminate oil spills, as well as developing strategies for preserving biodiversity in the region.
In addition, the Kazakh Research Institute of the Caspian Sea was established to study the environmental problems of the Caspian Sea.
"In this regard, we We are interested in strengthening Caspian scientific and research cooperation through the creation of a Caspian network of research institutes. It is necessary to strengthen the joint work of our scientists,” said Zhomart Shiyapuly. He also expressed gratitude to the Iranian side for organizing, holding and warmly welcoming today’s event.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/ecogeo/press/news/details/939830