The Avaza Caspian Forum Linked the Sea's Ecosystem with the Security of Logistics Corridors
Caspian Sea Day at the Avaza National Tourist Zone was held in the format of a focused analytical session. The scientific and practical conference "Protection of the Caspian Sea Ecosystem: Regional Cooperation and Sustainable Development," moderated by Murat Atajanov, Director of the Caspian Sea Institute, highlighted the region's key challenge: falling sea levels and the degradation of its bioresources that impact the economic planning and security of all littoral states.
The discussion focused on the practical implementation of the Caspian Environmental Initiative and preparations for the Caspian Environmental Forum in Avaza. Yusup Sariyev, Head of the Caspian Environmental Monitoring Service, and Sakhetmyrat Mamedov, Head of the Scientific Department of the Khazar State Nature Reserve, presented data on the current state of the waters and the protection of Caspian seal habitats and valuable fish species, emphasizing the need to transition from one-time inspections to continuous digital monitoring.
The direct participation of the diplomatic corps gave the recommendations a documentary weight. The discussion was attended by the Ambassador of Iran, the Counselor of the Embassy of Azerbaijan, the Chargé d'Affaires of the Russian Federation, as well as the heads of diplomatic missions of Uzbekistan, Romania, the EU, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.
The negotiators linked the environmental stability of the sea with the reliability of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, as fluctuating water levels and coastal erosion are already posing risks to port infrastructure and reducing the transit time of goods between Europe and Central Asia.
International experts—UN Resident Coordinator Xiaojun Grace Wang, Head of the OSCE Centre William Leaf, UNOPS representative Simonetta Siligaton, IOM Regional Coordinator Serhan Aktoprak, and UNDP representative Farhat Orunov—proposed transferring scientific observations to digital platforms.
Mahir Aliyev, Coordinator of the Interim Secretariat of the Tehran Convention; Heydar Fersoyn, FAO representative; and Sergey Makarov, GIZ project manager, proposed establishing a Caspian Scientific Partnership and using artificial intelligence technologies to forecast climate risks.
Building on the Turkmen initiative to establish a Regional Climate Change Technology Center, it is planned to unite scientific institutions, international law, and financial instruments into a single mechanism for protecting the Caspian Basin.
