Dear Ladies and Gentlemen !

I welcome you at the workshop on “Assessment of Transboundary Priorities for Preservation of Biodiversity of Caspian Sea” carried out within the framework of Caspian Environment Programme.

At the present time, the government of our state believes, that evolvement of international cooperation in the environment protection area not only provides with significant political and economic benefits for Kazakhstan, but also facilitates favorable international relations among countries for resolution of transboundary problems.

Kazakhstan, as an independent state, persistently confirms its adherence to the ideas of environmental safety and sustainable development. Our Republic is a member of UN Commission for Sustainable Development.

We have signed final documents of UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio-92). We have become active participants of the process “Environment for Europe”. We have joint to most important international conventions. We have signed Issik-Kulskaya and Nukusskaya declarations (1995), which are oriented to the development of regional action plans for sustainable development of Central-Asia region. In these plans, the main emphasis is given to the problems of biodiversity conservation. Kazakhstan takes part in implementation of “European Strategy for Biological and Landscape Diversity”. There are some bilateral agreements in the area of environment protection, including biodiversity, with riparian states: Russia (1995), Azerbaijan (1997).

Ways for solution of regional problems are presented in Caspian Environment Programme. Its objective is evolvement of mechanisms for sustainable development of the region on the basis of riparian countries collaboration.

Among the most important components of CEP, there are issues on preservation of unique ecosystems and inhabiting place of endemic, rare and valuable species of flora and fauna, liquidation of the consequences of natural and anthropogenic effects on marine and coastal ecosystems of Caspian Sea.

Isolation of Caspian basin, its climatic regimes and features of salinity distribution have created unique ecological system. Around 400 species of biota are endemic in Caspian Sea. In wide rivers deltas, shallow waters and other wetlands, there are numerous birds populations, whose quantity increases many times during migration seasons.

• Reduction of resources potential both for marine and land ecosystems.
• Danger of disappearance of inhabiting places
• Decline of species diversity

• Excessive utilization of biological diversity.
• Lack of legal regulation for Caspian Sea on a regional level.
• Absence of integrated data base for the system of optimal management of marine and coastal ecosystems.
• Weak regional interaction for biodiversity preservation.

Solution of these issues requires coordinated, urgent actions of all countries of the Caspian region.