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 Home » Hot Archive » E-bulletin » 2001 » December |
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IN THIS ISSUE: COUNTRY NEWS ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC ADVOCACY CENTER
1. ICHTHYOLOGIST EYE CASPIAN
EXPEDITION Acording to D. Rahimov, the expedition detected 9 varieties of marketable fish in the Caspian, three sprats, two sturgeons and four carps. The Caspian Researcher vessel started its surveys in the eastern coasts of the sea from Tub Karakan Peninsular of Kazakhstan and then sailed to the neutral waters of Turkmenistan, the Iranian coasts, the western coasts of the southern Caspian and the western coasts of the central Caspian towards Astarkhan, Russia. The vessel was floating in the water 600-700 meter deep. The researches found only sprats in the Kazakh sector, where rocky landscape favor their breeding. Sturgeons and carps were found mostly in the Iranian waters. Fish was a rare phenomenon in the Azeri coasts, he says, some carps in Astara shores and sprats in the water depth bordering Absheron. No fish could be met in offshore oil production areas and some oil derrick bearing parts of the Kur plain. The expeditors witnessed a great number of abandoned fishing nets, not only in Azeri coasts, but in Iranian and Turkmen sectors of the Caspian. No data were available from the Russian sector of the sea. Bullheads that have no marketable importance were encountered in many places. The contamination of shallow parts of the sea was so apparent that the expedition avoided trawling in order to prevent the spoilage of trawls by nets of poachers in 50 meters of water. 2. President Khatami’s visit to
Turkmenistan "Turkmenistan and Iran are in one boat," Mehdi
Safari, Iran's special envoy for Caspian issues, said after talks in Ashgabat with Turkmen
President Saparmurat Niyazov.
1. CASPIAN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM
SPONSORED LAYING OUT OF A PARK AT KHATAI RAYON OF BAKU CITY 2. CASPIAN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM
CLINCHES CASPIAN AS VIEWED BY JOURNALISTS CONTEST Opening the awarding ceremony were CEP coordinator Timothy Turner and regional coordinator Bakhtiyar Muradov. MP Jalal Aliyev welcomed the participants in the ceremony and journalists were conferred valuable awards. Writing contest organized as part of the second phase of the "Enhancing media effectiveness in public coverage of Caspian problems" project was correspondent of the "Oil & Gas" magazine and "Azerpress" agency and the author of the Baku Ecology News bulletin Sevinj Heydarova for her article "Take off your hats, gentlemen, you are facing the Caspian". The second prize was won by Elchin Sultanov from the Zoology Institute under the National Academy of Sciences for "Caspian oil and monitoring issues" and third by Ulfat Ahmadova for "Caspian caviar: to be or not to be in 25 years". Under the conditions of the contest, the articles were to be compiled in a comprehensible manner to mirror the existing and expected problems of the Caspian in light of the economic, social and political situation in the region. According to spokesman for Ecores NGO Rafig Verdiyev, the articles were evaluated by independent and competent experts, including skilled editors, journalists and ecology specialists. The evaluation was conducted in 10 criteria under the CEP methodology. A bulletin was issued with the articles from the contest,
"The Caspian Sea: view of journalists", which will be handed out among
organizations and companies concerned. Attending the ceremony was minister for ecology and
natural resources Hussein Baghirov. 3. Presentation of a children’s
environmental film in Baku Presentations organized by NGO “Gulum” in November -
December brought together teachers from kindergartens, Ministry of Education, district
Educational Administrations, international and local NGOs, environmentalists, journalists
and parents of the children who took part in the production of film. There was a very
lively discussion on the film; its usefulness and timeliness have been highly marked by
the invitees. The film is made in Russian and distributed to NGO resource centers in Baku,
the Ministry of Education and a number of kindergartens and is sent to NGOs and NGO
resource centers in Russia, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Turkmenistan as well. 4. WE ARE READY FOR LIGUIDATION
OF OIL SPILLS, BUT NOT MATURE There are two services responsible for responding to the Caspian emergencies. The former is the Caspian Basin Emergency and Rescue Office, which had been involved in 24 undertakings to liquidate oil spills in, including those in the Black Sea and the Mingachevir Reservoir, since 1982. The latter is the Scottish Briggs Marine Environmental Services. Viewing the fact that oil spills stem primarily from harsh weather conditions, common means of their localization could not be utilized and alternative methods, such as burning spilt oil or using dispergents, to fight the spills should be considered in advance. However, the Azeri participants in the workshop firmly turned down the possibility of burning oil in the Caspian. According to the head of the SOCAR ecological service Agamahmud Sirajov, a commission has been set up to select out of the 9 dispergents currently used worldwide one that is applicable in the Caspian. M. Sirajov termed ecologically vulnerable zones of Azerbaijan as priority protection ones: Ghil Island, Shirvan and Gyzylagaj preserves, Absheron Reserve, the mouth of the river Kur, Nabran-Yalama, coastal areas of Khazmaz, Chilov Island north of the Oil Rocks, the Kura Rock, etc. There is no use explaining the seriousness of oil spills, which are not ruled out under the present-day intensified oil production. When in water, oil changes the biological composition of fish and raises fry mortality. The spills could adversely affect human health in recreation areas like Nabran, Yalama and Absheron Peninsula and lead to serious consequences in the Baku Bay, an area notorious for its degraded ecological status. Senior IMO pollution consultant John Ostergaard indicated
that each Caspian nation should operate a governmental body responsible for preventing or
responding to oil spills. A regional cooperation plan should also be devised among these
nations, Mr. Ostergaard said, underscoring the importance of joining the Oil Pollution
Preparedness Response and Cooperation Convention effective since 1990. According to him,
membership in this convention is free of charge, with the only precondition that a country
is to have a national plan on emergencies. It is noted that there is no oil spill response
plan approved by the government in Azerbaijan. The first national workshop on Oil Spill
Preparedness and Response was organized by the Caspian Environment Program and bp.
1. Announcement of a new RAMSAR
Site 2. The 9th International Seminar on
Caspian Sea In his message, President Khatami emphasized on using geo-economical facts for selection of the most convenient routes for transport of the region’s energy sources to the international markets. Cooperation, trust, sustained peace and just utilization of the resources of the Caspian Sea can lead to economical prosperity of the region, he added, and wished the Caspian to be turned into the Sea of Peace. Some 90 articles were received by the seminar's
secretariat, of which 65 were reviewed at 3. Direct loading of cargo from
vessels to railroad wagons started in Khazar Port in Eastern Mazandaran province Kazar Port is now connected to Persian Gulf ports by rail
and acts as a bridge for the North-South Corridor, which connects Helsinki to open waters
of Indian Ocean, via Russian Federation, Caspian Sea and Iran. Other CIS countries also
can benefit from the conveniences of the Khazar Port for transporting goods in and out
their land.
1. ALMATY: KIO under fire The newspaper claims that the Kazakh agencies responsible overseeing the nation's environmental protection laws are failing to make the Karachaganak Integrated Organization (KIO), meet the requirements, because it is under no obligation to adhere to the laws of Kazakhstan. KIO is comprised of representatives from Agip, British Gas, LUKoil and Chevron. Gazeta.kz asserted that a critical situation is developing, which may lead to an environmental disaster around the Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field [in West Kazakhstan Region]. The situation is said to be deteriorating because the Karachaganak Integrated Organization the main operator of the field, is failing to meet the elementary requirements of the environmental protection and sanitary legislation and the basic production sharing agreement. Gazeta.kz stated that the Karachaganak field was bringing numerous problems to Kazakhstan, alongside the millions in revenues it provides. The field is said to be having a particularly negative impact on Borili, Shyngyrlau and Terekti districts, which cover an area of 1m hectares, and on the bordering districts in Aktyubinsk Region and [Russian] Orenburg Region. The newspaper asserts that not a single environmental
protection facility has been built in the field. A compressor to dispose of the
concomitant gas by-product was to be constructed in 1998 but the facility turned out to be
inadequate. As a result, some 15-17 per cent of the stabilizing gas is flared off,
equating to about 3m cubic metres of gas a month.
1. ADOPTED TOTAL PERMISSIBLE
CATCH AND EXPORT QUOTAS OF CASPIAN STURGEONS Decrease of kilka stocks was mentioned at the Session. By 15.10.2001, a total of 58.8 thousand tons kilka was caught, which corresponds to 19.6% of total permissible catch (TPC). The causes of this situation are: decline of food supply, oil pollution, etc. To control the abundance of Mnemiopsis, a decision was adopted to introduce Beroe ovata into the Caspian. The parties agreed on share holding in the project pro rata kilka catches. TPC of Caspian kilka for the year 2002, was estimated to be 107 thousand tons (sine Iran). Sturgeon catches in the year of 2001 amounted to 813.9 tons (quota for 2001 was estimated as 891.4 tons): Azerbaijan used 69.6% of national sturgeon quota, Kazakhstan – 98.6%, RF – 91.1%, Turkmenistan – 93.9%. 96.2 million sturgeon fingerlings were released from hatcheries in 2001, 12.9 mln. in Azerbaijan, 18 mln. in Iran, 7.9 in Kazakhstan, 57.4 – in RF. Sturgeon quotas for fishing at the territory of RF were estimated as follows: RF – 394.56 tons, Azerbaijan – 19.69 tons, Turkmenistan 23.82 tons; quotas on caviar export (at the territory of RF): RF – 29.4 tons, Azerbaijan – 2 tons, Turkmenistan - 2.4 tons. Four delegations from the Caspian countries took part in
the work of the Session; delegation from Republic of Azerbaijan, headed by Tariel Mamedly;
Republic of Kazakhstan, headed by Nurlan Iskakov, Vice Minister of Natural Resources and
Environmental Protection; Russian Federation, headed by Alexander Moiseev, First Deputy
Chairman of State Committee for Fisheries RF, Republic of Turkmenistan, headed by
Meretgeldy Mamedov, Chairman of State Committee for Fishing Industry. Delegation from
Islamic Republic of Iran, headed by Sohrab Gilkolaei, Director of Shilat Research Center,
participated in the Session as the observer. 2. FISH PROTECTION ACTIVITIES OF
RUSSIA AT CASPIAN Multi-purpose vessel “ Fish-breeder Alexander Mescheryakov” intended both for transportation of sturgeon fingerlings to the sea and implementing fish-protection activities, made its first cruise to the North Caspian. SevKasprybvod officers detained 2 poachers from Dagestan. According to information provided by Press-service of
North-Caucasus regional department of Russian Federal Frontier Service, during the period
starting from announced moratorium at the Caspian, 1870 poaching cases were suppressed. In
the current year, coastguard confiscated 1,000 floating vessels, more than 1 thousand
outboard motors, about 871.7 km nets, 160 thousand illegal fishing gears, 200 tons fish
(including 98 tons of sturgeon), 399 kg caviar. 3. RUSSIA INITIATES ACTIONS IN
THE CASPIAN REGION This will call for establishment a permanent pentalateral
intergovernmental Caspian Center for monitoring conditions of the Caspian environment.
Such center, added Kalyuzhny, is intended to become an effective tool for nature
protection at the Caspian. “The closed Caspian ecosystem is extremely vulnerable,
therefore concern for this ecosystem should become mutual concern of five littoral states.
Otherwise damage to the sea will affect all littoral countries”, stated Victor
Kalyuzhny.
1. Turkmenistan Tightens Fuel, Energy Export Rules As before, the state trading corporation Turkmenneftegaz will act in the capacity of the seller on behalf of the fuel and energy complex, but now it must agree with the government the volumes, delivery dates and base prices of products offered for sale. Open trading (auctions) will be arranged and held weekly by the observer council, led by a government representative. The observer council will consist of representatives of the state exchange, customs, tax service and law-enforcement agencies working on a disinterested basis. The council will control progress in transactions and the execution of the purchase contracts. Under the new rules, all potential buyers of products
offered by the Turkmen fuel and energy complex must file an application and make a
monetary deposit to demonstrate the seriousness of their intentions. The collateral will
later be included in the payment for the purchased products. If the customer defaults on
the purchase contract and the deal is stalled, the seller retains the collateral.
International Academy of Ecology and Life Protection Sciences (IAELPS), Caspian Branch IAELPS was established in 1995 on the basis of the Caspian Fisheries Research Institute (KaspNIRKh), the oldest fisheries institution in Russia. The area covered by its activities include the Astrakhan Region, Kalmykia, Dagestan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkmenistan, Republic of Kazakhstan. The main goals of IAELPS/Astrakhan are:
e-mail: kaspiy@astranet.ru Please send us your contact information if you are interested in working together with an NGO, initiative group or Eco club in the Caspian region.
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