04 November 2003 10:04
Iran: Caspian Sea littoral states reach agreement on environment
Tehran, Nov 4: Participants in the conference of plenipotentiaries for the adoption and signature of the framework
convention for the protection of the marine environment of the Caspian Sea expressed their final agreement with the
convention to protect the sea here Tuesday [4 November]. Ministers and senior officials from the five littoral states,
namely Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, made the final elaborations on the convention in the
Tuesday morning meeting of the Conference which was supervised by the Iranian Vice-President and Head of Department of
Environment, Dr. Ma'sumeh Ebtekar. The finalized document is expected to be officially signed this evening.
Once signed, the convention will be the first document to legally bind five littoral countries to coordinate efforts
to save and protect the marine environment of the Caspian Sea and pave the way for setting up a legal regime for the
sea. The two-day conference kicked off here Monday with the inaugural speech of Mrs Ebtekar. The ground breaking
convention, the first legally binding treaty on any subject to be adopted by the five neighbours, will coordinate
regional efforts to reverse an environmental crisis brought about by habitat destruction, pollution and the
over-exploitation of fish and other marine life. The Caspian Sea is under severe stress from industrial pollution, toxic
and radioactive wastes, agricultural run-off, sewage, leaks from oil extraction and refining, uncontrolled fishing of
caviar-producing sturgeon, the over-exploitation of other marine resources, and the destruction of the region's
biological diversity, which includes some 400 species unique to the Caspian. The Convention will commit its member
governments to preventing and reducing pollution, restoring the environment, using the sea's resources in a
sustainable and reasonable manner, and cooperating with one another and with international organizations to protect the
environment.
Specific issues addressed by the Convention include pollution from land-based sources, seabed activities, vessels,
dumping, invasive alien species, environmental emergencies, marine living resources, sea-level fluctuation,
environmental impact assessments, monitoring, research and development, and the exchange of information. Deputy
Executive Director of the United Nations environment programme Shafqat Kakakhel [as received] is also participating in
the conference.
[IRNA web site] |
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