MINISTRY OF ECOLOGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES OF AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC NATIONAL CASPIAN ACTION PLAN OF AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC DEVELOPED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE CASPIAN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM BAKU 2002 1 NATIONAL CASPIAN ACTION PLAN OF AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC (NCAP) The document was prepared by the National Working Group under the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Republic with the assistance of the Caspian Environmental Program Manager of the Group Ramiz Rzaev, Expertise Department Manager of MENR, M.A. of agriculture, an Honoured Agriculturist of Azerbaijan Republic Group Members: Sadagat Mamedova, the Manager of Bioresources Management Department of MENR Larifa Guseynova, the Manager of the Complex Environmental Monitoring Department of the Caspian sea Fuad Mardanli, D.M., Ministry of Health Manaf Suleymanov, M.S. of Geography, Environmental Society of Azerbaijan Talyat Kengerli, M.S., D.M., Institute of Geology of the NAS 2 CONTENT PAGES 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................5 1.1. Objectives of National Caspian Action Plan (NCAP) ..............................................................5 1.2 Connection of NCAP with TDA and SAP.................................................................................5 1.3 Connection of NCAP with PIPP................................................................................................6 1.4 Methods of NCAP elaboration...................................................................................................6 1.5 National status of NCAP............................................................................................................7 1.6 Process of revision and amendment of NCAP...........................................................................7 2. National conditions ......................................................................................................................8 2.1 National political situation and institutional arrangements........................................................8 2.1.1 Political and institutional arrangements....................................................................................8 2.1.2 Institutional arrangements.......................................................................................................8 2.1.3 Environmental legal and regulatory base..................................................................................9 2.1.4 Oil spill response..................................................................................................................10 National Socio-Economic Situation...............................................................................................11 2.2.1. Demography .......................................................................................................................11 2.2.2 National Social – economic situation .....................................................................................13 2.3 Perspectives and tendencies of the next decade.......................................................................16 2.4. National plans of investment in the environmental protection of the Caspian and economic development of the Caspian region................................................................................................17 3. IMPORTANCE OF CASPIAN SEA FOR THE COUNTRY................................17 3.1 The catchment basin of the Caspian Sea..................................................................................18 3.2 Zone of direct impact of Caspian.............................................................................................20 3.2.1 Land fund ............................................................................................................................20 3.2.2 Demography ........................................................................................................................20 3.2.3 Health..................................................................................................................................21 3.2.8 Quality of environment .....................................................................................................23 3.2.8.1 Air pollution......................................................................................................................23 3.2.10 Condition of the Caspian environment .................................................................................28 3.2.11 Pollution of the Caspian sea ................................................................................................30 3.2.12 Eutrophication.................................................................................................................32 3.2.13 Sediments........................................................................................................................32 3.2.14 Biodiversity of the Sea (Azeri sector).............................................................................33 3.2.15 Biodiversity of coast .......................................................................................................34 3.2.16 Sea Habitats.....................................................................................................................35 3.2.17 Coastal habitats ...............................................................................................................36 3.2.18 Specially Preserved Nature Territories ...........................................................................36 3.2.19 Bioresources....................................................................................................................37 3.3 Perspectives of the Caspian impact..........................................................................................37 4. MAIN PROBLEMS AND THEIR ROOT CAUSES.................................................38 4.1 Main existing and emerging transboundary problems.............................................................38 4.1.1 Decline in certain commercial fish stocks, including sturgeon: .......................................38 4.1.2 Degradation of coastal landscapes and damage to coastal habitats ..................................40 4.1.3 Threat to biodiversity........................................................................................................41 4.1.4 General deterioration of environmental quality................................................................42 4.1.5 Introduced species.............................................................................................................43 4.1.6 Contamination from oil and gas activities .......................................................................44 3 4.2 Main existing and emerging national problems.......................................................................45 4.2.1 Deterioration of human health ..........................................................................................45 4.3 Original causes and main reasons of the problems..................................................................47 5. STRATEGY AND MEASURES.......................................................................................48 5.1 Criteria of reasons ranging and determination of primary strategies and measures ................48 5.2 Long term strategies of elimination of original causes............................................................50 5.3 Urgent measures to eliminate original causes..........................................................................51 6. POTENTIAL OBSTACLES AND WAYS OF OVERCOMING .........................51 6.1 Political and institutional obstacles..........................................................................................51 6.2 Social, cultural and economic obstacles ..................................................................................52 6.3 Human resources and labor......................................................................................................53 6.4 Financial obstacles ...................................................................................................................53 7. THE RESOURCE ATTRACTION STRATEGY .....................................................53 7.1 National resources....................................................................................................................53 7.2 External resources....................................................................................................................54 8. MECHANISMS OF ACTIONS ........................................................................................56 8.1 Organization structure for implementing NCAP .....................................................................56 8.2 Schedules, objectives and progress indicators .........................................................................57 8.3 Public awareness......................................................................................................................59 Acronyms and abbreviations List of priority programs and projects to NCAP 4 1. INTRODUCTION Caspian Sea has a great importance for the lives of people living by its coasts. Being the biggest inland sea in the world, the Caspian Sea ecosystem affects essentially the formation of ecosystems of the surrounding territories’. At present the intensity of contamination exceeds the ecological capacity of the Sea. Therefore