Caspian at risk: Azerbaijan leads call for stronger regional cooperation

Azerbaijan has called for enhanced regional cooperation to tackle growing environmental threats to the Caspian Sea, as the United Nations introduces stricter cross-border environmental assessment protocols for the region, AzerNEWS reports, citing an Euronews article.

At UN discussions in Geneva, Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, joined senior officials and environmental experts to highlight governance challenges affecting the world’s largest enclosed body of water. Delegates emphasized the importance of long-term monitoring, improved scientific data, and closer coordination among Caspian littoral states and international partners.

The renewed diplomatic focus coincides with the adoption of a new Protocol on Environmental Impact Assessment under the Tehran Convention, which requires that major infrastructure projects in the Caspian region — including oil and gas facilities, pipelines, power stations, dams, transport corridors, and large-scale water transfers — undergo cross-border environmental assessments upon request from any other littoral state. Such assessments must be publicly available, and affected states must approve projects before construction proceeds.

“The Caspian Sea is coming under increasing pressure from the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution,” said Arnold Kreilhuber, Director of UNEP’s Regional Office for Europe. “Regional cooperation is vital. The Tehran Convention… can unite efforts to help ensure we protect this unique body of water and the communities and species that depend on it.”

The Tehran Convention, formally known as the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea, provides the governance framework for regional cooperation. Signed by all five Caspian littoral states — Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan — it aims to safeguard the marine environment and promote sustainable development. Its Secretariat is currently provided by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on an interim basis.

Since its adoption, the Convention has guided measures on oil spill response, land-based pollution, and biodiversity protection. A fifth protocol on environmental monitoring and information exchange is under negotiation to strengthen long-term sustainability efforts.

Experts warn that the Caspian Sea’s environmental decline could threaten both ecosystems and economic connectivity. The sea lies along key Europe–Asia energy and transport corridors, making its health critical not only to regional biodiversity but also to international trade and energy infrastructure. The new protocol brings the region closer to international environmental standards amid rapid economic expansion and rising industrial activity.

Azerbaijan’s engagement at the UN underscores its effort to elevate Caspian Sea protection from a regional priority to a shared international challenge.

By linking infrastructure governance with environmental responsibility, Azerbaijan is positioning itself as a reliable, forward-looking partner in safeguarding one of the world’s most unique inland seas.