An international conference on the Caspian Sea organized on the initiative of Leila Aliyeva

At the initiative of the Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, founder and head of the IDEA Public Union Leyla Aliyeva, an international conference titled "Turning Point for the Caspian Sea: Transitioning from COP29 and UNOC 2025 Results to Actions for COP30" was held at the Baku Congress Center on October 2-3.

As reported by BAKU.WS, at the session that opened on October 3, presentations on the problems of the world's largest and unique closed body of water - the Caspian Sea - were made by the Representative of the President of Azerbaijan on climate issues, President of COP29 Mukhtar Babayev, Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Rauf Hajiyev, founder and director of the Great Whale Conservancy Michael Fishbach, Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Center under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Aliyev, Chief Operating Officer of the Baku International Sea Trade Port Eugene Seah, as well as Pascal Peduzzi, Director of the Global Resource Information Database of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), who joined online. They noted that declining sea levels, depletion of bioresources, degradation of coastal ecosystems, and pollution are challenges that cannot be solved by the efforts of a single state.

It was noted that the decline in the Caspian level observed in recent decades has created serious consequences for both coastal infrastructure and ecosystems. Over the past 30 years, the water level has decreased by 2.5 meters, negatively affecting fisheries, settlements, and ecosystem sustainability. The water recession creates new environmental risks, such as soil salinization and weakening of biodiversity. It was emphasized that the impact and consequences of processes occurring due to climate change in the globally significant Caspian Sea are regional in nature and can only be eliminated through coordinated measures, joint research, and mutual trust. The need to transform the results achieved during Azerbaijan's chairmanship of COP29 into practical steps was also particularly emphasized.

The event continued with discussions during which representatives of the COP29 Presidency, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), as well as specialized research institutions from various countries examined opportunities for regional cooperation in protecting the Caspian Sea, water resource management issues, and strengthening international coordination. Participants noted the existing challenges related to the ecological state of the Caspian and emphasized the importance of strengthening international scientific cooperation.

It should be noted that the purpose of the event, jointly organized by IDEA and the Caspisnet scientific network, was to gather specialized scientists and experts in marine ecology, sustainable aquaculture, hydrology, geographic information systems, and other related fields from more than 10 countries to exchange views on the dynamics of changing Caspian Sea levels, preservation of marine biodiversity and ecological balance, as well as jointly searching for solutions to the problem.

As part of the event, a trip for participants to Absheron National Park will also be organized to directly familiarize them with the rich biodiversity of the Caspian Sea.

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