Caspian Sea: State of the Environment 2019

7. Response Countries are taking steps to respond to chal- lenges and address emerging problems, and giv- en the complexity of these problems, they are striving to pool those efforts. Оne of the ways in which they are doing this is by developing and strengthening international cooperation at the regional level. 7.1. Regional governance The current forms of international environmen- tal cooperation in the Caspian Sea region in- clude: • bilateral cooperation within the framework of relevant agreements • joint activities under multilateral environ- mental agreements The Tehran Convention, which entered into force in August 2006, is the international legal framework for regional cooperation in the field of environmental protection and sustainable management of natural resources in the Caspi- an. In accordance with the natural and interna- tional legal features that apply to the Caspian Sea, the Convention enables the introduction of modern forms of regional cooperation aimed at preventing, reducing and controlling pollution; protecting, preserving and restoring the marine environment; applying the Caspian Sea marine environment impact assessment; monitoring the marine environment; carrying out research and development; and sharing information. At the third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Tehran Convention in Aktau (Re- public of Kazakhstan, 2011), Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Turk- menistan signed the Protocol Concerning Re- gional Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in Combating Oil Pollution Incidents (Aktau Protocol 2011). This was the first protocol to be ratified by all Parties, and came into force in 2016. At the fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Tehran Convention in Moscow (Russian Federation, 2012), the Caspian littoral

states adopted and signed the Protocol for the Protection of the Caspian Sea against Pollution from Land-based Sources and Activities (Mos- cow Protocol 2012). At the fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Tehran Convention in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan, 2014), the Caspian littoral states adopted and signed the Protocol for the Conser- vation of Biological Diversity to the Tehran Con- vention (Ashgabat Protocol 2014). At the Fourth Caspian Summit (September 2014, Astrakhan, Russian Federation), the heads of the Caspian littoral states welcomed the entry into force of the Agreement on Security Cooperation in the Caspian Sea, signed in Baku in November 2010, and confirmed the need to continue efforts to develop cooperation. The Agreement on Cooperation in Emergency Prevention and Response in the Caspian Sea, the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Aquatic Biological Resources of the Caspian Sea and the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea were also signed at the Astrakhan Summit. Multilateral agreements signed by the Caspian littoral states at the Fourth Caspian Summit in- clude agreements on interaction with the Com- mission on Aquatic Bioresources of the Caspian Sea and with CASPCOM. In accordance with a decision taken at the fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Tehran Convention, a memorandum of under- standing covering interaction between CASP- COM and the Tehran Convention was signed. The twentieth CASPCOM Session (October 2015) recommended that monitoring of pollu- tion in the marine environment of the Caspian Sea and provision of hydrometeorological infor- mation for regular assessment of the state of the Caspian Sea should be considered as the main ar- eas for interaction between CASPCOM and the Tehran Convention.

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