Vital Caspian Graphics 2

Imported problems

Discharge of selected pollutants

from analysis of data from selected cases. They provide an indication of accumulated pollution. For example, traces of the pesticide DDT in fish tissue and seals lead to the conclusion that DDT may be still in use despite an international agreement to stop its application, with the risks it involves for animals and humans. Azerbaijan, Iran and Kazakhstan have ratified or adhered to the Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and Russia has signed it. The convention seeks to ban chemicals that are absorbed by fatty tissue and accumulate there, as is the case for DDT, enabling them to travel long distances. The drastically restricted use of DDT raises a new problem: the unused material is stockpiled without the necessary safety measures, and as such poses an additional health and environmental hazard. The accumulation of pollution from all these different sources and the fact that several countries are involved makes it particularly difficult to manage.

V

V

b a

b a

o l g

o l g

m

m

E

E

a

a

The Volga, the main river flowing into the Caspian, brings polluted water from locations as far as 3 500 kilometres away. Nearly 45 per cent of the Russian industry and 50 per cent of its agricultural production are located in the vast river basin. Inadequately treated waste water – among others from the entire Moscow urban area and industrial centres such as Ekaterinburg and Perm – spills into tributaries of the Volga. Any waste that does not silt up behind a dam or soak into the Volga estuary ends up in the Caspian. The situation at the mouth of the Kura-Araks River on the Absheron Peninsula is similar, with a rising pollution load accumulating on the way through Georgia and Armenia. It then combines with the waste from two-thirds of Azerbaijan’s industrial production and more than a third of its population. The wastewater

KAZAKHSTAN

KAZAKHSTAN

RUSSIA

RUSSIA

AZERBAIJAN

AZERBAIJAN

K u r

K u r

k s

k s

r a

r a

a

a

A

A

TURKMENISTAN

TURKMENISTAN

k

k

a

a

r

r

t

t

A

A

IRAN

IRAN

treatment facilities serving the major urban areas of Baku and Sumgait are not up to the task, unable to cope with the rapidly growing population. Air quality has generally improved in recent years, mainly because industrial production has dropped drastically since the collapse of the Soviet economic system. But increasing emissions from the expanding oil and gas sector, and a growing number of cars in cities, not only affect the health of local people but contribute to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, in turn driving observed trends in global warming. The type and severity of pollution must be deduced

V

V

b a

b a

o l g

o l g

m

m

E

E

a

a

Discharge of selected pollutants

Astrakhan

KAZAKHSTAN

KAZAKHSTAN

Astrakhan

RUSSIA

RUSSIA

RUSSIA

RUSSIA

Makhachkala

Makhachkala

Aktau

Aktau

KAZAKHSTAN

KAZAKHSTAN

AZERBAIJAN

AZERBAIJAN

K u r

K u r

Baku

a

a

TURKMENISTAN

TURKMENISTAN

Baku

k

k

a

a

r

r

t

t

AZERBAIJAN

A

A

IRAN

IRAN

Turkmenbashi

AZERBAIJAN

Turkmenbashi

Khazar

Khazar

TURKMENISTAN

TURKMENISTAN

Guilan

Guilan

800 000 Tonnes per year

IRAN

IRAN

Mercury

Cadmium

150 000 85 000

Kilogrammes

5 640

Mercury

5 000

Source: CEP, Caspian Water Quality Monitoring and Action Plan for Areas of Pollution Concern, 2009.

0

200 km

Cadmium

1 000

Source: Caspian Regional Thematic Center (CRTC) for Pollution Control: coastal and offshore industry, Azerbaijan, Febuary 2003.

100

44

45