Azerbaijan sounds the alarm over shallowing of Caspian Sea

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Azerbaijan sounds the alarm over shallowing of Caspian Sea

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alt="FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of the Caspian Sea near the city of Baku through the window of an airplane, in Baku Azerbaijan May 27, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo"/>

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of the Caspian Sea near the city of Baku through the window of an airplane, in Baku Azerbaijan May 27, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

Transportation

BAKU - Rapid falls in the level of the Caspian Sea are affecting ports and oil shipments and threatening to inflict catastrophic damage on sturgeon and seal populations, according to Azerbaijani officials.

The Caspian, the worlds largest salt lake, holds significant offshore oil reserves and is bordered by five countries that are all major producers of oil or gas or both: Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan.

Azerbaijans Deputy Ecology Minister Rauf Hajiyev told Reuters that the sea had been getting shallower for decades, but figures showed that the trend was accelerating.

Its level has fallen by 0.93 metres (3 ft) in the past five years, by 1.5 metres in the last 10, and 2.5 metres in the past 30, he said in an interview, estimating the current rate of decline at 20-30 cm per year.

The retreat of the coastline changes natural conditions, disrupts economic activity and creates new challenges for sustainable development, said Hajiyev, who represents Azerbaijan in a joint working group with Russia that met for the first time in April to discuss the problem.

Despite worsening relations between the two countries, according to the protocol signed between the two countries the working group plans to approve a joint programme online in September for monitoring and responding to the issue.

Russia links the problem mainly to climate

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