BAKU, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijan has voiced concern over the rapid decline of the Caspian Sea water level, which has a severe impact on port infrastructure and oil transportation, and poses a catastrophic risk to sturgeon and seal populations, local media reported, quoting a senior official.
Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Rauf Hajiyev noted that the level of the Caspian has fallen by almost one meter over the past five years, by 1.5 meters in the last decade, and by 2.5 meters in the past 30 years, local Media.az agency reported.
The impact has already been felt in Azerbaijan's capital, where ships face increasing difficulty manoeuvring in Baku port. This is reducing cargo capacity and driving up logistics costs, Hajiyev said.
Environmental concerns are mounting as well. Shrinking coastlines are destroying wetlands and lagoons, while sturgeon populations are being cut off from traditional spawning grounds. Caspian seals, dependent on northern ice fields for breeding, could lose more than 80 percent of their habitats if the sea recedes by another five meters.
The reasons behind the decline remain contested. Russia attributes the trend to climate change, while Azerbaijan also points to dams built along the Volga River, which provides 80 percent of the Caspian's inflow. The two countries formed a joint working group earlier this year and are preparing a shared program to monitor and mitigate the crisis. ■
