Caspian Sea faces ‘triple planetary crisis’: Can new cross-border rules save it?

Azerbaijan has highlighted rising environmental threats to the Caspian Sea as UN introduces cross-border environmental assessments. The Caspian Sea is suffering falling water levels and biodiversity loss.

 Azerbaijan recently highlighted these growing environmental risks at the United Nations in Geneva, as new international rules governing large infrastructure projects around the region come into force. During UN discussions, Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, joined senior officials and environmental experts to draw attention to governance challenges affecting the world’s largest enclosed body of water. Delegates stressed the importance of long-term monitoring, improved scientific data, and closer coordination between Caspian littoral states and international partners. The renewed diplomatic focus coincides with a new Protocol on Environmental Impact Assessment under the Tehran Convention. The legally binding protocol requires major infrastructure projects to assess potential cross-border environmental impacts when requested by another Caspian state. The projects include oil and gas facilities, pipelines, power stations, dams, transport corridors and large-scale water transfers. Assessments must be publicly available, and approval from affected states is required before construction can proceed. 

Regional cooperation is 'vital' as Caspian Sea faces triple threat

“The Caspian Sea is coming under increasing pressure from the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution," Arnold Kreilhuber, Director of UNEP’s Regional Office for Europe, tells Euronews. "Regional cooperation is vital. The Tehran Convention, and its work towards an action plan to fight the Sea’s decline, can unite efforts to help ensure we protect this unique body of water and the communities and species that depend on it.” The Tehran Convention, formally known as the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea, provides the governance framework for regional cooperation. Signed by all five Caspian littoral states - Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan - it aims to safeguard the marine environment and promote sustainable development. The Secretariat of the Convention is currently provided by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on an interim basis. Since its adoption, the Convention has guided measures on oil spill response, land-based pollution, and biodiversity protection. A fifth protocol on environmental monitoring and information exchange is under negotiation to strengthen long-term sustainability efforts.

Caspian Sea decline could harm ecosystems and the economy

The protocol brings the Caspian region closer to international environmental standards at a time of rapid economic expansion. The sea sits along key Europe–Asia energy and transport corridors, making its environmental health crucial beyond the region. Stronger oversight is needed to prevent habitat loss, pollution and water-level fluctuations from undermining both ecosystems and economic connectivity. Azerbaijan’s engagement at the UN underscores its effort to elevate Caspian Sea protection from a regional priority to a shared international challenge. By linking infrastructure governance with environmental responsibility, Azerbaijan is positioning itself as a reliable, forward-looking partner in safeguarding one of the world’s most unique inland seas.