Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, speaking at the Caspian Environmental Summit in Turkmenistan, warned that the Caspian Sea is shrinking at an accelerating rate and cautioned of catastrophic consequences, infohub.kz reports.
Aliyev identified the declining sea level as one of the most serious problems facing the Caspian. "The decline in the Caspian Sea level has been ongoing for many years. Unfortunately, this process has noticeably accelerated recently, and the situation continues to deteriorate. A significant reduction in the water area is being observed. The total area of the sea surface has already decreased by more than 20,000 square kilometers. If the current trend continues, the consequences could be catastrophic," Aliyev was quoted as saying by Report.az.
According to the Azerbaijani president, the problem of the shrinking sea is not only environmental. He noted that the decline in the Caspian level is linked not only to climate change: one of the main causes is reduced river flow, as well as anthropogenic factors driven by economic activity.
"The decline in the sea level directly affects the interests of our states, impacts people's lives in coastal areas, the economy, and transport. We see the coastline retreating, the ecosystem changing, and problems arising in the operation of ports and other coastal infrastructure. As a result of the declining Caspian Sea level, about 30,000 hectares of land have formed in the Azerbaijani part of the Caspian alone," Ilham Aliyev said.