TEHRAN – Iranian Department of Environment Chief Ali Salajeqeh in a meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev discussed preserving the Caspian Sea environment.

In a meeting held in Baku on Friday, the two officials emphasized the need for developing and deepening relations and cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

An Iranian delegation traveled to Baku to attend the sixth meeting of the conference on the protection of the marine environment of the Caspian Sea.Moreover, the parties insisted on preserving the environment of the Caspian Sea and Aras River and taking necessary measures to maintain the water balance and prevent the pollution of these water bodies, ISNA reported.
Salajeqeh, heading an Iranian delegation, traveled to Baku to attend the Sixth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (COP-6), held on October 19 to 20.

Caspian Sea environment endangered

The Caspian Sea is a unique natural reservoir on our planet. It is the world’s largest land-locked body of water, measuring around 392,600 square kilometers.

The Caspian basin has been isolated for over two million years and hosts a unique ecological system as a result.

Unfortunately, the Sea’s marine environment suffers from an enormous burden of pollution from oil extraction and refining, offshore oil fields, and huge volumes of untreated sewage and industrial waste.

Waste management in the Caspian Sea is on the verge of crisis and seriously threatens the Sea’s environment.

In addition to waste, leachate enters the sea through rivers or rainfall, and because the severity of leachate pollution is very high, it imposes a serious threat to the marine environment.

According to the Department of Environment, the Caspian Sea is in “critical condition” with oil tankers alone dumping over 120,000 tons of pollutants annually. Sewage from cities bordering the sea exacerbates pollution.

FB/MG