ABSTRACT
Over the past decade, much of the attention that has been focused on the Caspian Sea has been concerned with the political, economic and strategic aspects of extracting and transporting the region’s oil and gas reserves. Less attention has been devoted to the environment. Although reports on the catastrophic decline in stocks of the caviarproducing sturgeon or the unexplained deaths of thousands of Caspian seals have occasionally been the subject of dramatic headlines, the long-term problems of managing a delicate ecological system under conditions of intensive economic exploitation are deemed less newsworthy. Indeed, environmental considerations sometimes appear to be regarded as theoretical abstractions, unlike the serious business of ‘big’ politics and high finance. Environmental objections to pipeline schemes, for example, are often dismissed as ‘ill informed’, or even as being politically motivated. Such attitudes are not necessarily true of the major energy companies, most of whom take pride in the degree of environmental protection that they provide.1 Nevertheless, those who live outside the region and have no firsthand knowledge of local conditions often fail to appreciate the fragility and vulnerability of the Caspian ecosystems. Once harm has been inflicted, it is extremely difficult to repair. Moreover, environmental damage has consequences that impact directly on questions of national security. Severe degradation of the environment causes population movements, contaminates food supplies and hinders economic productivity. It also influences relations with neighbours, since many environmental issues in the Caspian Sea are transboundary in nature. Thus, an analysis of the political, economic and security outlook for the Caspian states must take account of these factors.
