Caspian in crisis: Azerbaijan urges action to avoid another Aral Sea disaster

The Caspian Sea must not become another ecological tragedy like Iran’s Lake Urmia or the Aral Sea in Central Asia, warned Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan's presidential envoy for climate issues, during the Astana International Forum on Wednesday.

Speaking to Report’s Kazakhstan bureau, Babayev announced that Azerbaijan has taken the initiative to convene a summit dedicated to addressing the alarming decline in the Caspian Sea’s water levels. The date and agenda of the summit will be made public in the coming weeks, he added.

“We have invited all Caspian littoral states to engage in consultations and open dialogue on this critical issue,” Babayev said. “Government ministries and agencies from these countries are already actively collaborating to finalize the summit’s scope and timeline.”

Babayev pointed to recent discussions at the Nevsky International Ecological Congress in St. Petersburg, where the shrinking of the Caspian was a key topic. Similar high-level talks are underway at AIF2025 in Astana, he noted, involving Kazakh officials and international bodies, particularly the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). These efforts are aimed at crafting a strategic response to what he called a “deeply troubling” regional challenge.

Babayev drew sobering comparisons to the environmental collapse of Lake Urmia and the Aral Sea — both of which have seen catastrophic desiccation and ensuing social displacement.

"The Caspian is now facing a similar threat, and this must galvanize us into collective action," he said.

Babayev emphasized that a cooperative, multinational approach—grounded in shared responsibility and supported by international expertise—is essential. UNEP’s guidance, he said, is playing a crucial role in helping the region develop mitigation strategies.

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, Babayev noted, are already working closely together to address the crisis.