Oil contamination of the Caspian Sea

The Caspian Enviroment Programme (CEP), financed by EU/Tacis, was carried out in the time period from beginning 1998 until end 2001. The project was implemented by the project co-ordination unit and four thematic centers. DHI Water & Environment (DHI) maneged the Caspian Center for Pollution Control (CCPC) in Baku, Azerbaijen, and in the last 1,5 year of the project also the Water Level Fluctuation Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The German company ERM-Lahmeyer was oroject leader and managed the PCU and the Caspian Center for Combating Desertification in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and another German company GOPA managed the Caspian Center for Bioresources in Astrakhan, Russian Federation.Parallel to the EU/Tacis project an UNDP/WB/GEF financed CEP project was carried out. One of the goals of the CCPC was to collect data to preepare an estimate of the pollution input to the Caspian Sea. In addition, proposals for reduction of these pollution discharges were prepared with the overall goal of improving the environmental conditions of the Caspian Sea. Thise paper presents an estimate of the sources of oil input to the Caspian Sea and highlights the major problems in relation to oil polution in the Caspian Sea region. The present study is based on infor,ation from literature, interviews, site visits, correspondence, and questionnaires.