By: Bahman Aghai Diba, PhD Int. Law
Bdiba@aol.com

The Caspian Sea is in serious environmental danger. Iran has a small share from polluting point of view, but it gets a much extensive part of pollution created by other countries because of the sea currents in the Caspian Sea. Russians are the greatest polluters. They create 80% of the Caspian pollution. After that, Azerbaijan is producing some of the worst kinds of pollutions because of their outdated oil refineries and other oil installations in the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are after Azerbaijan in the pollution production.

According to the report of the Energy Information Administration in 2000: Untreated waste from the Volga River, into which half the population of Russia - and most of its heavy industry - drains its sewage, empties directly into the Caspian Sea. Oil extraction and refining complexes in Baku and Sumgayit in Azerbaijan are major sources of land-based pollution, and offshore oil fields, refineries, and petrochemical plants have generated large quantities of toxic waste, run-off, and oil spills. In addition, radioactive solid and liquid waste deposits near the Gurevskaya nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan are polluting the Caspian as well… The impact on human health has been measurable, and the Caspian's sturgeon catch has decreased dramatically in recent years, from 30,000 tons in 1985 to 13,300 tons in 1990 and then to as low as 2,100 tons in 1994. ( http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/caspenv.html).

Local and international environmental groups point out that the Caspian’s ecosystem has already suffered decades of abuse from the Soviets, and is fragile and in need of recovery; not additional stress. Decades of lax environmental controls have dumped dangerous toxins into the Volga River, the main source of the Caspian and into the sea itself. Scientists estimate that each year an average of 60,000 metric tons of petroleum byproducts, 24,000 tons of sulfites, 400,000 tons of chlorine and 25,000 tons of chlorine are dumped into the sea. Concentrations of oil and phenols in the northern sea are four to six times higher than the maximum recommended standards. Around Baku, where oil drilling and industrialization have been happening for almost a century, these pollutants are ten to sixteen times higher (Rachel Neville, Environmental Protection in the Caspian Sea: Policy constraints and Perception. http://www.Caspianstudies.com/article/article-E.htm).

The Caspian sturgeon and the Caspian seal, one of two freshwater species in the world, have been dying in large numbers as a result of polluters or poachers, who have operated with impunity since the collapse of the former Soviet Union. "The sturgeon will be commercially extinct in two to three years," says a World Bank official. (Phillip Kurata, Caspian Ecosystem Menaced by pollution. http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr99/1999L-04-14-01.html ). According to a report by AP, dated 21 June 2000, thousands of seals have died in Caspian Sea ( http://www.millennium-debate.org/ind21jun.htm): "Thousands of dead seals have been found along Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea coast, in an outbreak that officials blame on unusually warm weather. But environmental experts say is connected to oil pollution. Workers have collected and destroyed the bodies of 11,000 dead seals, Galina Yeroshenkova, an Emergency Situations Agency official, said." Problems of Caspian Sea’s pollution can be divided into three types:

1. Chemical pollution by the running rivers.
2. Ecological problems, connected to the rise of the level of water.
3. Offshore oil industry.

The offshore oil industry in Azerbaijan sector of Caspian Sea has developed since 1949. On platforms "Neft dashlari" and "28 April" heavily developed productions and transportation of oil. At this time sulfuric oil for processing in refiners was transported to Baku from the Kazakhstan coast by tankers. As a result of oil flood during its production and transportation the level of sea pollution by oil exceeds allowable norm in some sites up to 20 times. Among the most polluted sites of Caspian Sea by oil are: Baku bay, Apsheron archipelago, Islands, Turkmenbashi, Cheleken, Mangishlak, Tengiz and other sites of oil industry. ( http://ruzgar.aznet.org/ruzgar/1-1.htm).

An encouraging sign has been a move towards greater cooperation in protecting the Caspian. Several initiatives have boosted regional cooperation in protecting the environment, including the establishment of the Caspian Environment Programme (CEP) in conjunction with the Global Environmental Facility. The overall goal of the CEP is defined as "environmentally sustainable development and management of the Caspian environment, including living resources and water quality, so as to obtain the utmost long-term benefits for the human populations of the region, while protecting human health, ecological integrity, and the region's sustainability for future generations." Report of the Energy Information Administration ( http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/caspenv.html).

I believe that the most important factor in endangerment of environment in the Caspian Sea is oil pollution and all other pollutions that come with it. Exploration and exploitation of oil and gas resources in the Caspian Sea is the main activity of the future all around the Caspian Sea. Therefore, a special attention to the oil pollution is necessary. Happily, the body of laws and regulations concerning the oil pollutions very advanced in the international law. The littoral countries have to agree to apply most of those laws and regulations to the environment in the Caspian Sea. For this purpose, they do not even need to wait until the whole issue of the Caspian Sea’s legal regime is solved because by that time, may be nothing much is left to take care of it. The most important instrument of the international law in this case is the 1973 London Convention (MARPOL) or the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. Generally the oil pollutions are the result of two main categories of factors: The operational or deliberate factors, and accidental or un-deliberate factors.

In the field of operational factors the "ballast water" has a special position. This is the water taken on by all kinds of ships, especially oil tankers when they are not carrying oil cargoes, to keep them operating smoothly. Naturally they throw the water, which is contaminated when they want to reload. This causes a considerable amount of pollution. 1973 Convention has very important articles for these cases.

The other documents that should be taken into consideration are:

1. Convention for Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft (Oslo 15 Feb.1972).

2. Convention relating to Civil Liability in the field of Maritime Carriage of Nuclear Material (1971).

3. International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation of Oil Pollution Damage (1971).

4. Contract regarding an Interim Supplement to Tanker Liability for oil Pollution (1971, CRISTAL).

5. International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil (London 1954).

6. International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (1960).

7. Offshore Pollution Liability Agreement (OPOL).

8. Tanker Owners’ Voluntary Agreement concerning Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (1969).

9. Agreement concerning Cooperation in Measures to deal with Pollution of the sea by Oil (1971).

10. Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Land-based sources (1974).

11. International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage resulting from Exploration for, or Exploitation of, Submarine Mineral Resources (1977).

12. Agreement relating to the Establishment of Joint Pollution Contingency Plans for Spills of Oil and other Noxious Substances (1974).

13. Agreement of Cooperation regarding Pollution of the Marine Environment by Discharge of Hydrocarbons and other Hazardous Substances (1980).

14. Protocol of 1984 to amend the International Convention on the establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage1971 (1984).

15. Tanker Owners Voluntary Agreement concerning Liability for Oil Pollution (T0VALOP).

In addition to the above instruments, which have a direct relevance to the issue at hand, there are other sets of regional and secondary documents that must be taken into consideration for the purpose of defining an effective regime for the protection of the Caspian Sea environment against various pollutants, especially pollution by oil:

1. Kuwait Regional Convention for Cooperation on the Protection of the Marine environment from Pollution (978), along with its protocols for on cooperation in oil pollution emergencies, and land based pollutions.

2. Parts of 1982 UN convention on the Law of the Sea which are related to marine pollution.

3. Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (1974).

4. Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution (1976) along with its protocols on Damping (1976), Cooperation in Emergencies (1976), Land-based sources of Pollution (1980) and Protected Area (1982).

5. Regional Convention for the Conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Environment (1982).

6. Convention for Cooperation in the Protection and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the West and Central African Region (1981), along with its protocol for cooperation in emergencies.

7. Agreement for Cooperation in dealing with Pollution of the North Sea by Oil (1969).

The future of the Caspian Sea depends on how successful will be the Caspian littoral states in finding of a suitable formulas out of all these documents for protection of the unique environment of the Caspian Sea. The most visible ways in this line are as follows:

1. The experience of the Kuwait regional Convention (1978), which has resulted in establishment of "Regional Organization for Protection of the Marine Environment" (ROPME) in the Persian Gulf, can be very useful in the case of the cooperation of concerned states in the Caspian Sea.

2. Most of general and important instruments regarding the protection of the marine environment, especially those related to the oil pollutions, have reached a stage that is called "mandatory." This means that all states have to be observe them, even if they are not directly party to them.

3. The Russian Federation is responsible for a considerable amount of pollution in the Caspian Sea. At the same time, it is signatory and party to almost all-important conventions in the law of the sea and pollution. The only point is that they do not consider themselves as committed to observe those obligations in the Caspian Sea. This approach has to change. The Republic of Azerbaijan, which is responsible of polluting the Caspian Sea by oil during the last 50 years or so, should accept the commitments to observe internationally recognized standards of prevention of oil pollution in these areas.

4. Out of the several thematic centers that are established by the CEP (Caspian Environment Programme) in the littoral states of the Caspian Sea, the Legal Center, which is in charge of preparing regulations, is in Moscow. I do not think that Russians are very interested in preparing regulations which most of them would address themselves. May be these centers should circulate among the concerned states, before becoming fully independent from the CEP.

5. The local oil and gas companies (like NIOC in Iran, SOCAR in the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Russian companies) should adopt special environment friendly policies in their activities in the Caspian Sea as opposed to their practices in the past and as a guideline for international oil companies. This in especially important because these companies themselves takes part in oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities in the other Caspian Sea states, in addition to what they do in their own states. Unfortunately, at the moment these local oil and gas companies are working under worst conditions in the Caspian Sea.

6. The international oil and gas companies, such as Mobil, Chevron and BP, which are active in the Caspian Sea area, and those which are planning to be present in the oil and gas scene of this area, should accept to observe the same standards of operations that they have in places like the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico, as far as the protection of the environment is concerned.

7. In preparing legal documents and operational standards in the Caspian Sea, due attention should be given to the current international regulations and standards regarding the special areas. In these areas (such as the Antarctic waters) in addition to the general rules and regulations designed to protect all environments, some particular regulations are in place because of the special geographical or physical characteristics of the areas. In the case of the Caspian Sea, the fact that this body of water is not really connected to the open seas of the world makes it imperative to have special rules and standards.

8. Establishment of "reception facilities" in certain parts of the Caspian Sea is a necessary action. As it was mentioned before, one the important sources of oil pollution in the marine environment is the ballast water. These reception facilities can receive water, which is mixed with oil residues, and return it to the sea after processing.

9. Establishment of oil and gas pipelines in the Caspian Sea should be subject to the internationally recognized standards for protection of the environment. There are many international documents that can be used as a guide, and these are some of them: The Agreement relating to the Transmission of Petroleum by Pipeline from Ekofisk Field and Neighboring Areas to the United Kingdom (1973), the Agreement relating to the Exploitation of the Frigg Field Reservoir, and Transmission of Gas there from to the United Kingdom (1976).

About the author:

Dr. Bahman Aghai Diba is a consultant on international law affairs for several US companies, and at the moment he is in Virginia. His new book: "The Legal Regime of the Caspian Sea, with special reference to Iran" is under publication.