Azerbaijan concerned about shallowing of Caspian Sea, country's official says

Rapid falls in the level of the Caspian Sea are affecting ports and oil shipments and threatening to inflict catastrophic damage on sturgeon and seal populations, Azerbaijan's Deputy Ecology Minister Rauf Hajiyev told Reuters, according to Report.

"Its level has fallen by 0.93 metres (3 ft) in the past five years, by 1.5 metres in the last 10, and 2.5 metres in the past 30," he said in an interview.

Hajiyev said the falling water level was already affecting the lives of coastal populations and the work of ports.

"The retreat of the coastline changes natural conditions, disrupts economic activity and creates new challenges for sustainable development," said Hajiyev,

He said ships are facing increased difficulties when entering and manoeuvring in the port of Baku, Azerbaijan's capital. This is reducing cargo capacity and raising logistics costs, he added.

Hajiyed also noted that the retreat of the waters was destroying wetlands, lagoons, and reed beds and threatening the survival of some marine species.

He said Caspian seals are also threatened by the shrinking sea area and disappearance of seasonal ice fields in the north, where they breed, he added.

"With a 5-metre drop in the sea level, seals lose up to 81% of their breeding sites, and with a 10-metre drop, they are almost completely deprived of suitable sites," Hajiyev said.