The framework convention for the protection of the marine environment of the Caspian sea

Abstract. There have been a lot divergent views as to the current legal situation of the Caspian Sea since the break-up of the Soviet Union including rules on the environmental protection. Until today mutual negotiations among riparian states have proved to be successful only regarding the issue of the protection of the Caspian environment. As is indicated by the name the ―Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea‖ it is aimed at environmental protection of the Caspian Sea. The Framework Convention includes states‘ general obligations related to taking individually or jointly all appropriate measures to prevent pollution of the Caspian Sea and to protect the environment of the Caspian Sea. The ‗framework‘ feature of the Framework Convention is supposed to establish a template for the ongoing diplomatic process to reduce the pollution arising from various sources in the Caspian Sea. Taken as a whole, the Framework Convention can be seen to mark a step forward in the riparian states effort to preserve the particularly fragile maritime environment of the Caspian Sea. 

Over exploitation, habitat destruction and pollution, threaten the natural resources of the Caspian Sea. There are also problems caused by water level change and greatly reduced fish stocks (especially sturgeon) in the Caspian. The introduction of alien fish species in the Volga-Don also poses a threat. In the face of a significant increase in concern regarding the poor condition of the environmental protection of the Caspian Sea it was necessary to take all appropriate measures to prevent further deterioration of its ecosystem. First legal step towards the mutual protection of the Caspian environment was adoption in 1994 of the Almaty Declaration on Cooperation of the Environmental Protection of the Caspian Sea Region.

There have been a lot divergent views as to the current legal situation of the Caspian Sea since the break-up of the Soviet Union including rules on the environmental protection. Until today mutual negotiations among riparian states have proved to be successful only regarding the issue of the protection of the Caspian environment. At the end of the conference in Teheran in November 2003 the Caspian littoral states signed a Final Act, of which the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (hereafter Framework Convention) constitutes Annex 2. The Framework Convention has entered into force on August 12, 2006 after being accepted by all Caspian littoral states. Until now two additional protocols Aktau Protocol (2011) and LBSA Protocol (2012) have been adopted.

As is indicated by the name the ―Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea‖ it is aimed at environmental protection of the Caspian Sea. The Framework Convention includes states‘ general obligations related to taking individually or jointly all appropriate measures to prevent pollution of the Caspian Sea and to protect the environment of the Caspian Sea.xvi Framework Convention developed procedural regulations serving the better implementation of the states‘ general commitments. It includes environmental impact assessment, technological and scientific co-operation between the contracting parties, monitoring, exchange and access to information.xvi The Framework Convention is constituted of internationally recognised principles, necessary to achieve the objectives of the Framework Convention and to implement its provisions. Also regulations concerning the prevention, reduction and control of pollution, as well as measures for the protection, preservation and restoration of the marine environment are part of the Convention. All these provisions establish obligations aimed at the abatement of pollution from different sources: from land-based sources, seabed activities, from vessels and dumping.xvi

The ‗framework‘ feature of the Framework Convention is supposed to establish a template for the ongoing diplomatic process to reduce the pollution arising from various sources in the Caspian Sea. In comparison with similar international Conventions and Agreements, the provisions of the Caspian Framework Convention are formulated in a rather vague way. Its geographic boundaries are not clearly defined, timelines are almost entirely absent from the Convention. The Framework Convention does not name specific threats to the environment of the Sea, not even oil being the most important source of pollution. There is no direct reference to existing in Caspian protected zones neither to the threat of overfishing of sturgeon or other endemic species. There is neither definition of the notion of ―rare and endangered species‖ nor the ―adequate emergency preparedness measures, adequate equipment, and qualified personnel‖ to respond to environmental emergencies are defined. The intention of the riparian states was to negotiate protocols on specific environmental issues of the Framework Conventionxvi, which would in more detailed way define the environmental protection of the Caspian Sea. Until today significant work continues in form of adoption of additional protocols to the Framework Convention – Protocol on Conservation of Biological Diversity and Protocol on Environment Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context – which shall operationalize its work. A serious weakness of the process of environmental law setting is that civil society organisations are not involved in it, however three of five state parties, being signatories to the Convention on Access to Information, Public participation in decisionmaking and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, are obliged to involve public.

Taken as a whole, the Framework Convention can be seen to mark a step forward in the riparian states effort to preserve the particularly fragile maritime environment of the Caspian Sea. The complicity of this matter caused a number of international players to be involved in the negotiations proceeding the application of the Framework Convention, for instance the Caspian Environmental Programme, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme as well as the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a joint venture of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank. The features of the Framework Convention are linked to the standard rules and norms of current international law, referring to the agreements concluded both at the international as well as the regional level. It has already been demonstrated by the UNEP Regional Sea Project, and will be seen in the following analysis. The Framework Convention can be classified as an example of regional regulations, which include treaties under the UNEP Regional Seas Programme and ad hoc regional and sub-regional arrangements for Europe and the Antarctic. As mentioned before, the preparations for the Framework Convention took place under the auspices of UNEP, which has clearly exerted influence on the approach between parties. The UNEP Regional Seas Programme, launched after the 1972 Stockholm Conference and the creation of UNEP itself, was aimed to develop rules and norms at regional level, xvi and now extends to thirteen regional areas.xvi The eight regional seas framework Conventions include substantive and procedural obligations, institutional arrangements and provisions regarding the adoption of protocols and annexes. The same structure is featured in the Framework Convention for the Caspian Sea.

The Framework Convention reflects a worldwide larger trend towards greater international regulation of environmental protection. Recognition and protection of the environment leads, on one hand to a considerable restriction of state sovereignty, and on the other, to the recognition of the values, by which all states are bounded, namely the protection of the environment. However, the Framework Convention explicitly reserves that any of its provisions ―shall be interpreted as to prejudge the outcome of the negotiations on the final legal status of the Caspian Sea‖ (Art. 37). Many references to the global and regional agreements which have built the legal basis for the Framework Convention, including provisions typical for seas as well as for international watercourses, neither refer to the future status of the Caspian Sea nor disclose states‘ official position on the status.

The Framework Convention has an important law-making role to play in the protection of the marine environment of the Caspian Sea. The adequacy of the Framework Convention shall be judged by its ability to protect the marine environment of the Caspian Sea. The rules for the protection of the marine environment, which include prevention, reduction and control of pollution, as well as protection, preservation and restoration of the marine environment, belong to most highly developed principles in the field of environmental law. The Framework Convention contains a set of regulatory methods, approaching pollution from different sources, with pollution from land-based sources, seabed activities, from vessels, pollution caused by dumping, pollution from other human activities and pollution caused by introduction of invasive alien species, as well as from environmental emergencies. Addressing a number of pollution sources, the Framework Convention refers to many internationally recognized rules, often of considerable specificity, pertaining to different bodies of water.

The Framework Convention meets all of the main internationally recognized standards relating to environmental protection. The legal and institutional structures of the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea meet the objective of protecting the fragile marine environment of the Caspian Sea.

1. Antonowicz, L., The Disintegration of the USSR from the Point of View of International Law, Polish Yearbook of International Law 19 (1991-1992).
2. Beazley, , Technical Considerations in Maritime Boundary Delimitations, in J.I. Charney und L.M. Alexander, International Maritime Boundaries, Bd. 1, 1993.
3. Bernhardt, R., Einfluß der UNSeerechtskonvention auf das international Seerecht, in: Das neue Seerecht, Prof. J. Delbrück, Duncker & Humbolt / Berlin (Hgb.) 1984.
4. Bodenbach, E., Die völkerrechtliche Einordnung internationaler Seen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Kaspischen Meeres, Peter Lang Verlag,
5. Buonanno, J., Caspian Sea Oil Management, The EDGE Journals, Publications of the Stanford Course Ethics of Development in a Global Environment E.297A,B,&C, I. Autumn: WAR &
6. Butler, E. The Soviet Union and the Law of the Sea, Baltimore MD [etc.]: John Hopkins Press, 1971.
7. Freestone, D., Hey, Origins and Development of the Precautionary Principle, in: E., Freestone, D., Hey, , The precautionary principle and international law: the challenge of implementation, The Hague, Boston, Kluwer Law International, 1996.
8. Gull, K., From the Historical geographical Researches of Caspian Sea, in: Izvestuja Akademii Nauk Azerbeidschanskoj SSR, Series of Geog.-Geology Sciences, Baku, 1960, Nr
9. Huttenbach, S.H.R., The Post-Soviet Conflict over Offshore Boundaries in the Caspian Sea and the New Littoral States, in: Blake (Hrsg.), Boundaries and Energy: Problems and Prospects,
10. Kembayev, , Die Rechtslage des Kaspischen Meeres, in: Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht 68(2008), 1027-1055.
11. Lagoni, R., Prinziple applicable to living resources occurring both within and without the exclusive Economic Zone or in zones of overlapping claims, Report of the Committee, International Law Association, Cairo Conference (1992).
12. Nash, J.R., Too Much Market? Conflict Between Tradable Pollution Allowances and the "Polluter Pays" Principle, 24 Harvard Environmental Law Revier 465,
13. Schweisfurth, , Das Recht der Staatensukzession. Die Staatenpraxis der Nachfolge in völkerrechtliche Verträge, Staatsvermögen, Staatsschulden und Archive in den Teilungsfällen Sowjetunion, Tschechoslowakei und Jugoslawien, C.F. Müller (1996), Berichte der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Völkerrecht, 35/1996.
14. Vinogradov , Wouters P., The Caspian Sea: Current Legal Problems, Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht, Bd. 55 (1995), S.604 ff.