Recommendations for Creation of the Caspian PAs Network

The Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology has developed recommendations for the creation of protected areas in the Kazakhstani waters of the Caspian Sea for the conservation of the Caspian seal. The scientific research has been commissioned by the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan within the framework of the project “Structure, distribution and abundance of the Caspian seal population in the Kazakhstani part of the Caspian Sea during the regression period and development of recommendations for the Structure, distribution and abundance of the Caspian seal population in the Kazakhstani sector of the Caspian Sea during the regression period and development of recommendations for the species habitats conservation.” The recommendations were approved for printing by the Scientific Council of the Research and Production Center for Fisheries on March 16, 2023.

Recommendations for the creation of a protected areas network in the Kazakhstani sector of the Caspian Sea to preserve the Caspian seal population, Pusa capsica (Gmelin, 1788)

© 2M. Baimukanov, K. Isbekov, A. Shagilbaev, A. Baimukanova, Zh. Sydykova, T. Kuznetsova, C. Ryskulov, M. Sirajigdinova, D. Seitkozhina, A. Iskakov, Zh. Baimukanov.

Annotation

As a result of climate heating and the Caspian Sea regression, Caspian seals leave their historically used areas, moving to new ones, and the expansion of economic activity is a threat to habitat degradation. Based on the outcomes of researches carried out in 2015-2022, it is recommended to organise a state nature reserve in the Kazakhstani sector of the Caspian to stabilise and monitor the Caspian seal population abundance. Using this nature reserve, a network of protected areas should be created, and a flexible system for the protection of seal habitats should be implement. Such activities would be possible in case of the improvement of environmental legislation in Kazakhstan. For systematic work, it is important to adopt the National Action Plan and expand cooperation with the Caspian states in order to develop joint actions and, possibly, create a transboundary marine protected area for the conservation of the Caspian seal.

To download the document in Russian and Kazakh: Baimukanov et al., 2023.

Source: the Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology, Irgeli, Kazakhstan.