Declining Caspian Sea Level Cause for Alarm

Mega structures being developed by the Caspian Sea littoral states (Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) on the tributaries of the sea will substantially decrease water inflow into the lake in the long run, an environmentalist and a researcher at the Research Institute for Forests and Rangelands based in Tehran has warned.
“Close to 200 dams and other huge structures (floodgates and levees) are being built on rivers which feed the lake and upon completion would take a toll on the world’s largest lake,” Mohammad Darvish was quoted as saying by ILNA at the weekend.
The Volga River (Europe’s largest in terms of discharge that runs through Russia) is the largest tributary of the Caspian Sea and provides 85% of its water (260 billion cubic meters a year), he said.
The sea’s water level has seen a dangerous descending order over the past 18 years and registered an unprecedented 22-centimeter drop in 2016, he said.