CRTC for Combating Desertification: Caspian Desertification



Natural Caspian deserts The aridity due to the lack of rainfall and the extreme summer evaporation around the Caspian Sea region is high. The desert has been developed on different rocks as marine sands, sandstone, limestone, granites and porphyries. Even the adjacent coastal areas on the Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan side due to the extremely low annual precipitation of less than 200 mm are desertified, despite the somewhat higher precipitation coming from the Sea. Syrosem soils and a xerophytic vegetation including shrubs as the endemic Saxaul determine the Caspian coastal desert. Those areas are habitats for animals as the waran, jackal, tortoise, rabbit, snake, and many insects. In northern Kazakh or Kalmykhian deserts large Wolfe and Saiga antelope populations are living. Especially on or around large marine sand plains large barchans sand dunes are occurring. Regional state of Caspian Desertification The Caspian region investigated by the Centre for Combating Desertification is a belt around the Sea from 50 up to 100 km. This area covers about 400.000 km². From this area about 325.000 km² (81,0 %) are natural deserts or other, further degraded types of natural landscapes such as large alluvial plains of rivers or older marine terraces. Especially in the past decades different regions and landscapes within the natural landscapes around the Caspian have been degraded. Nowadays about 39,0 % (about 125.00 km²) of this area must be classified as severely and very severely desertified. Deserts and desertification therefore are by no means an issue limited to the eastern part of the Caspian coastal zone only. Blowing out of sands of pipelines Geographical distribution of desertification around the Caspian The largest area with a high degree of desertification is distributed in Kazakhstan. This is due to the degradation of vegetation and soil by oil and gas production. Flooding processes from 1979 till 1995 and salinisation of new territories did a further important impact. The other littoral countries are sharing a bit more than half of the most affected areas. Most important factor in Russia mainly in Chernije Zemli (Black Lands) (Kalmykhian Republic) is wind erosion. The more humid coastal areas with rainfall of more than 600-1000 mm/year in Islamic Republic Iran and Azerbaijan are affected by the degradation of vegetation such as deforestation and water erosion. The very flat parts of southern Turkmenistan are strongly salinisated. United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification The United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (1996) defines “desertification as the land degradation”. The convention member states Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are developing National Combating Desertification Action Plans in order to tackle all environmental and socio-economic impacts of desertification. Local Caspian Desertification Action Plans The Centre in Ashgabad with its group members around the Caspian will be developing Local Desertification Action Plans to face the environmental degradation in the so-called Desertification Hot Spot areas as Apsheron Peninsula (Azerbaijan), Gemushan Coastal Region (Iran), Atyrau Ural-Delta Region, Aktau-Ozen Solonchak Region (both Kazakhstan), Chernije Zemli Region (Russia), Celeken Sand-Solonchak- and the Bekdash Sulphur-Mining-Region (both Turkmenistan). Main Causes of Desertification The Caspian desertification works undertaken in the frame of the Caspian Environment Programme address the current state of desertification, its main causes and the areas with the highest risks for further degradation of natural conditions. The main causes of desertification – not only around the Caspian – are Overgrazing from sheep, camel and cattle Cutting of vegetation Destroying vegetation and soil cover by construction Degradation of vegetation under oil and gas production Degradation of vegetation in recreation areas Salinisation of soils under wrong irrigation technologies and sea level rising Main types of desertification around the Caspian are - water erosion, wind erosion, degradation of vegetation and salinisation. Very often some types depending on the natural conditions (rocks, water regime, soil cover, man made factors) are combined. The map scheme shows an area from Russia (by desertification degrees) and Kazakhstan (by desertification types) Degree of Desertification in the Russia Caspian Region, 1998 Types of Desertification in the Kazakhstan Caspian Region, 1998 Desertification changes and risk in the Iranian Caspian Region, 1998