Kazakhstan says it has allocated $2.2 million to strengthen scientific monitoring of the Caspian Sea amid growing concern over falling water levels, biodiversity loss and rising industrial pressure on the world’s largest inland body of water.
The funds will be used to purchase equipment for offshore monitoring and to upgrade hydrobiological and hydrochemical laboratories. According to the government, the investment will allow the institute to move towards comprehensive monitoring directly in the sea’s waters, including systematic observation of hydrometeorological and biological indicators, strengthening the scientific basis for policy decisions.
At the same time, the institute says it's expanding international cooperation by joining the Association of Universities and Research Centres of Caspian littoral states. The Cabinet of Ministers has stressed that without coordinated action among all countries bordering the sea, effective conservation measures will remain difficult to achieve.
The project is under direct government oversight. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has instructed the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources to ensure the full implementation of Caspian-related research, while the Ministry of Finance has been tasked with strict control over the targeted use of the allocated funds.
The Caspian Sea remains a strategic natural asset for Kazakhstan. With a coastline stretching 2,320 km, the longest among all Caspian states, the country bears particular responsibility for the condition of the sea, which plays a significant role in the economic and social development of western regions.
Scientific assessments point to increasingly alarming trends. According to Kazakh researchers, the level of the Caspian Sea is showing a persistent decline and could approach minus 33 metres by 2050, while a drop to minus 28.5 metres is already considered critical for both the ecosystem and maritime economic activity.
Environmental experts link the degradation to climate change, reduced river inflows due to water regulation, expanding oil extraction and transportation, and pollution from ships’ ballast water. Scientists warn that continued sea level decline could have irreversible consequences for the region, prompting growing calls for a multinational conservation coalition involving all five Caspian states to prevent the sea from following the path of the Aral Sea.
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