Japan and the United Nations Development Programme are launching a $3 million environmental project in Kazakhstan to support the Caspian Sea and improve water monitoring, amid growing concern over falling sea levels and risks to regional trade routes.
The shrinking Caspian Sea is moving higher up the international agenda as environmental and economic concerns intensify across the region.
Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched a new $3 million environmental project in Kazakhstan aimed at supporting the sea and improving water monitoring systems.
Particular attention will be given to the North Caspian, which is directly linked to Kazakhstan’s Mangystau region, where declining water levels are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
The initiative will be carried out in partnership with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation. However, environmental concerns are only part of the story.
The Caspian Sea also plays an important role in the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, better known as the Middle Corridor, which has become an increasingly significant trade link between Asia and Europe.
Japan’s interest in the region reflects those wider concerns. Development of the route was actively discussed during meetings held under the “Central Asia + Japan” format last year, as Tokyo sought closer ties with a region gaining importance in global transport and supply chains.
Falling sea levels in the Caspian could eventually affect port operations, cargo flows and shipping along the route.
Scientists say the shrinking of the Caspian Sea is becoming one of the region’s most serious environmental challenges. Researchers link the decline to climate change, rising temperatures, increased evaporation, lower river inflows and growing pressure on water resources.
Kazakhstan has already warned that the situation may worsen. Vice Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mansur Oshurbayev has said water levels are expected to continue falling until 2050 and could approach minus 33 metres in the Baltic height system.
According to the ministry, the drop has already reached a critical level.
The new international funding comes alongside measures already introduced by Kazakhstan. Authorities have allocated around $2.1 million from a government reserve for research and preservation work linked to the Caspian Sea.
The funding will be used to purchase marine monitoring equipment as officials seek to improve forecasting and better understand how quickly water levels are changing.
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Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 28 September 2026. These are the top stories making headlines in technology.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has arrived in Washington for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on bilateral ties and key regional and international developments, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić resigned on Sunday, ending his second and final five-year term and paving the way for an early presidential election as the country prepares for a snap parliamentary vote on 25 October.
U.S. President Donald Trump has denied reports that he offered Iran sanctions relief and access to frozen funds in exchange for nuclear concessions.
Freight on the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway could soon move faster across borders after Georgia, Azerbaijan and Türkiye signed a new customs protocol aimed at cutting delays and streamlining transit.
Afghanistan and Belarus have agreed to expand health cooperation, with a focus on medicines, medical equipment and training healthcare workers, following talks between the two countries’ health ministers in Minsk on Tuesday (29 September).
Saudi Arabia is facing a widening security challenge from Yemen as Houthi forces consolidate recent territorial gains along the Red Sea coast and step up attacks on the kingdom.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence says its forces killed 28 fighters and captured 32 others in Nuristan after armed groups, including alleged Islamic State members, crossed the border from Pakistan on Saturday.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has captured a second U.S. military unmanned underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz, as tensions between Tehran and Washington remain high.
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