Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has warned that the shrinking Caspian Sea is becoming an economic crisis with potentially dangerous consequences, calling for urgent and coordinated international action to protect its ecosystem.

Axar.az reports, citing Kazakhstan’s presidential press service, that Tokayev made the remarks on October 9 at the first Caspian Environmental Summit in Awaza, Turkmenistan.

“The Caspian Sea is a unique natural treasure, a source of prosperity for millions of people, and a key transport and energy hub for the entire Eurasian continent. Preserving its ecosystem therefore requires particular attention, above all from our states,” Tokayev said.

He noted that the Caspian Sea’s total area had shrunk by more than 16,000 square kilometres between 2000 and 2025.

"Between 2000 and 2025, the total area of the Caspian Sea shrank by more than 16,000 square kilometres. In some areas, the shoreline has receded by tens of kilometres. Reduced inflows, rising temperatures and human-induced pressures are having an extremely adverse, indeed destructive, impact on the sea’s fragile natural system and biodiversity," he added.

Tokayev also expressed concern over the decline in the Caspian seal population, which he said had fallen from one million to 270,000 over the past century.

He warned that continued environmental deterioration could threaten shipping, port infrastructure, fisheries, energy, industry and coastal communities. Climate change could further intensify the crisis, with temperatures in some parts of the region projected to rise by as much as 5°C by the end of the century.

The Kazakh president called for coordinated scientific research, a shared digital monitoring platform using satellite technology and artificial intelligence, stronger biodiversity protection and joint action against illegal fishing and pollution.

Tokayev also backed Azerbaijan’s proposal to establish an intergovernmental commission on the declining Caspian Sea water level and highlighted Kazakhstan’s proposal for an interstate programme to conserve the sea’s water resources.

"Kazakhstan supports Azerbaijan’s proposal to establish an Intergovernmental Commission on the Decline of the Caspian Sea Water Level at the level of deputy prime ministers," Tokayev stated.