Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 5 / Trend, N. Umid
Environmental pollution threatens Caspian Sea Seal, Deputy head of Iran's Environmental Protection in Marine Environment, Abdol-Reza Karbasi said, Fars news agency reported.
He made the remarks during ceremony of 10th anniversary of signing of Tehran Convention on November 4.
Delegations from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Russia participated in the ceremony.
On November 4, 2003, the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea was signed in Tehran by the littoral states of the Caspian Sea.
The main objective of this convention is the protection of the Caspian environment from all sources of pollution including the protection, preservation, restoration and sustainable and rational use of the biological resources of the Caspian Sea.
Karbasi went on to note that, Caspian Sea seal's population has decreased from one million to 100,000 during last twenty years.
He also warned about activities of Caspian Sea's littoral states` oil industry, saying that these activities have led to serious environmental problems in the region.
He also announced that the littoral states of the Caspian Sea will sign a protocol on protection of the wildlife in the region in Turkmenistan in the new future.
Another protocol on trans-border environmental reports is being prepared which also will be signed in Turkmenistan.
Since 2000, Caspian seals are included in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
The Caspian seal is one of the smallest members of the earless seal family and unique in that it is found exclusively in the Caspian Sea. They can be found not only along the shorelines, but also on the many rocky islands and floating blocks of ice that dot the Caspian Sea.
In winter, and cooler parts of the spring and autumn season, these marine mammals populate the Northern Caspian.
As the ice melts in the warmer season, they can be found on the mouths of the Volga and Ural Rivers, as well as the southern latitudes of the Caspian where cooler waters can be found due to greater depth.