Ecologically and Biologically Significant Marine Protected Areas in the Caspian Sea: A Review

Abstract

This paper provides a brief review of the ecologically and biologically significant marine protected areas in the Caspian Sea. As a result of the collaboration between the Tehran Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) the Regional Workshop to Facilitate the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) in the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea took place from 25 to 29 April 2017 in Baku (Azerbaijan). The Regional Workshop compiled a list of areas in the above seas that meet the EBSA criteria with corresponding detailed description of each areas based on scientific information available at that time. We provide a brief information on each of these 16 EBSAs in the Caspian Sea in accordance with their descriptions. We discuss different definitions of specially protected areas given by different international organizations, as well as the fact that the EBSA is not a marine protected area by a definition. We discuss a possible evolution and transformation of the Caspian EBSAs in the modern period in connection with the continuing fall in the Caspian Sea level.