00:00Once a vital point along the ancient Silk Road, the Caspian Sea is now home to several major seaports.
00:09It remains one of Kazakhstan's greatest natural treasures and a grown environmental concern.
00:14Welcome to Kazakhstan! Welcome to modern nomads!
00:24We are beginning this episode in the Mangustau region where the land meets the Caspian Sea.
00:30Over the past two decades, the sea level has dropped by more than two meters.
00:35How long is this distance?
00:45About 300-400 meters.
00:51With few other job opportunities, the town of Fort Shevchenko and nearby villages rely heavily on fishing.
00:58But as the water recedes, this vital source of livelihood is under threat.
01:03We are going to the sea.
01:07This island is about 50 kilometers.
01:08There is no fish in the sea.
01:10There is no fish here.
01:11But as you can see, this water has gone.
01:14There is no fish here.
01:15It's not just livelihoods that are vanishing.
01:17The crisis reshapes the entire ecosystem.
01:20The Caspian Sea, the only mammal native to this region and found nowhere else on Earth,
01:26has seen its population drop by 90% over the past century.
01:30Along just one kilometer of this shoreline, we counted nearly 60 dead seals.
01:35Each time the western wind blows in from the sea, it brings bodies to the land.
01:40For ecologists, the Caspian seal is a key indicator of the sea's overall health.
01:45But as water levels continue to retreat, its habitat is disappearing.
01:52As we head down the Caspian coastline to the regional hub of Aktau, the scenery becomes less bleak.
01:59But despite the vibrant atmosphere, the signs of the shrinking sea are clear.
02:04We visit the regional hydrometeorological service to find out just how serious the situation is.
02:10The Caspian Sea, shared by five coastal countries, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, has experienced major fluctuation.
02:30In sea level in sea level.
02:41In 1977, it reached its lowest level in more than 120 years, minus 29.01 meters.
02:50After that, there was progress, but then sea level started falling again.
02:55Experts say this decline is reaching a critical point.
02:58The current increase of the Caspian Sea level is related to the climate change.
03:03If it is simplified, the climate change of the sea level is changed.
03:06In the sea level of the Volga basin, which has about 85% of the land in the Caspian Sea,
03:13now the land has fallen.
03:16The Volga river flows entirely through Russia, and with rising regional temperatures,
03:21experts say real cooperation and deeper research from all Caspian countries are urgently needed.
03:27For us, it is important that the cooperation began on regional level,
03:32especially based on the Tegernan Convention, which has been working for over 20 years.
03:40But for this period, the implementation of the Tehran Convention is meant to protect the Caspian's environment,
03:47prevent pollution and ensure sustainable use of its resources.
03:51Kazakhstan is calling for stronger regional cooperation to turn those goals into action.
03:56As for the marine inhabitants, local NGOs are stepping in.
04:01The Central Asian Institute for Environmental Research, together with local and international scientists,
04:07as well as the local NGOs are stepping in.
04:09As for the marine inhabitants, local NGOs are stepping in.
04:12The Central Asian Institute for Environmental Research, together with local and international scientists,
04:16because now we are not talking about how we can stop and keep the level up.
04:46The new center will focus on setting sea level decline, protecting the Caspian seal and working with other coastal nations to preserve the region's unique ecosystem.
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