00:01This ship does not move, but the sea does.
00:05The Surkhani ship is the world's first oil tanker, which has been converted into a museum.
00:11And the water level has decreased year after year.
00:15The Caspian Sea is a closed basin which does not flow into any ocean.
00:20The rivers flow in and evaporate out.
00:23The Volga River feeds it, but not enough to keep up with the changes.
00:28One of the main reasons why it's happening is the global climate change for sure
00:34and accelerated human impacts.
00:36And right now there are two key directions in which we have water loss of the Caspian Sea.
00:42One is happening from the basin of the Volga River.
00:45It gives about 80% of the water coming to the Caspian Sea.
00:49If sea level dropped for the 2.67 centimeters since now,
00:53about 1.33 meters of this come to the only to the Volga River.
00:58Another problem is the evaporation over the surface of the Caspian Sea.
01:02Because of the change in the directions of main winds over the surface of the Caspian Sea,
01:06here we have humid, cold winds,
01:10has been replaced by the dry and very hot winds coming from the central Asia.
01:16The Caspian Sea level decrease is compounded by the long-standing pressures
01:22that originate from overfishing, the industry, pollution and organic waste
01:27affecting human settlements and biodiversity.
01:31The impact of the decline of the Caspian Sea is also great on the fisheries in the sea.
01:37The fishermen have to adjust by going deeper into the sea,
01:40by sometimes exposing themselves to unexpected weather conditions.
01:44They pull their resources to buy new GPS tools
01:48so that they can forecast local weather conditions and share with each other.
01:53Wetlands shrink. The impact is visible.
01:56As levels fall and shorelines shift,
01:59the breeding areas on the coastal zones are reduced.
02:02The Caspian Sea level declining, which is steady over the last two decades,
02:07is not anymore just an environmental issue.
02:10This is a biodiversity crisis.
02:12This process firstly impacts the coastal shallow water territories,
02:17which are very critical as breeding and feeding habitats for different species.
02:22Caspian Sea level decline and temperature increase also influence the salinity.
02:29And this salinity is very important for the composition of microorganisms and plankton.
02:35If any change happens or any shift happens in the fundament of the ecosystem,
02:41it means that the ecosystem itself becomes very unstable.
02:51There is an agreement between the five Caspian states to protect the Caspian Sea's environment
02:57and ensure sustainable use of its resources.
03:01But agreements alone cannot reverse climate-driven water loss.
03:06The Caspian isn't disappearing overnight, but it is slowly leaving,
03:11and it is taking an entire ecosystem with it.
03:15.
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