Program structure

It is envisaged that after an opening plenary session of the Seminar, where the objectives and approach will be elucidated, the three main themes will be addressed, possibly in separate working groups. To ensure proper coordination the groups will report on progress and identified cross-thematic issues or needs at the end of each day.

Theme 1: Socio-economic renewal

This theme will address principal economic activities, resources of the Caspian Sea basin, related issues, potential conflicts and forces; how similar issues have been (or are being) dealt with in other maritime regions, e.g. in the North Sea, the Mediterranean, the Wider Caribbean basin. Proposals on how these experiences may be applied in the case of the Caspian Sea basin will be suggested.

Theme 1 may include the following subject areas:

• Economic sectors and resources (including energy, marine living and other non-living resources of the sea and coastal zone, freshwater, tourism);
• Infrastructures (e.g. transport, goods handling and food processing facilities, mariculture and fishing);
• Required enabling mechanisms, (such as legal, financial and technological means, data collection and monitoring mechanisms, human resources education and training).

Theme 2: Social and environmental challenges

This theme will aim at identifying major social and environmental challenges and possible changes which can be expected to occur, and their impacts, drawing on experiences and insights from recent developments. The discussion should then give examples on how similar changes have been, are being tackled in other regions such as the Baltic Sea, the East Asian Seas, the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

The Theme may have the following discussion structure:

• Environmental threats to human security;
• Social conditions, employment, poverty, migration, equity;
• Potential and existing conflicts and other security threats.

The environmental threats include introduction of non-indigenous species; sea level and climate variations, and long-term changes; freshwater and food availability, production and condition for consumption; and potential or existing impacts on the environment of sea and coastal zone from the on-going or planned socio-economic development.

Theme 3: Status, delimitation and distributive justice

This theme will consider situations in other parts of the world, similar to that in the Caspian Sea, with particular emphasis on legal issues such as status, delimitation, and equitable approach to sharing transboundary or common natural resources. This Theme may also give some consideration to the various technical methods applied to delimitation and their applicability in the Caspian Sea basin case.

Theme 3 is expected also to identify various and possibly conflicting interests and forces in the Caspian Sea with respect to the final determination of the legal status and delimitation; alternative mechanisms of resource exploitation (such as unitization regimes, joint development or joint management zones, temporary or permanent) in cases of overlapping of conflicting claims.

The Seminar will conclude with a plenary session when the findings and proposals emerging from the theme discussions will be jointly considered and integrated. From this one set of considered proposals should result.

Time plan, tentative:

It is expected that the seminar will use 4 full working days. There may be a break after 4 days so that the results from the theme session discussions can be specified to be available for the concluding plenary discussion.

Thus first 1/2 day for opening plenary; followed by 2.5 days for theme session discussions, with a briefing plenary at end of each day (second, third, fourth). The 4th day for plenary discussions resulting in agreed, considered joint proposals.

It is proposed to have the seminar in the second half of April under the auspices of the IOI-Operational Centre in Astrakhan.

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