Caspian’s Falling Water Level Hitting Kazakhstan Harder than Other Littoral Countries

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 7 – Because of differences in the topography of the coastline and in the depth of coastal waters, the rapid fall in the water level of the Caspian is not hitting all five of the countries equally. Kazakhstan is suffering the most and thus has become the leader in efforts to prevent the shallowing of the sea from becoming a disaster.

            According to Kazakhstan journalist Viktor Dolgov, Kazakhstan must take unilateral steps to address its problems before it will be in a position to demand the cooperation of other littoral states, at least some of which don’t face the same problems and can avoid making changes (spik.kz/2407-obmelenie-kaspijskogo-morja-ugrozy-i-riski-dlja-kazahstana.html).

            The Kazakhstan authorities have also been prompted to be more sensitive to these issues because Astana has already been confronted with the demise of the Aral Sea and thus know more than the other four Caspian littoral states which have not just how serious falling water levels can be economically, socially and politically.

            And it is these two factors which mean that Kazakhstan has already taken more steps at home and in relations with its neighbors in this regard and is likely to do so in the future, steps that have put it at odds with Russia over water from the Volga which flows into the Caspian (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/08/russians-outraged-kazakhstan-wants.html).