The latest IPCC report has set the level of urgency in respect to climate and environmental action cross sectorial progress on mitigation and adaptation strategies. According to this latest report there is a high probability of global temperature rise will reach or surpass 1.5 degrees between 2021 and 2040 across studied scenarios, and under a high-emissions pathway, specifically, the world may hit this threshold even sooner — between 2018 and 2037. For the Caspian Sea Basin region this change is set to reach 1.0 degree.
Countries and regions with resources, financial capacity and human capital are key players in this respect. Thus, the Science-Policy interface is to set the ground for engagement across various organisations, institutions, states and the private sector – the latter multistakholder approach is also set to determine the outcome of ongoing global negotiations to mitigate and adapt to dynamics of Change. Discussions within the framework of COP28 illustrate the acceleration of environmental and climate action that is expected to set the agenda towards the Summit of the Future in 2024. .Such acceleration is also expected following the Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) adoption in 2022. The GBF aims to tackle biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems and protect indigenous rights through new targets.
In this context the Caspian Sea Basin is increasingly looked at as a transitional living lab connecting multiple dynamics of change from environmental change, economic development, demographic shift and population displacement. The Caspian conundrum between prospects of economic and social development as well as environmental challenges added to the long history of regional geopolitical jolts inform us on future strategies of development and balancing act between increasingly fragile ecosystems and prerequisites towards development.
Latter context calls for a cross-disciplinary scientific exchange on dynamics of change, mitigating and adaptation mechanisms while capitalising on the wealth of practices as living Lab to inform actors of global governance and economy moving towards the Summit of Future and the post 2030 Agenda.
After a long break due to global pandemic we are delighted to announce the CASPISNET’s Annual Meeting 2023 taking place June 5th- 8th at the ADA University, Baku, Azerbaijan.
This event will gather experts across different disciplines from Caspian countries, Europe and the United-States to discuss new models and methodologies to contribute to the development of a research agenda towards a regional decision-support system focusing on this year’s theme: “THE CASPIAN SEA FEATURES: THE SCIENCE – POLICY – PRACTICE INTERFACE IN PRESPECTIVE”.
The CASPISNET annual conference will delve into this fragile ecosystem of a region plugged into the global economy. Questions such as long-term sea-level (SL) fluctuations of the CS impacted by climatic fluctuations are for example affecting the livelihood of many communities in the region. But, the region is also severely affected by heterogeneous response mechanisms to demographic growth, urbanisation and environmental externalities associated to the latter.