Non-government environmental initiatives in the Caspian Sea in the post-Soviet period

Gapizov Zaur Rasulovich ORCID: 0000-0003-4515-4946 Applicant, Department of History of Neighboring Countries, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University 125167, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Krasnoarmeiskaya, 11/4 9605051@mail.ru Other publications by this author

 The subject of this study is public initiatives and projects in the field of environmental protection in the Caspian Sea in the post-Soviet period of history. The purpose of the article is to characterize and evaluate these initiatives and to determine the conditions for the prospects of their progressive development in the context of the Caspian agenda. The study used such methods of historical research as retrospective analysis, comparative analysis, document analysis, as well as a systematic approach and the method of expert assessments.

Very few scientific studies have been devoted to the problem of public initiatives in the field of environmental protection in the Caspian Sea, among which the works of D. V. Khapsayeva ^[1], A. Ch. Magomedova ^[2], L. S. Aigubov and K. I. Khadzhialiev ^[3], E. S. Krivosheeva ^[4] and others can be distinguished. The analysis of the scientific literature on the topic demonstrates the lack of fundamental works that comprehensively address the problem of the participation of the civil sector in the policy of improving the environmental situation in the Caspian region in the post-Soviet period. The works available to domestic and foreign humanities are mostly political science and sociological. For example, some studies are devoted to environmental safety issues, the impact of anthropogenic factors on the development of the region's economy ^[5], or, for example, the justification of specific environmental problems that provoked social tension and caused negative public sentiment in protest forms ^[6],[7]. While historical science has practically no works on this topic due to the fact that the corresponding subject area in the system of historical knowledge was formed relatively recently.

Thus, the relevance of this study is obvious due to the fact that environmental and environmental issues have been actively rooted in the field of practical geopolitics, the internal policy of national states in recent years and occupies an increasingly significant place in the system of modern international relations ^[8]. The Caspian region, being extremely sensitive to the global agenda due to its geopolitical location, exposure to the influence of global geophysical processes ^{[9],[10],[11],[12]} and a specific status in the institutionalized foreign policy strategies of the world powers, is gradually being drawn into the global environmental discourse. Accordingly, it can be assumed that the role of non-state initiatives in this problematic field of practical eco-policy will steadily increase, following the trends of global development.

The increasing anthropogenic impact on the Caspian Sea, expressed in pollution of the marine environment, depletion of natural resources, cannot but cause concern to society, especially its active part. The situation when ignoring the problems of preserving the environment of the Caspian Sea became impossible due to the emergence of social tension, provoked the gradual formation of ecological consciousness of citizens and, as a result, the activation of environmental movements. Today, it seems extremely important to summarize the existing experience and form a holistic view of the history of the creation and specifics of public initiatives in the field of environmental protection in the Caspian Sea and their potential. This is of particular importance in the context of the so-called "green agenda" that has been actively developing in recent years, where, along with the efforts of government agencies, a significant place is given to the activity of business and the public sector ^[8]. The question of how the factor of Islam in the Caspian region ^[13] influences the development of environmental activities is also of interest.

In general, the reaction of modern societies (including those of the Caspian countries) to the increasing environmental threats can be characterized as a serious concern, sometimes reaching a state of social tension. And, if earlier, during the existence of the USSR and the first post-Soviet decade, the topic of environmental protection was included in the socio-political discourse mainly in connection with major environmental disasters (with the exception, perhaps, of Kazakhstan, where the environmental movement associated with the problem of denuclearization of the country's territory has been actively developing since the early 1990s), then in For the last one and a half to two decades, the societies of the Caspian countries have reacted very sharply to any threats of ecological genesis. The perception of environmental problems by society and the reaction to them is to a certain extent linked to the general approach of the state to solving environmental protection problems ^[14]. However, understanding the relationship of the favorable state of the natural environment with health, well-being, and comfort of living in the region as a whole has a positive effect on the formation of ecological consciousness of the population and gives impetus to the process of forming all kinds of public initiatives in the field of environmental protection. In other words, "the unfavorable environmental situation becomes an incentive for the formation of civil society, especially since it is actively covered in the media, and information about the unsystematic and substandard nature of environmental protection measures is widely discussed in (social – approx. author) networks" ^{[1, p. 97]}. Moreover, along with ecological consciousness, the society is gradually forming an ecological culture. By the latter, experts understand an integral part of the general culture, covering those aspects of human thinking and activity that relate to the natural environment. Ecological culture is "a complex personal education that includes responsibility for the state of the environment, the presence of environmental views and beliefs, experience in the study and protection of the natural environment, a system of scientific concepts on the problems of modern ecology" ^{[4, p. 178]}.

The role of public projects and initiatives is extremely important in the formation of ecological culture. Thus, in Russia, at the level of public structures, traditionally a lot of attention is paid to the Caspian problem. Among the well-known projects, it is necessary to mention the Regional Caspian Ecological Center (Astrakhan), the Russian Geographical Society (Astrakhan branch), the Center for Environmental Projects, the Agency for Non-Governmental Environmental Assessments "Ecoterra" (Moscow), etc.

The most pronounced public initiatives in the field of environmental protection in the Caspian countries have found expression in volunteer activities within the framework of individual social institutions, for example, in the field of education. Thus, volunteer projects of various profiles and formats are actively implemented in Dagestan, including those aimed at preserving the natural environment of the Caspian Sea ^[3]. Several volunteer associations carry out volunteer activities in Dagestan, including Blagosphere, Dagestan Volunteer Movement, Pure Heart and the Center for the Development of Volunteer Initiatives of the Republic of Dagestan. The center for the development of volunteer initiatives was the State Institution "Republican House of Children's and Youth Public Associations" (GKU RD "RDDMOO"), which gradually assumed the role of a methodological institution that trains activists and leaders of children's and youth volunteer and public associations, teachers, contributing to the development of volunteer initiatives ^[3]. Over the years of the functioning of the State Institution of the RD "RDDMOO", more than two hundred projects and actions have been implemented, among which environmental ones occupy a significant place, with the involvement of hundreds of volunteers (for example, the environmental action "Coastal Patrol" (cleaning the coast of the Caspian Sea); "Plant a tree", etc. ^[3]).

At the same time, one of the key problems throughout the study period remains the problem of criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of volunteer associations. Currently, the main criteria are the following indicators: the number of participants in events; the number of permanent assets of the volunteer association; the amount of charity funds collected; the ratio of funds spent and raised; the ratio of planned and conducted events; participation in events of different levels, etc. ^[3]. The problem of developing a mechanism for registration and accounting of young citizens who accept or want to take part in volunteer activities has not been finally solved.

Such a format of public projects as profile autonomous non-profit organizations is also actively developing in Dagestan. A striking example is the ANO "Caspian Environmental Center", which has been operating in Makhachkala since 2020, whose sphere of activity, among other things, includes efforts to rescue the Caspian seal and counteraction to unauthorized discharge of wastewater into the Caspian Sea.  

Much attention in Russia is paid to the creation of a common information system aimed at coordinating environmental policy in the region. Thus, specialists of Dagestan State University in 2012 proposed a project to create an information system to support management decisions in the process of creating and implementing national and regional action plans in the field of nature management and environmental protection of the Caspian Sea. Support is also necessary when organizing measures to ensure the environmental safety of various economic activities in its water area and in coastal zones ^{[15, p. 232]}.

The experience of another Caspian state, Azerbaijan, is interesting. The rapid development of the oil field, which is more than a hundred years old, also presupposed the development of real eco-political practices. Public initiatives with a history include the Public Environmental Movement "For a Clean Caspian Sea", the Environmental Foundation, the International Youth Environmental Center, the Green Movement of Azerbaijan, etc.^[16] In recent years, the establishment of the IDEA Public Association by the Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation should be attributed to the most well-known public projects in the field of environmental protection, Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Leyla Aliyeva. The Foundation directs its activities not only to the restoration of the natural environment in the republic, but also environmental education of young people. Thus, every year, with the support of the Foundation, the international Earth Hour campaign is implemented, conducted by the World Wildlife Fund ^[2].

The history of Kazakhstan is also rich in examples of successful public initiatives in the field of environmental protection ^[17]. The problems of the Caspian Sea were dealt with here by such organizations as "Caspian Tabigaty", "Caspian – XXI", the Independent Research Ecological Medical and Biological Center (Ecobiomedicenter), the Ecological Club "Biosphere" ^[16] and many others.

In Turkmenistan, which has the status of a neutral state, environmental projects are often designed to attract the attention of the international community to the country at the international level. Thus, such projects as the Ashgabat Ecological Club "CATENA", "JAN", the Public Geoecological Laboratory, "RIF", the Turkmen Hydrobiological Society and others operated in Turkmenistan in different periods ^[16].

In Iran, this area of public activity has also been developed. The organization "Bumiran" operated in the country, which was engaged in the development of national legislation in the field of the environment and practical environmental protection measures; the project "Women of Iran against Environmental Pollution" (IWAAEP), which paid attention to the protection of certain species of animals of the Caspian region, the development of mechanisms for the protection and protection of their habitats, carrying out measures to prevent the extinction of the Caspian seal. In Iran, such structures as the Iranian Society of Ecologists IRSEN and the Iranian Association of Environmental Health IRSEN, the Foundation for the Protection of Nature and Wildlife (WNCF) and others were particularly active in the problems of protecting the marine environment of the Caspian Sea.

Examples of the development of public initiatives in Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran demonstrate to us the process of gradual formation and saturation of the Caspian agenda, where environmental and environmental issues occupy an important place, along with the problem of determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea ^[18]. This is also facilitated by the gradual formation of a common media space in the Caspian Sea, the policy for the formation of which has been conducted since the early 1990s ^[15] and the opportunity to get acquainted with the European experience of environmental protection ^[19]. The analysis of expert online publications and the social media segment clearly demonstrates the increasingly active manifestation in the public consciousness and support from the civil society of the idea of the need to consolidate the environmental efforts of the Caspian countries. In addition, the results of the analysis show that the society is also aware of the difficulties that arise when implementing environmental projects: their cause is the inconsistency of the actions of various supervisory authorities, weak public control, the lack of formats for full-fledged interaction of public structures, and so on. In general, an active public with an already formed or emerging ecological consciousness and ecological culture directly points to the need to create a unified environmental monitoring system (Expert: The Caspian Sea needs a unified biomonitoring system. 20.09.2011. URL: http://saratovolimp.ru/pubs/455?ekspert?kaspiyskomu?moryu?nuzhna?edinaya?sistema?biomonitoringa.html. Date of issue: 12.04.2022), ^[20] and environmental control at the national and international levels. And if in the second half of the 2000s some researchers recognized that the provisions of the Tehran Convention were not implemented due to the fact that the legal status of the Caspian Sea was not determined, then already in the 2010s it was increasingly possible to meet the opinion that the lack of a unified environmental policy in the Caspian is a consequence of the influence of the human factor. The latter is associated with an insufficient level of environmental literacy, ecological culture of the population in the Caspian region and a significant difference in these levels among the population of its various territories (A unified environmental policy for the Caspian is needed // Caspian Factor. 18.04.2013. URL: http://casfactor.com/rus/news/4251.html Date of application: 04/19/2022). The activities of public projects and initiatives in the field of environmental protection are aimed at eliminating this problem. The effect of their work can be enhanced through the creation of a common information and media space in the Caspian ^[15], the establishment of cooperation between them and the creation of common (international) projects in the Caspian.

Thus, this article presents the results of studying the role of public projects and initiatives in the Caspian countries in the field of environmental protection, as well as identifying key shortcomings of environmental policy in the civil sector of the Caspian countries, which is the scientific novelty of the study. It is determined that the long-term development of public initiatives in this area is possible under the condition of a unified coordinated environmental policy in the Caspian region, strengthening public control, determining criteria for the effectiveness of public and volunteer initiatives, developing formats for full-fledged interaction of public structures of the five countries, creating a unified environmental monitoring system and a common information space. At the moment, public initiatives in the field of environmental protection in the countries of the "Caspian five", thanks to thirty years of experience, successfully solve the problem of the formation of ecological consciousness and ecological culture among the active part of the population of these countries. The assumption that the role of non-state initiatives in the problematic field of practical eco-policy in the Caspian Sea will steadily increase has every reason to be confirmed.