Agip kco hosted in Atyrau the First International Sustainable Development and Caspian Seal Conservation workshops

On September 16-18 Agip kco hosted the First International Sustainable Development (SD) and Caspian Seal Conservation workshops held in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. Attendees of this workshop included prominent representatives from international oil and gas and environmental organizations, Universities of Bologna and Milan, the Italy-Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce, European and Kazakh non-governmental organizations.

The SD workshop was followed by a two day scientific workshop "Threats to the Caspian seal: current knowledge, required research and mitigation measures". Speakers represented an array of global organizations including several branches of the Caspian International Seal Survey. The workshop participants discussed the current seal population status, human-driven changes in the Caspian ecosystem, disease impacts and mass seal mortalities, and climate change impacts on ice-breeding seals. Attendees also shared views on preservation measures for the Caspian seal, such as development of the conservation action plans and future scenarios for the seal’s role in the Caspian ecosystem.