Water management paradigm shifts in the Caspian Sea region: Review and outlook

Abstract

The study explores the shifts in water management paradigms in the Caspian Sea basin over the last three centuries with an emphasis on the period after 1990. The investigation is based on the chronological analysis of developments in the water sector, treaties and agreements between the littoral states, important technical inventions, and changes in political regimes. The methodology used in the paper captures two concepts. The concept of water management paradigms helps to comprehend developmental stages of water management of the Caspian Sea. The concept of hydrosocial cycle was applied as an analytical lens for studying each paradigm. We examine different understandings of water in the following five stages: i) pre-industrial era (before 1846); ii) industrialization era (1846–1917); iii) Soviet collectivization era (1917–1940); iv) hydraulic mission (1940–1990); v) independent littoral states (1990–present). Before the Industrial Revolution, the Caspian Sea was managed by the Russian Empire and Persia for navigation and fishing only. The ensuing technical progress gave an impulse to regional sectoral activities, pushing forward the hydraulic mission that caused a considerable degradation of the sea’s ecosystems. The adoption of the Tehran Convention in 2003 became a first step towards the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) paradigm for the Caspian. However, the water governance of the Caspian states does not adhere to the principles of IWRM and, consequently, environment continues to deteriorate. The study provides new directions and approaches for reviewing the role of society in the governance of the Caspian Sea and its resources.