DEVELOPMENT, SECURITY, AND COOPERATION

The Ecology of the Caspian Sea

The Academy of Sciences of IR Iran in cooperation with the US National Academy of Sciences hosted an Iranian-American workshop on the Ecology of the Caspian Sea during the period of Nov 1-7, 2002. Due to the subject matter of the workshop, it was decided to convene the workshop in conjunction with a tour of the coast line of the southern Caspian Sea. The tour started from Tehran, proceeding through the province of Gilan, along the Caspian coast toward Mazandaran province, and then continuing on to Tehran. The program included visits to various ecological sites, vertebrate fish and sturgeon research centers, and hatcheries of roach and various sturgeon species fingerlings. Discussions included pollution and related monitoring in the southern region of the Caspian Sea, productivity and nutrient biogeochemistry in the north Caspian Basin, bioresources and complex interactions among species, and the status of sturgeon.

Materials