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Japan pledges US$3 million for Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea water decline

Japan has partnered with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to support Kazakhstan’s efforts to address the decline in the Caspian Sea’s water level driven by…

By Samantha Johnson / July 4, 2026

Japan has partnered with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to support Kazakhstan’s efforts to address the decline in the Caspian Sea’s water level driven by climate change, pledging a 465 million yen (US$3 million) grant towards its sustainable use.

Under the initiative for the world’s largest inland water body, Japan hopes to promote cooperation among littoral states on water resource management and enhance monitoring systems, according to the foreign ministry. The decline in the Caspian Sea’s water level could have an immense impact on logistics and regional ecosystems.

Japanese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Yasumasa Iijima and UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan Katarzyna Wawiernia signed the agreement on the initiative in Astana in late May.

The UNDP said in its press release the Caspian Sea is “one of Eurasia’s most critical ecological zones” that supports the livelihoods of millions of people.

Journalists and environmental investigators inspect the bodies of dead seals on the shore of the Caspian Sea in 2022, when 700 endangered seals were found dead as a result of water level decline due to climate change. Photo: AP
Journalists and environmental investigators inspect the bodies of dead seals on the shore of the Caspian Sea in 2022, when 700 endangered seals were found dead as a result of water level decline due to climate change. Photo: AP

In recent years, however, rising temperatures have reduced both the volume of water in the Caspian Sea and inflows from rivers, causing a rapid drawdown and concerns over the disruption of maritime transport and the possible extinction of endemic species.

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