Recreational water quality in the Caspian Sea

Abstract

Health-based monitoring of the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan and Iran suggests that bathers are intermittently subject to increased levels of faecal pollution which may lead to gastrointestinal illness. This is the first co-ordinated monitoring programme of recreational waters in the Caspian region and highlights the need to extend such a programme to all countries bordering the Caspian Sea. The novel approach of monitoring that combines risk assessment (water quality monitoring plus a sanitary survey) and risk management, as applied here, allows the identification of possible sources of pollution and the levels of microbiological risk that bathers are subject to. Hence, this allows suitable management interventions to be identified and implemented in the long-term.

Full text

Recreational water quality in the Caspian Sea
Katherine R. Pond, Aidan A. Cronin and Steve Pedley
ABSTRACT
Katherine R. Pond ((corresponding author))
Aidan A. Cronin
Steve Pedley
Robens Centre for Public and Environmental
Health,
University of Surrey,
Guildford,
Surrey, GU2 7XH,
UK
Tel: þ 44 1483 879935
Fax: þ 44 1483 879971
E-mail: k.pond@surrey.ac.uk
Health-based monitoring of the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan and Iran suggests that bathers are
intermittently subject to increased levels of faecal pollution which may lead to gastrointestinal
illness. This is the first co-ordinated monitoring programme of recreational waters in the Caspian
region and highlights the need to extend such a programme to all countries bordering the
Caspian Sea. The novel approach of monitoring that combines risk assessment (water quality
monitoring plus a sanitary survey) and risk management, as applied here, allows the identification
of possible sources of pollution and the levels of microbiological risk that bathers are subject to.
Hence, this allows suitable management interventions to be identified and implemented in the
long term.
Key words
|
Caspian Sea, Iran, recreational water, risk, Turkmenistan
INTRODUCTION
Surface and coastal waters are used for a variety of activities
that are not always compatible with each other. Trends
indicate that leisure activities, including water-based recrea-
tion, will continue to increase (Bartram & Rees 2000) and so
the effects of the health hazards that recreational water users
face will gain increased prominence in the future. Those
responsible for monitoring and managing recreational
waters are likely to face increasing challenges as the number
of users increases and recreational uses diversify.
The Caspian Sea is situated between Europe and Asia; it
is the largest salt lake in the world with a surface area of
, 373,000 km
2
and is bordered by Kazakhstan, Turkmeni-
stan, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia (Figure 1). The Caspian’s
water surface lies 92 ft (28 m) below sea level. It reaches its
maximum depth of 980 m in the south; the northern half
averages only about 5 m depth.
The joint exploitation of the fossil fuel energy resources
in the Caspian Sea have had, and will continue to have,
considerable economic and ecological effects on the future
of the countries bordering the water body (Effimoff 2000). In
addition to petroleum contamination, the Volga River
brings industrial, agricultural and domestic waste, including
pesticides, detergents, heavy metals, oil, phenols and sewage
into the northern Caspian (Efendiyeva 2000). Transbound-
ary pollution is an important management issue and
inevitably there are many potential health hazards. This
has the potential to seriously affect all bordering countries
although little research into this has been carried out in the
region to date.
Countries surrounding the Caspian Sea have not
previously monitored their bathing waters in a co-ordinated
fashion or with standardised approaches. As tourism in the
Caspian Sea is increasing, it is vital that all the bordering
countries collect monitoring data in a compatible manner
for future management initiatives.
To address these issues, the Caspian Environment
Programme (funded by the international community
through the Global Environment Facility) and the World
Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for
Water Quality and Human Health (Robens Centre for
Public and Environmental Health (RCPEH) at the Univer-
sity of Surrey, UK) jointly undertook to train laboratory staff
from all five countries bordering the Caspian Sea in
techniques to monitor bathing waters for microbiological
pollution. Turkmenistan and Iran were selected to establish
pilot projects. In both these countries national tourism is
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increasing and, although there are active public health
laboratories, bathing waters are not monitored system-
atically despite the recognition of the effects of populatio-
n/industry on bathing water quality.
The programme focused on assisting in the implemen-
tation of the WHO/United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE) Protocol on Water and Health
(UNECE 2000) in the Caspian Region. The Protocol aims
to prevent, control and reduce the incidence of water-
related diseases through collaboration on water manage-
ment and protection of health and the environment. In
order to do this, effective systems for monitoring and risk
assessment should be set up including establishing ‘suffi-
cient safeguards for human health against water-related
disease arising from the use of water for recreational
purposes’ (UNECE 2000).
The approach to monitor and regulate bathing waters is
currently undergoing reforms in Europe and other parts of
the world. The European Commission (EC) Bathing Water
Directive (76/160/EEC; CEC 1976) is the legislation which
countries in the European Union must comply with in order
to safeguard human health against microbiological pol-
lution of bathing waters. In recent years there has been
considerable debate about which are the most appropriate
faecal indicator bacteria to employ in monitoring marine
and fresh recreational waters in order to protect human
health. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the traditional indicator
used and is generally believed to be faecal in origin. It has
been proposed by the EC as the most appropriate indicator
for freshwaters (CEC 2000) although some studies have
identified limitations associated with its use (Cornax et al.
1990; Hazen & Toranzos 1990; Ashbolt et al. 1997).
Recently, based on the results of a number of epide-
miological studies undertaken around the world (for
reviews see Pru
¨
ss 1998; WHO 2003), it has been shown
that intestinal enterococci provide the best dose-response
Kazakstan
I.R. Iran
Turkmenistan
Azerbaijan
Russian federation
46E
54E
36N
46N
Caspian sea
Turkmenbashi
bay
Hazar
Awaza
Ufra
Florida
30 km
Turkmenistan
I.R. Iran
Caspian
sea
100 km
pipeline
Ramsar
Neka city
Chalous
Noor city
Sari
BabolsarSalman
Nashtaroud
Tonekabon
Noshahre
Tehran
Turkmen water quality monitoring sites
Iranian water quality monitoring sites
400 km
Figure 1
|
Location of the Caspian Sea and its bordering countries; also shown are the locations of the sites in Turkmenistan and Iran where bathing water quality was assessed as
part of the pilot project.
130 Katherine R. Pond et al.
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relationship for both gastrointestinal illness and acute
febrile respiratory illness. WHO recommend that this is
the priority parameter to be monitored for in sea and fresh
water quality monitoring programmes for protection of
human health against faecal contamination (WHO 2003).
The EC is considering developing a mandatory standard for
intestinal enterococci in the revision of the Bathing Water
Directive (CEC 2000); currently only a guideline value exists
(Table 1).
The WHO Guidelines for Safe Recreational Water
Environments (WHO 2003) propose values for the micro-
biological quality of marine recreational waters in conjunc-
tion with associated levels of accepted health risk (Table 2).
These represent understood levels of risk based on the
exposure conditions of key epidemiological studies (WHO
2003). For example, the value of 200 intestinal enterococci
per 100 ml relates to an average probability of one case of
gastroenteritis in 20 exposures (Table 4.1 in WHO 2003).
This new approach addresses some of the acknowledged
problems associated with the current regulatory processes
used to define the ‘safety’ of a bathing water.
To complement the Guidelines for Safe Recreational
Water Environments and to assist in the implementation of
effective monitoring programmes, the WHO, in collabor-
ation with the US Environmental Protection Agency, have
developed a risk assessment and risk management
approach to monitoring recreational waters known as the
Annapolis Protocol (WHO 1999). This combines micro-
biological water quality monitoring with a sanitary survey
to identify the sources of pollution and has been adopted
for use in the current programme. The approach has been
tested previously in a number of European countries
(results unpublished) but this is the first time this
novel approach has been used in risk identification in the
Caspian region.
METHODS
Background
Turkmenistan and Iran were selected for pilot bathing water
quality assessment programmes with the intention that the
lessons learnt would then be used to design a programme for
all the Caspian countries. Country co-ordinators were
identified and a number of bathing beaches were selected
Table 1
|
Current EC microbiological water standards (from EC Directive 76/160/EEC; CEC 1976)
Mandatory standard Guideline standard
Total coliforms (cfu 100 ml
21
) 95% , 10,000 80% , 500
Faecal coliforms (cfu 100 ml
21
) 95% , 2,000 80% , 100
Intestinal enterococci (cfu 100 ml
21
) No standard 100
Salmonella 0 per litre No standard
Enterococci (cfu 100 ml
21
) 90% , 100 No standard
Enteroviruses 0 PFU per litre No standard
Table 2
|
WHO guideline values for microbiological quality of recreational waters,
adapted from WHO 2003; (Table 4.1)
95th percentile value of intestinal enterococci
(cfu 100 ml
21
)
Estimated risk of illness in 20
exposures
41–200 1–5% GI
1
illness
. 1.9% AFRI
2
illness risk
201–500 5–10% GI illness
1.9–3.9% AFRI illness
. 500 . 10% GI illness risk
. 3.9% AFRI illness rate
1 ¼ gastrointestinal; 2 ¼ acute febrile respiratory illness
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for monitoring. The sole criterion for selection was that
the beach was used regularly for bathing and that it was
within reasonable distance from the selected laboratory to
allow regular monitoring. Ten bathing beaches were chosen
for monitoring in Iran (Figure 1): Ramsar Beach, Salman
Shahr Beach, Noshahre Beach, Nashtaroud Beach, Chalous
Beach, Tonekon Beach, Noor Beach, Zagh-e-Marz (Neka
City), Khazar Abad (Sari City) and Parcking 2 Beach
(Babolsar). Owing to the distance between the sites, analysis
was conducted in two laboratories: the Chalous Environ-
mental Centre, Chalous, and the laboratories of the Depart-
ment of the Environment in Sari. The bathing beaches in Iran
are well developed for tourism but there appears to be very
little management of solid and liquid waste disposal. There
are many hotels and settlements along the coastline dischar-
ging waste directly into the sea. In addition, run-off and river
discharges are perceived to contribute significantly to the
contamination of the Caspian Sea.
There is less development in Turkmenistan but national
tourism is increasing in the Turkmenbashi region. Four
bathing beaches were identified for sampling (Figure 1):
Hotel Florida, Hotel Awaza and Hotel Hazar were chosen
as sites which are most popular with bathers; the Resort
Ufra is an oil base used by ships to dump their waste but is
also frequented by bathers. Analyses were conducted by the
public health laboratory in Turkmenbashi.
Monitoring began in Turkmenistan in June 2001. The
start of the monitoring was delayed in Iran until September
2001. Results of the water quality sampling and sanitary
surveys were forwarded from each laboratory to both the
Caspian Environment Programme in Baku, Azerbaijan, and
to the RCPEH in the UK on a monthly basis.
Sampling
Samplers collected 500 ml of seawater in sterilised sample
containers from the same point at their chosen bathing
beaches, at the same time on a weekly basis. Sampling was
carried out in accordance with the standard procedures
recommended in Standard Methods (1995) and the EC
Directive for the quality of bathing waters (CEC 1976).
Samplers were also asked to record the number of bathers,
meteorological conditions, temperature and pH of the water
at the time and point of sampling as outlined in the
Annapolis Protocol (WHO 1999).
Field workers were asked to complete a sanitary inspec-
tion of the bathing beach area using a standard form at the
same time as water sample collection. The aim of the sanitary
inspection was to identify sources of existing and potential
microbiological hazards that could affect the safe use of the
bathing beach or recreational water. Training in sanitary
inspection as well as water sampling and laboratory analysis
techniques was provided by the authors with follow-up
assistance three months after sampling first began.
Laboratory analysis
Water samples were processed for E. coli and intestinal
enterococci using the standard membrane filtration tech-
nique as described in Report 71 (PHLS 1994) and the ISO
methods: ISO 9308-1 (1999) – detection and enumeration
of total coliforms, E. coli using the membrane filtration
method and ISO 7899-1 (1998) – detection and enumer-
ation of intestinal enterococci using the membrane filtration
method. Slantez and Bartley media (Oxoid, UK) was used
for detection of intestinal enterococci and membrane lauryl
sulphate broth (Oxoid, UK) for detection of E. coli bacteria.
In addition, to ensure results would be comparable between
countries, standard recording forms and instructions for the
methodology were issued to each co-ordinator.
RESULTS
Iran
The water quality results from Iran reflect the more
developed tourism and higher populations in this region
of the Caspian Sea. Noticeable peaks in concentrations of
indicator bacteria were recorded at all sites (Figures 2 and 3)
and this may be attributed to a number of parameters such
as weather conditions, particularly heavy rainfall or onshore
winds, sewage or riverine discharge. Based on these
preliminary results, bathers were exposed to an estimated
risk of gastrointestinal illness of between 5 and 10% (Table
3). However, it is acknowledged that a comparatively small
sample size was taken and sample sizes should be increased
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towards 100 to increase the precision of the estimate of the
95th percentile. Unfortunately, no sanitary survey forms
were returned from Iran. It is therefore not possible to
report on this aspect of the programme.
Turkmenistan
Sampling was conducted from June 2001 to September
2002 and the results are explained in detail below (Figure 4).
The main findings from the sanitary surveys are given in
Table 4. This highlights the potential sources of contami-
nation. Water temperatures at all sites sampled in Turkme-
nistan ranged from 9 to 318C and averaged 18.58C. pH
values generally ranged between 8.2 and 8.5.
Hotel Florida
Table 4 compares the results of the water quality sampling
with the current standards and guidelines for bathing waters
(Tables 1 and 2). Presumptive E. coli counts varied between
0 and 276 colony forming units per 100 ml (cfu 100 ml
21
)
with the 95th percentile at 149 cfu 100 ml
21
. Intestinal
enterococci counts varied between 0 and 87 cfu 100 ml
21
with the 95th percentile at 56.6. Based on the WHO
Guidelines (WHO 2003) bathers at this site were exposed to
a risk of between 1 and 5% of contracting a gastrointestinal
illness from faecal contamination of this site during the time
of sampling or an average probability of one case of
gastroenteritis in 20 exposures.
Resort Ufra
Water quality results were in compliance with the
mandatory standards set by the EC under the Bathing
Water Directive (CEC 1976) for E. coli (Table 4). On two
occasions, the water quality exceeded the mandatory
standard for E. coli of 100 cfu 100 ml
21
. However, based
on these results and according to the WHO Guidelines,
there was overall very little risk (, 1%; Table 4) to the
health of bathers in terms of contracting gastrointestinal
illness caused by faecal contamination of this bathing area
during the sampling period, although there were notice-
able peaks in concentration of intestinal enterococci
(Figure 4).
Hotel Hazar
In general, the water quality results showed only small
variations over time and only 3% of the water samples
taken from this bathing water site exceeded the EC
Guideline for faecal coliforms (Table 1). Peaks in E. coli
results were recorded in August 2001 and June 2002
(Figure 4). The exact reason for these peaks is not clear but
it is probable that increased bather density contributed as
these periods coincide with the height of the bathing
season, though further investigation is required. All
samples passed the EC mandatory standard. Based on
the levels of the intestinal enterococci counts recorded at
this site there was less than a 1% risk of bathers
contracting a gastrointestinal illness caused by faecal
contamination of this bathing water during the sampling
period (Tables 1 and 4).
Hotel Awaza
The water quality at the Hotel Awaza showed the lowest
average counts of intestinal enterococci and E. coli of the
four sites sampled. Despite this, a noticeable peak in
concentration of E. coli counts was visible in June 2002
and a slight peak in intestinal enterococci counts in August
2001 (Figure 4). This, as in the case of Hotel Hazar,
coincides with the height of the bathing season and so it is
plausible, as indicated by the sanitary inspection, that the
increase in bather density is likely to contribute to the
increase in contamination. Only 2% of the samples failed
the EC Guideline for faecal coliforms and all samples
passed the mandatory standard. Comparing the 95th
percentile of the intestinal enterococci counts with the
WHO Guidelines it is estimated that bathers had a , 1%
risk of contracting a gastrointestinal illness from faecal
contamination at this site during the period of sampling
(Tables 1 and 4).
DISCUSSION
The water quality results from both Turkmenistan and Iran
showed considerable temporal and spatial variation indi-
cating variable health risks. This highlights the inherent
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difficulties associated with the commonly used practice of
defining a bathing water as passing or failing a defined
microbiological standard and, hence, the WHO advocate
moving away from a single standard (WHO 2003).
The combined use of sanitary surveys and water quality
analysis has been previously used to good effect in the
assessment of potable waters; drinking water distribution
systems and sanitary protection of wells are good examples
(WHO 1997). However, this is a new approach for
recreational waters. The advantage of this method over
using water quality monitoring alone is that the existing and
potential microbiological hazards that could affect the safe
use of the recreational water or bathing beach can be
identified. The approach provides the basic requirements
for designing a water quality monitoring programme and
valuable information required to interpret the results. In
addition, it provides public health authorities with infor-
mation required to help select sampling points, sampling
times and frequencies. This will ultimately help to better
assess water quality and make sound management decisions
regarding risk to human health.
In general, the sites that were chosen for the project are
developed or being developed for tourism. It is not possible
to comment on the level of treatment of sewage entering the
Caspian Sea since this information was not made available
from any of the countries involved. However, it is clear from
the sanitary survey forms that there is a high possibility of
sporadic water contamination from sewage in many of the
bathing areas.
The indications from the water quality results presented
here are that the bathing beaches monitored by counter-
parts in Turkmenistan were of generally acceptable quality
over the period of monitoring when compared with
standards applied in Europe. Some seasonal peaks in faecal
contamination occurred, particularly at Hotel Hazar and
Hotel Florida, and these correlated with the peak of the
1
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Ramsar
Nashtaroud
Tonekabon
Salman
Noshahre
Chalouse
A
B
C
D
Figure 2
|
Monitoring results from the Iranian bathing sites (Chalous laboratory). (a, b) E. coli cfu 100 ml
21
results from the monitoring sites samples by the Chalous laboratory; (c, d)
intestinal enterococci cfu 100 ml
21
from the monitoring sites samples by the Chalous laboratory.
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bathing season. The information gathered on the sanitary
inspection forms appears to imply that the high counts at
the Hotel Florida may be at least in part due to animal and
bird contamination, as this appears to be the distinguishing
factor contributing to the microbiological hazards identified
at this site (Table 4). This site and the Hotel Hazar are
located in residential areas. Contamination from private
housing may also be contributing to the high faecal
contamination of the water in this area.
The bathing waters monitored in Iran were generally
more contaminated although the results provide only an
indication of the water quality over a limited period of time.
Results were provided from Turkmenistan over a complete
year and thus could be considered more representative.
Long-term monitoring should be continued in both
countries to identify the effect of seasonal patterns on water
quality. The ongoing revision and updating of detailed
sanitary surveys is encouraged in order that all potential
sources of pollution are identified. If the monitoring is
continued it should be possible to identify long-term trends
in the water quality and identify flexible and rapid response
management options to reduce pollution of the water and,
thus, protect the health of bathers.
The sanitary surveys identified chemical contamination
as a threat to water quality at the bathing sites in
Noor city
Babolsar
Neka city
Sari
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B
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1000
100
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21-Dec-01
20-Jan-02
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Figure 3
|
Monitoring results from the Iranian bathing sites (Sari laboratory). (a) E. coli
cfu 100 ml
21
from the monitoring sites samples by the Sari laboratory;
(b) intestinal enterococci cfu 100 ml
21
from the monitoring sites samples by
the Sari laboratory.
Table 3
|
Summary statistics for bathing water quality, Iran
Beach
Number of
samples
95th percentile
for E. coli
(cfu 100 ml
21
)
95th percentile for
intestinal enterococci
(cfu 100 ml
21
)
% > EC mandatory
standard
1
% > EC
guideline
2
Estimated
risk
3
Ramsar 31 8600 380 32% 100% 5–10%
Salman 31 4300 390 23% 100% 5–10%
Chalous 31 8000 411 32% 100% 5–10%
Tonekabon 31 3205 257 6% 65% 5–10%
Noshahre 31 4045 417 19% 90% 5–10%
Nashtaroud 31 2230 290 26% 65% 5–10%
Babolsar 17 458 187 0% 29% 5–10%
Noor City 17 418 258 0% 47% 5–10%
Sari City 17 846 316 0% 41% 5–10%
Neka City 17 93 109 0% 6% 5– 10%
1
Percentage of samples exceeding EC Mandatory standard for faecal coliforms
2
Percentage of samples exceeding EC Guideline standard for faecal coliforms
3
Estimated risk of gastrointestinal illness after 20 exposures according to WHO guidelines for safe recreational waters (WHO 2003)
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Turkmenistan. Such contamination is likely to be carried
into the bathing site by currents at Awaza and Hazar. At the
Resort Ufra and Hotel Florida sites in Turkmenbashi direct
contamination is possible from the nearby industrial
sources. Further investigation of their impact on water
quality is recommended. Again, if the sanitary surveys are
continually updated and checked against local conditions,
then future monitoring programmes can allow quantifi-
cation of the results in a sanitary risk score. This has proved
very beneficial in other water system types to aid interpret-
ation of the available water quality information and develop
remedial action (e.g. Howard et al. 2003; Cronin et al. 2004).
Once the water quality programmes are well established the
results of the monitoring should be made available to the
users. This could be done by posting the results on notice
boards at the bathing area with an explanation. In the future
a scheme of officially identifying beaches for bathing that
are monitored on a regular basis may be considered.
Future investigations could also focus on aesthetic
aspects of the bathing beach areas. Litter, in particular,
was noted as an issue in both countries and especially Iran.
Public participation projects to reduce the quantities of
litter on the coastline would both benefit the coastline and
help to promote environmental education programmes in
the Caspian region (e.g. as in the Coastwatch initiative in
Europe; Pond & Rees 1994). The number of skilled staff
available should be expanded with the assistance of the
laboratory staff involved in the current project.
CONCLUSIONS
This was the first co-ordinated monitoring programme of
recreational waters in the Caspian Sea. Based on the results
of the sampling programme recreational water users in Iran
and Turkmenistan were exposed to varying risks of
contracting gastrointestinal illness from microbiological
contamination of the Caspian Sea ranging from an average
probability of one case of gastroenteritis per 20 exposures to
a greater than 10% chance of illness per single exposure in
50
50
0
100
100
150
200
250
300
150
29/06/01
29/07/01
28/08/01
27/09/01
27/10/01
26/11/01
26/12/01
25/01/02
24/02/02
26/03/02
25/04/02
25/05/02
24/06/02
24/07/02
23/08/02
22/09/02
Avaza
Hazar
Florida
Ufra
B
A
Figure 4
|
Monitoring results from the Turkmenistan bathing sites. (a) E. coli cfu 100 ml
21
; (b) intestinal enterococci cfu 100 ml
21
.
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Table 4
|
Summary of sanitary survey and water quality results for the four sites (70 samples in total) surveyed in Turkmenistan
Summary of sanitary survey findings Water quality results
Site
Typical bathing
density (person
per m
2
) Nearby land type To
1
Sh
2
LB
3
Microbiological hazards
Chemical
hazards
Sand quality
threats
Pollution
transport
mechanism
95p E.
coli
4
95p
IE
5
%
> EC
MS
6
%
> EC
G
7
Risk
8
Hotel
Florida
20 to 25 Residential,
industrial
(including fish
factory)
0 0 15 Long sea sewerage outfall,
birds and animals, storm
drains
Urban and
industrial
run-off,
water craft
Algae, plastic
residue
Onshore
winds
149 56.6 0% 28% 1 to
5%
Hotel
Hazar
30 to 35 Residential 3 5 6 Communal sewage disposal
facilities, storm drains,
natural drainage,
wastewater from toilets and
showers
Urban
run-off
Algae, plastic
and other
residue
Onshore
winds,
currents
60.9 32 0% 3% , 1%
Hotel
Avaza
20 to 50 Rural though
two hotels
nearby
0 0 3 Communal sewage disposal
facilities, natural drainage,
birds and animals
– Algae Onshore
winds,
currents
40.6 11 0% 2% , 1%
Resort
Ufra
30 Industrial
(oil base)
1 0 3 Communal sewage disposal
facilities, storm drains,
natural drainage
Urban and
industrial
run-off,
water
craft
Algae, plastic
residue
Onshore
winds,
currents
44.9 3.6 0% 3% , 1%
1,2,3
Number of toilets, showers and litter bins, respectively, on the beaches;
4,5
95th percentile values (cfu 100 ml
21
)forE. coli and intestinal enterococci (IE), respectively;
6,7
Percentage of samples exceeding EC mandatory and
EC guideline standards for faecal coliforms, respectively,
8
Estimated risk of gastrointestinal illness after 20 exposures according to WHO Guidelines for safe recreational waters (WHO 2003)
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some bathing areas. The use of a sanitary inspection to
identify pollution sources is a new approach to monitoring
bathing waters but proved valuable in aiding the interpret-
ation of laboratory results. Although not conclusive, the
sanitary inspection approach seems to support the results of
the water sampling in this instance. The results have shown
a need to continue monitoring recreational waters in the
Caspian Sea and to implement management measures to
reduce levels of contamination.
The programme was successful in increasing capacity
building in the region and strengthening technical
co-operation between countries. It has established the
infrastructure for a long term programme of monitoring and
data collection and provided a launch pad for the promotion
of discussion and co-operation between bordering countries
of the Caspian Sea to better manage this unique resource.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The project was funded by the Caspian Environment
Programme through the World Health Organisation.
Thanks are due to the Co-Directors (Svetlana Sakhanova
and Nabat Mamedova) of the CRTC, Ashgabat, Turkme-
nistan, who were instrumental in organising the admin-
istrative details of the workshop and pilot monitoring
work; the Department of the Environment, Iran, in
particular Dr Mehrdadi and Mr Sheikholeslami; Timothy
Turner and Hamid Ghaffarzadeh of the Caspian Environ-
ment Programme; and Roger Aertgeerts, WHO-ECEH,
Rome. The authors would also like to thank the local
consultants who carried out the monitoring in each of the
countries.
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