Project description:

After the decline of the Soviet Union, the Caspian Sea Region and its substantial resources gained more and more importance, not only in regional but also in global perspective. The exploration and extraction of mineral oil and natural gas resources is inseparably combined with serious risks for the unique and fragile ecosystem of the region. Crucial problems are the allocation of fossil resources between the five riparian states - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran, and Turkmenistan –, and the influence of the European Union in the region. Further key players in the political and economic development of the Caspian states are the United States, Turkey and China. The most important ecological question in this context is whether sustainable use and product of these resources is possible.
The Volkswagen Foundation is funding a group of scholars to handle their research on energy policy and security problems in the Caspian Region, and a series of five workshops, which will take place in Germany and Azerbaijan.

Workshops and presentations

• Prospects for Interdisciplinary Research on Resources and Risks in the Caspian Region, Baku 2006

• Energy Policy Research in the Caspian Region - State of the art and perspectives, Berlin 2006

• Energy Policy Research in the Caspian Region - State of the art and perspectives, Baku 2005