Draft
11/12/2019
RECOMMENDATIONS
of the 4 (24) Session of Coordinating Committee on Hydrometeorology
of the Caspian Sea

The 4 (24) Session of Coordinating Committee on Hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea (CASPCOM) was held in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, on 10-11 December 2019.
The Session was attended by representatives of the National Hydrometeorological Or-ganizations (NMHSs) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and Turkmenistan, governmental authorities of Iran, business, scientific and public organizations of the Caspian littoral states.
The main activities of Coordinating Committee on Hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea in 2018-2019 were as follows:
– progress in the elaboration of CASPCOM organizational and Programme documents required to implement Agreement on Co-operation in the Field of Hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea;
- a new CASPCOM catalogue of seawater salinity of the Caspian Sea;
– the updated CASPCOM data catalogues (sea level, water and air temperature, re-gional atmospheric circulation and surface runoff to the Caspian Sea);
– CASPCOM bulletins on the state of the Caspian Sea level containing the assessment of actual and expected seasonal changes of the sea level;
– national achievements in the field of hydrometeorology and monitoring of the Caspian Sea, which create a framework for expanding of NMHS’s co-operation and increasing its efficiency.
1. Implementation of Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea

Having reviewed implementation of Agreement on Co-operation in the Field of Hydro-meteorology of the Caspian Sea and elaboration of Intergovernmental Integrated Pro-gramme on Hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea,
the Session recommends as follows:
- adoption of the document (CASPCOM Rules of Procedure) is to be postponed until the next Session. CASPCOM Chairperson is to forward the document with the agreed modifications to the NMHSs within 2 months after the completion of this Session;
- NMHSs are to prepare comments on and proposals to the draft CASPCOM Rules of Procedure and to forward them to CASPAS Coordinator not later than 3 months before the next, 5(25) CASPCOM Session. In case of no observations by this deadline, the document will be considered as a preliminary coordinated and will be submitted as it is now to the next Session for a further review;
- CASPAS Coordinator is to forward a draft document revised in line with the received comments and proposals to the NMHSs one month prior to the 5 (25) CASPCOM Ses-sion;
- CASPAS Coordinator is to forward the list of CASPAS Coordinator’s responsibilities to the NMHSs;
- NMHSs are to prepare proposals on the CASPCOM motto and submit them to CAS-PAS Coordinator not later than 3 months before the 5 (25) Session;
- NHMSs are to review an IRIMO suggestion to appoint the Executive Direc-tor/Coordinator on rotation basis among the Member countries in an alphabetic order and inform CASPAS Coordinator on their opinions within three months after the 4 (24) Session of CASPCOM.
- As IRIMO has suggested harmonising the duration of the Chairperson’s term of office with the intersessional intervals so that the country of Chairperson could always be the host of the session, IRIMO is to request I.R.I. MFA on a possibility of relevant amend-ments to Article 5 of Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea

Having reviewed the progress in implementation of the midterm objectives of Intergov-ernmental Programme in the field of Hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea and having appreciated the work on the Practical Guidelines on implementation of activities in the field of Caspian Sea hydrometeorology,
the Session has resolved as follows:
- Not later than 3 months before the next 5 (25) CASPCOM Session NMHSs are to present CASPAS Coordinator with national plans of scientific research in the field of Hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea and to prepare proposals on a research project dealing with the regional observation network optimization with a view to improve the forecast quality and promote climatic services in the Caspian region. NMHSs are to submit the proposals to CASPAS Coordinator;

- NMHSs are to present their proposals and materials on the implementation of the mid-term objectives of Intergovernmental Programme at the next CASPCOM Session;

- IRIMO is to provide CASPAS Coordinator with a template for a short-term Action Plan containing quantity target indicators not later than 3 months after 4 (24) CASPCOM session. NHMSs are to present CASPAS Coordinator with their short-term Action Plans in accordance with the template not later than three months before the 5 (25) CASP-COM session.

- NMHSs are to consider the draft layout of the Practical Guidelines on implementation of activities in the field of Caspian Sea hydrometeorology and submit their suggestions and comments to CASPAS Coordinator not later than 3 months after the 4 (24) Session.

2. CASPCOM activities and national activities in the field of hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea
Having appreciated the CASPCOM activities, as well as the national activities in the field of hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea in 2018 - 2019, welcoming the expanded co-operation of the Parties in the field of climate service of customers in the Caspian region and prognostic information exchange,
the Session recommends as follows:
- NMHSs are to develop and strengthen the prognostic information exchange on the basis of two-side agreements;
- NMHSs are to provide data for CASPCOM Catalogues in time, no later than 2 months before the 5 (25) Session of CASPCOM. NMHSs, which have gaps in the earlier sub-mitted data for the CASPCOM catalogues are to submit the missing data within 3 months after the 4 (24) Session;
- CASPAS Coordinator is to continue annual updates of CASPCOM Catalogues with the newly submitted data (on sea level, air and water temperature, surface runoff and regional atmospheric circulation, seawater salinity),
- NMHSs are to provide CASPAS Coordinator with the corrected dates of the post es-tablishment and starting observations as well as checked locations of all the posts and stations with a view to introduce changes to CASPCOM catalogues within three months after the completion of the 4 (24) CASPCOM Session;
– CASPAS Coordinator is to post updated CASPCOM catalogues on the web-site once in two years starting with 2020;
- CASPAS Coordinator is to provide the CASPCOM members with the updated versions of the Catalogues at the 5 (25) Session of CASPCOM;
–CASPAS Coordinator and CASPCOM Working Group are to continue issuing CASP-COM information bulletins on the state of the Caspian Sea level in 2020;
- As the Session has appreciated the Kazhydromet efforts in preparing and presenting at the 4 (24) Session climatic bulletin, CASPAS Coordinator is to disseminate the Kaz-hydromet presentation among the NHMSs within 1 month after the completion of the Session;
- NMHSs to prepare the proposals on the climatic bulletin by CASPCOM and submit them to CASPAS Coordinator not later than 3 months before 5 (25) Session of CASP-COM. CASPAS Coordinator is to summarize the proposals by NMHSs and to present the summary at the 25th Session of CASPCOM;
- To appreciate the NMHSs activities in designing and maintaining sites informing on CASPCOM in national languages;
- To appreciate the efforts of Roshydromet in maintaining the CASPCOM web-site in two languages (Russian and English) and to recommend to continue this practice;
- To take note of an IRIMO proposal to offer hosting, upgrading and administering the CASPCOM site if required;
- Following a decision of 22 Session of CASPCOM, IRIMO, Turkmendydromet and Az-hydromet are to connect height/leveling networks in Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan with a view to compare data on the Caspian Sea level and to inform the next Session of CASPCOM on this activity.
- CASPAS Coordinator is to prepare an annotated Agenda for the 5 (25) Session and to forward it to the NMHSs no less than a month prior to the Session.

3. CASPCOM cooperation with international and economic entities
Welcoming the information provided by Acting Chair of Working Group of Tehran Con-vention on Monitoring and Assessment (WGMA) on the WGMA activities and potential areas of cooperation between CASPCOM and Tehran Convention, including a possible CASPCOM contribution to regular Reports on the State of the Environment of the Caspian Sea, and expressing willingness to future closer co-operation
the Session recommends as follows:
- CASPCOM is to expand and strengthen operating contacts with the Tehran Conven-tion in the areas of mutual interest, including the convention-initiated projects, based on Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2013;
- to agree to a proposal by the Interim Secretariat of the Tehran Convention to hold a joint meeting of CASPCOM and WGMA within a framework of the 5 (25) CASPCOM Session in 2020.

4. Date and venue of the next CASPCOM Session
The Session requested Roshydromet to consider holding the next, 5 (25) Session of CASPCOM in the Russian Federation in the autumn of 2020, and to inform NMHSs and CASPAS Coordinator on the date and venue of the Session not later than three months before it.

6. Adoption of decisions and recommendations of the 4 (24) CASPCOM session
The Session has adopted the proposed decisions and recommendations.