REKA - the Russia & Eastern Europe Knowledge Alliance - is a Dutch knowledge network bringing together expertise on Russia and Eastern Europe and strengthening exchange between research, policy and practice. The conference, organized by the Clingendael Institute, brought together around 250 participants from policymaking circles, business and academia.

The ISS-led session explored the growing socio-environmental and geopolitical challenges facing the Caspian Sea. Climate change, energy production and agricultural water use are contributing to declining water levels and increasing pressure on ecosystems and coastal communities. These developments also have wider implications for regional trade, connectivity and security.

Using the concept of translocality, the session examined how these regional and geopolitical developments intersect with lived experiences in coastal communities, with particular attention to Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Speakers discussed how global and regional processes shape local socio-environmental change and, conversely, how developments at the local level can influence wider debates around trade, connectivity, security, climate change and biodiversity.

The discussion also considered what these interconnected challenges mean for the Netherlands and the European Union and their engagement with the Caspian region.

Through the session, ISS researchers contributed a perspective that connects local experiences and environmental change with broader questions of international cooperation, geopolitics and sustainable development.