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Turkmenistan Hails Its Caspian Sea Protection Measures

Posted on: Thursday, 8 September 2005, 18:00 CDT

Turkmenistan is implementing a large-scale strategy to protect all ecological aspects of the Caspian Sea for future generations, a Turkmen paper reports, quoting the state news agency. The ecological programme is also being successfully implemented at Turkmenistan's chief Turkmenbasy Oil Refinery with the construction and commissioning of modern purifying facilities, backed by an Irish company, to preserve "the unique beauty of the Caspian region", the report continued. Following is excerpt from report entitled: "With the aim of preserving and protecting the Caspian", attributed to Turkmen State News Service, published by Turkmen newspaper Neytralnyy Turkmenistan on 27 August:

The intensive development of the Caspian Sea coast, the development of oil production on its shelf and a constant increase in freight flow along the routes between the ports of the five Caspian littoral states - all this, without which it is impossible to imagine the region's current economic development, unfortunately embraces problems of an ecological nature. And Turkmenistan's position on this issue is embodied in its complex approach to the fulfilment of the environmental protection tasks, and especially those related to the Caspian Sea. This is first of all required due to the vulnerability of the basin's ecosystem and its adjoining areas and also because of the uniqueness of the sea, which is an inland water body. Today, Turkmenistan, which at last holds the leading positions in the production of hydrocarbon materials and the petrochemical industry in the Central Asian region, is taking large- scale steps aimed at conserving and increasing the natural resources of the Caspian Sea and of the region as a whole. This was once again proved by the resolution recently adopted by the president of Turkmenistan, Saparmyrat Turkmenbasy [Nyyazow], aimed at ensuring the protection of the Caspian Sea marine environment and its coastal areas [from the pollution by vessels, signed on 25 August 2005].

Unique Caspian ecosystem

The Caspian region is one of the unique ecosystems in the world that has preserved diverse relict flora and fauna and possesses rich natural resources and, above all, considerable reserves of hydrocarbon materials, which has made it an important object of dynamic human economic activity. That is why for many decades, the Caspian Sea had to "swallow" patiently all the production and residential waste by impressing the scientists with its vitality. If such a volume of pollution was dumped into any other inland water body, then it would have been already included in the list of dead long ago. That is why the Caspian Sea is unique because of the microelements contained in its waters which neutralize and counteract toxic pollutants, although this potential is not unlimited. To preserve this wonderful pearl of nature for the coming generations, to use its resources rationally and wisely and provide sustainable development of the littoral territories is one of the important goals of the environmental protection policy of Turkmenistan, which, from the first days of independence, has taken an active part in the implementation of various ecological programmes, including the National Action Plan of Saparmyrat Turkmenbasy on Environmental Protection (NAPSTEP).

The crucial measures undertaken in accordance with NAPSTEP have made a remarkable contribution to ensuring the ecological wellbeing in the country's Caspian region. The Kaspekogozegcilik [Caspian Eco Monitoring] Specialized Agency under the Ministry for the Protection of Nature of Turkmenistan is successfully functioning in order to carry out the monitoring of the Turkmen sector of the old Caspian Sea. The main aim of the Caspian ecological agency is to minimize the negative impact of oil spills on the people's health and living conditions, as well as on the environment - the flora and fauna, to protect fish reserves, the coastal areas and the places of water intake for the desalination units. The specific tasks and responsibilities of the number of departments, organizations and companies involved in operations related to the oil production have been defined in conformity with this aim.

Industrial development, environment protection combine

Successfully combining advanced industrial development with concern for environmental protection, Turkmenistan is one of the recognized leaders among the states conducting an ecological policy in the oil and gas sector. This is vividly demonstrated by such important legislative acts as the laws "On nature protection", "On subsoil", "On hydrocarbon resources", the national plan for prevention and liquidation of oil spills in the Caspian Sea, the national standard of environmental impact assessment and other normative documents adopted in recent years.

[Passage omitted: maintaining ecosecurity is considered one of the priority tasks of the state policy]

The total length of the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea coast is 650 km from the north to the south and it stretches from the border with Kazakhstan to the border with Iran. The maritime boundaries of the Caspian littoral states are completely permeable. Nevertheless, we can be proud that throughout the entire perimeter of the sea, the Turkmen coast is the cleanest of all ecologically. Understanding the importance and urgency of the task to counter the pollution of the Caspian's marine environment, Turkmenistan is actively cooperating with its neighbours in the region in this sphere. In 1995, with the support of the World Bank, the UNEP and the UNDP, the agreement on the establishment of the jointly elaborated Caspian Ecological Programme was adopted and in 1998 the Caspian Ecological Programme entered the implementation stage at the Ramsaar meeting.

[Passage omitted: A number of projects on the sustainable development of the Caspian communities and managing the fishing industry are being accomplished within the framework of the Caspian Ecological Programme]

With the framework of the Caspian Ecological Programme, a number of documents have been worked out. The most important among them is the Framework Convention on Caspian Environment Protection, which determined the principal approaches to the solution of the ecological problems and also to the provision of broad public access to the ecologically important information and to the decision- making process on defining ways to further develop the Caspian region.

[Passage omitted: Turkmenistan takes an active part in measures to lessen the negative influence of natural factors such as sea level fluctuations, erosion of coastal strip and desertification of coastal areas]

The large-scale ecological programme is also being successfully implemented at the Turkmenbasy Oil Refinery, the leader of the national petrochemical industry. Three new projects aimed at increasing the effectiveness of refining "black gold" [crude oil] were launched here at the end of last year and they are being implemented with the direct participation of a long-time partner of Turkmen petrochemical producers - the Irish company Emerol Ltd. Oriented to the profile of the largest enterprise in the country's western region, the ecological projects, in particular the construction and commissioning of modern purifying facilities, will enable the unique beauty of the Caspian region to be preserved.

Thus, a reliable system of ecoprotection guaranteeing the preservation of the unique natural water body and all of its resources for the future generations of the independent Turkmen state has been created.

Source: BBC Monitoring Central Asia

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