Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry of Azerbaijan co-organized stakeholder, a consultation workshop to review the draft report on the assessment of Azerbaijan's environmental safeguard capacity, on September 9.

Preparation of the report was conducted under the ADB technical assistance on improving the implementation of environmental safeguards in Central and West Asia, the bank reported.

The overall objective of the technical assistance is to strengthen national capacity in effective implementation of environmental safeguards for infrastructure investment. Within the TA scope, country assessment of environmental safeguards capacity will be conducted, and capacity development plan for environmental safeguards will be prepared.

The capacity development plan will outline a future program of activities for development of environmental safeguard capacity.

The workshop was attended by representatives of key government ministries with environmental safeguard responsibilities, key sector development agencies, international development agencies, non-government organizations and academia. The workshop participants reviewed the findings of the ADB team, provided recommendations for specific activities and identified groups targeted for capacity building.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members - 48 from the region. In 2013, ADB assistance totaled $21.0 billion, including co-financing of $6.6 billion.