Turkmenistan plans to clean soil at Caspian coastal zone
By Kamila Aliyeva
A draft on cleanup of soil at the Caspian coastal zone of Turkmenistan was presented at a meeting of the Turkmen Cabinet of Ministers.
The project is planned to be implemented by a consortium of Turkmen enterprises “Gazyk”, “Hazar Balyk” and UK’s Global Ecological Ventures Limited, the Turkmen government reported.
The Caspian Sea region is a unique natural complex with a single ecosystem, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.
In his opinion, flora and fauna of the Caspian Sea require a very careful and prudent approach.
Turkmenistan strictly observes all the obligations undertaken regarding environmental protection, and implements major projects in this sphere together with the United Nations Environment Program, the Caspian Environment Program, the Global Environment Facility and other international agencies, he added.
Determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea has become one of the problematic issues among the five littoral states - Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan since demise of the Soviet Union.
The legal status have remained unsolved during the past two decades, preventing development and exploitation of its disputable oil and gas fields and creating obstacles to the realization of major energy projects.
The Caspian littoral states signed a Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003.
Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use in July 1998. The two countries signed a protocol to the agreement in May 2002.
Moreover, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea and a protocol to it in November 2001, and February 2003, respectively.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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