Caspian environmental problems to be in spotlight in Turkmenistan
By Nigar Orujova
An interagency conference on main areas of Turkmenistan's environmental activities in the Caspian Sea kicked off in the Avaza tourist zone located in the east side of the Caspian Sea on August 12, the Turkmen government reported.
The event is timed to coincide the date of enactment of the Tehran Framework Convention for the Protection of Marine Environment, signed by five littoral states in 2006.
The agenda of the conference includes Iss ues of pollution control and water quality monitoring, as well as preservation of marine biological resources in accordance with Turkmenistan's National Caspian Action Plan.
The conference participants will become familiar with a set of measures covering the protection of the Caspian Sea marine environment, which are being conducted alongside the expansion of the maritime transport infrastructure in Turkmenistan, as well as with the development of the infrastructure of the Avaza national tourist zone.
The construction of the Avaza national tourism zone began about five years ago. Local and foreign companies operating in the Avaza enjoy tax and duty privileges.
A new airport, a power station, desalination and water treatment plants have already been built and a number of spa facilities are regularly put into operation in Avaza. The second stage of the construction work envisions the construction of a water park, a yacht club, an aquarium, an indoor ski complex, a cycle track and a casino.
The forum will be attended by representatives of the State
Enterprise for the Caspian Sea Related Issues and the State Agency
for Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resources under the President
of Turkmenistan, the State Service of Maritime and River Transport,
the State Committee for Fisheries and other agencies.
Representatives from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the
European Union, the World Health Organization and embassies of the
Caspian countries accredited in Turkmenistan were invited to the
event.