The seventh training course on The Caspian Sea Sustainable Development and Management’ has started in the Avaza National Tourist Zone.It is co-organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the State Enterprise on the Caspian Sea Issues under the President of Turkmenistan in cooperation with the International Ocean Institute (IOI), a partner of the United Nations.
The training is being attended by specialists from the coastal states Turkmenistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Russian Federation all those, whose work is directly related to the Caspian Sea.
Invited to take the training course is also a representative of the International Ocean Institute-China Regional Centre for the Western Pacific.As in previous years, among the Avaza seminar participants are those employed in the oil and gas industry, foreign ministries, conservation organizations, the transport sector, fishing organizations, hydrometeorological services, and other fields.
Managing Director of the International Ocean Institute Antonella Vassallo and Advisor to the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO), Doctor of Geography Yuri Olyunin are guests of honor at the seminar.
The training program focuses on theoretical and practical issues that the littoral states are currently facing: maritime law, naval policy, marine pollution, resource development in the Caspian Sea, conservation of its biodiversity and biological resources in coastal areas, integrated coastal zone management, and marine spatial planning.
The course consists of four modules: the institutional structure of ocean governance, financial mechanisms for sustainable water resources management, mechanisms for ocean communication management, and the management of the Caspian Sea.
Seminar attendees are expected to make presentations on the chosen area of cooperation, applying the knowledge gained through the training course.They will be offered insights into activities of the Global Environment Fund (GEF), established by the United Nations to assist in environmental protection, as well as into assessment methods for transboundary waters and ways of using funds of the GEF.
Experts from Turkmenistan will share their expertise on the implementation of GEF-supported projects.In his speech delivered at the Fifth Caspian Summit (Aktau, 12 August 2018), President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that “Turkmenistan is taking an integrated approach to environmental issues, particularly, in the context of implementing the SDGs.
Every year, our country plays host to a training seminar on The Caspian Sea Sustainable Development and Management’, organized by the International Ocean Institute.” Founded in 1972 by Professor Elisabeth Mann Borgese, the IOI is a non-governmental body with special consultative status at the United Nations.
It works to raise awareness of sustainable management of marine resources, to uphold and expand the principle of the common heritage as enshrined in the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (1982).
At present, its key activities focus on providing training courses.Regional seminars on marine resource management are organized in Turkmenistan, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Malta, Thailand, and the Republic of South Africa.
Notably, the ongoing Avaza training course is being held for the first time after the heads of state of the Caspian littoral nations signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea and other important agreements and protocols at the Fifth Caspian Summit.
Speaking at the Summit in Aktau, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov highlighted that today economic activities in the Caspian Sea should have a sound scientific base and rely on a comprehensive understanding of natural and anthropogenic processes, monitoring and forecasting systems.
In this regard, it would be very advisable to work out a pentalateral agreement on research activities in the Caspian Sea.’ With a view to the Turkmen leader’s initiative, this year’s training course, which will run until March 15, has an added emphasis on regional cooperation in the field of marine scientific research.
Since 2013, Turkmenistan has hosted the seminar annually and 115 people have received training.The training course on The Caspian Sea Sustainable Development and Management’ also offers its attendees a cultural program and a visit to the Hazar State Nature Reserve.