OSCE Centre holds workshop on starting an Aarhus environmental centre for the Caspian Sea region
ATYRAU, 8 April 2009 - The OSCE Centre in Astana held a workshop today on establishing an Aarhus Centre for the Caspian Sea region to promote awareness and participation in environmental issues in Atyrau.
More than 50 representatives from the local Atyrau government, the oil and gas sector and non-governmental organizations took part in the discussion, which focused on best practices and lessons learned from other countries to determine the best Aarhus Centre model for the Caspian region. The participants prepared a memorandum of understanding on establishing an Aarhus Centre, which will be signed in the forthcoming months.
"Implementing the Aarhus Convention is a priority for the OSCE Centre. We stand ready to support the establishment and the operation of an Aarhus Centre in Atyrau, which can serve as a forum for the government, regional administration, local population, business community and international organizations to better address the serious environmental issues caused by industrial and commercial activities in the Caspian Sea region," said Jeannette Kloetzer, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Centre.
Aarhus Centres help implement the Aarhus Convention's three pillars - access to information on environmental matters, public participation in decision making and access to justice.
"The local authorities are making every effort to involve the public in discussions and decisions on regional environmental problems, and to provide comprehensive support to non-governmental organizations," said Bolat Daukenov, Deputy Akim of Atyrau Oblast. "The Akimat of Atyrau Oblast supports the idea of establishing an Aarhus Centre in the Caspian Sea region and is prepared to assist as needed."
The workshop is part of the OSCE Centre's activities to support the Aarhus Convention in Kazakhstan and complements the OSCE Secretariat's regional project to promote Aarhus Centres in Central Asia.
The event was organized in co-operation with the Kazakh Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Atyrau regional administration and the Ecological Forum of Non-governmental Organizations of Kazakhstan.