OSCE Office in Baku launches initiative to support civic action to address security and environment

BAKU, 18 November 2009 - The OSCE Office in Baku launched today the Civic Action for Security and Environment (CASE) initiative, a small grants programme aimed at supporting civil society organizations to be strong partners, to the government as well as other stakeholders, in jointly addressing environmental and security challenges.

The CASE programme is part of the Environment and Security (ENVSEC) initiative for the South Caucasus region. ENVSEC is a joint partnership between the OSCE, the UN Development Programme, the UN Environment Programme, the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe, as well as NATO as an associate member.

"Environmental degradation, unsustainable use of natural resources, mismanagement of hazardous wastes and climate change are just some of the threats to security. The CASE programme is designed to effectively address these and other priority environmental challenges in the country through a participatory and collaborative approach," said Melissa Stone, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Baku.

"CASE encourages partnerships and networking between a wide spectrum of civil society organizations, the private sector and academia so that they can pool resources and build on their strengths and expertise to effectively address complex environment and security challenges."

The OSCE Office in Baku will support these goals through awareness-raising programmes on the linkages between environment and security, building the capacity of civil society organizations and providing grants for projects that demonstrate such linkages.

Topics addressed by the CASE Programme include sustainable management of natural resources and hazardous waste; combating land degradation and preventable human-made disasters; and promoting safe and sustainable practices in sectors including energy, mining, industry, agriculture and transport.

The Programme is funded by Statoil and the Government of Austria.