International organizations launch initiative in southern Caucasus on link between environment and security

BAKU, 18 May 2004 - An initiative focusing on the links between environmental problems and security was launched this week with national events in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Through the Environmental Security Initiative, the OSCE, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) aim to identify cases in which environmental degradation may pose threats to human security and contribute to instability, and suggest action to deal with them.

The initiative began on 10 May in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, with two days of consultations among government officials, non-governmental organizations and local and international experts. They discussed key environmental risk factors that have the potential to hamper security in Armenia.

The workshops continued on 14 and 15 May in Tbilisi, Georgia. They focused on the role of environmental security in economic growth and poverty reduction in Georgia, both greatly dependent on the quality and quantity of existing natural resources in the country..

Concluding the series, a workshop in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 17 and 18 May focused on principal environmental concerns with security implications in the country, including trans-boundary water pollution and freshwater quality as well as contamination of the Caspian Sea and deforestation.

The main idea behind the Environment and Security Initiative, launched in 2002, is that eliminating environmental problems helps to ease political tensions. In order to achieve this, the Initiative seeks to:

• Raise awareness of environmental risks and their impact on security;
• Engage with government and non-government groups to identify both risks posed by environmental change and opportunities for trans-boundary co-operation to promote sustainable development, peace and stability;
• Map risks, as well as needs and opportunities, for environmental co-operation to improve sustainable resource management, crisis prevention and peace promotion;
• Develop and implement projects to reduce risks identified.

National consultations are considered to be a key element of the Initiative as they generate information on specific problems that can then be addressed through individual projects.