OSCE facilitates co-ordination meeting between Tajikistan’s Khujand and Kyrgyzstan’s Osh Aarhus Centres

The OSCE field missions in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan supported a meeting between the Khujand and Osh Aarhus Centres in Khujand, Tajikistan, from 4 to 5 September 2014, to promote co-ordination between the Centres in confronting environmental challenges common to both countries.

The meeting was attended by the managers of both Aarhus Centres, OSCE mission members from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as well as representatives from the Sughd region branch of the Environmental Protection Committee, civil society and the media.

The Aarhus Centres presented their recent and current activities, discussed environmental challenges common to northern Tajikistan and southern Kyrgyzstan and explored the possibilities for future co-operation in areas such as hazardous waste management, air and water pollution, land degradation and disaster risk.

“This is the first time the two Centres have had a chance to exchange views and experiences,  and discuss concrete ideas for further co-operation under current and future projects and programmes,” said Dmitry Prudtskikh, Manager of the Khujand Aarhus Centre. “We hope that the initial meeting will contribute towards improving environmental co-operation in border districts as well as facilitate and implement Aarhus Convention principles at the regional level.”

Participants visited a radioactive waste tailing dump, in the Babujon Gafurov district close to the city of Khujand, which is unsecured and represents a significant threat to human health. They also met with representatives of partner organizations of the Khujand Aarhus Centre working in the field of disaster risk response and reduction. 

Kanibek Isaaev, Manager of the Aarhus Center in Osh said: “A joint proposal for a memorandum of co-operation and a plan of concrete activities for the next two years has been developed. This initiative will give new impetus to our activities and joint efforts. Therefore I have a deep conviction that this meeting will lead to further progress in the activities of the Aarhus Centres in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.”

Aarhus Centres are named after the city of Aarhus in Denmark, where the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was signed in 1998. 

The OSCE has been supporting the establishment and functioning of these Centres in a number of participating States.