OSCE Centre supports discussion to improve oil spill response strategies in the Caspian
AKTAU, Kazakhstan, 29 October 2008 - Increasing the national capacity to respond to oil spills in the Caspian Sea region is the topic of a three-day workshop that started in the western oil port city of Aktau today.
The workshop is a joint initiative by the OSCE Centre, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and EcoForum, a network of environmental NGOs in Kazakhstan. The event aims to identify measures to strengthen the legal and institutional framework for co-operation on oil spill prevention and response in the Caspian Sea region. Around 50 representatives from national and regional authorities, oil and gas companies and civil society are participating.
"Improved regional co-operation is essential to provide for a balance between economic development and environmental protection in the Caspian Sea region. Active co-operation between the Government and the private sector can help to prevent environmental security risks and improve cost efficiency," said Ambassador Alexandre Keltchewsky, Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana. "At the same time, it is important to ensure that the local population has access to information about environmental risks and can participate in decisions affecting their environment."
Workshop participants will discuss national contingency planning, international conventions and ways of strengthening inter-ministerial and regional co-operation. Experts from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland and Azerbaijan will provide examples of response strategies in their countries.
"I hope for an active discussion, which will help us develop concrete measures on ensuring ecological and industrial safety, while developing oil deposits in the Caspian Sea region," said Nurslyam Dyusekenov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on State Control of Emergency Situations and Industrial Safety of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
On the third day of the workshop, the World Wide Fund for Nature will arrange a special training seminar for civil society with a focus on access to information for the local population in case of oil spills, risks to ecosystems and ways of reducing these.
The workshop is expected to result in recommendations for follow-up measures that will be submitted to the Kazakh Government and Parliament, and will also be shared with a wider public. The initiative is a follow-up to discussions held during the 2008 Economic and Environmental Forum process, where particular attention was given to the Caspian Sea environment.