ISAR's Caspian Program Announces a Public Environmental Monitoring Network for the Caspian

October 25, 2002

ISAR's Caspian Program, working in coordination with the Moscow-based organization "Ecoline," conducted a seminar in Moscow October 19-22, 2002 on "Developing a Public Environmental Network in the Caspian Region." The nearly 50 participants represented nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Russia and Turkmenistan.

Public environmental monitoring was first determined to be a priority for NGOs of the Caspian region at ISAR's April 1999 conference on "Strengthening Partnerships among NGOs Working on Environmental Problems of the Caspian Basin." As monitoring is an important means through which to involve communities in decision-making regarding environmental issues, the creation and development of a public environmental monitoring network was established as one of ISAR's priorities in the Caspian.

In the summer of 2002, ISAR's Caspian Program conducted a small grants competition for NGOs of the region to undertake biological, chemical and visual monitoring. The results of these projects became a key component of the discussion throughout the seminar. Building on these discussions, the participants explored how to best distribute environmental information, how to use monitoring results to become involved in decision-making processes, and how to create public monitoring laboratories throughout the Caspian basin.

In addition to the local NGO participants, the seminar attracted representatives from various governmental and scientific organizations (Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, Center for International Projects, Oceanographic Institute Rosgidromet, Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Khrunichev Cosmic Center, etc.). Representatives from international programs such as the KASPAS Hydrometeorological Program, and the Caspian Environment Programme also presented information.

The seminar participants noted that environmental monitoring is part of a larger issue-public environmental control-and thus decided to create a Caspian Public Environmental Control Network. This network has been established to collect, analyze, and distribute information about the status of the Caspian ecosystem.

The network is founded on the principles of transparency and effectiveness, and is open to new members. Additional information about network activities, including access to a Caspian public environmental control listserv, is available at www.caspwatch.ru.

ISAR's Caspian Program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Institute, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, the Academy for Education Development, and Rockefeller Family Associates.

Timur Berkeliev
Public Environmental Monitoring Coordinator
Tel.: +7 (99312) 473285
timchik@ngotm.org