A two-week training course entitled “The Caspian Sea – Sustainable Development and Management” kicked off in the Turkmen capital on Monday. The organizers of this important event were the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Fuel and Energy Complex and the Caspian Sea Institute, as well as the International Ocean Institute (IOI).

The course participants included experts whose activities are related to the Caspian Sea issues. Among them were ecologists, diplomats, Border Service employees, oil workers, hydrometeorologists, lawyers, economists and, of course, representatives of the fishing industry from Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Russia.

The course was opened by Antonella Vassallo, Managing Director of the International Ocean Institute, who coordinates key initiatives on sustainable ocean management.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Dmitry Shlapachenko and the course director Parvin Farshchi also spoke at the meeting.

The participants of the meeting were addressed via video link by the Honorary President of the International Ocean Institute Avni Behnam, a prominent expert in the field of sustainable development, with many years of experience in UN structures and international environmental projects. In terms of this issue, Mr. Behnam actively supports initiatives to protect biodiversity and environmental planning in the Caspian region.

During the meeting, participants noted the positive dynamics in the development of the region and particularly highlighted the role of Turkmenistan in promoting the ideas of sustainable development in the Caspian Sea.

The core of the course programme is usually an intensive module on marine spatial planning. New this year will be a special seminar on the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.

This is an important international document developed on the basis of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea with the aim of ensuring the fair and reasonable use of marine biological resources in neutral waters (water areas that do not belong to any country), as well as the protection of marine biodiversity.

The course was first held in 2013. Since then, it has become an annual event, contributing to the implementation of organizational and environmental decisions taken at the national and international levels. The seminars include consideration of issues such as the law of the sea, marine policy, marine pollution, development of Caspian resources, biodiversity conservation and coastal zone management.

The training course “Caspian Sea – Sustainable Development and Management” has remained an important event for specialists for more than ten years in exchanging experience and finding new approaches to preserving the Caspian Sea, contributing to increasing the sustainability of the Caspian ecosystem.

Photo: orient.tm