OREANDA-NEWS. June 08, 2009. Turkmenistan joins worldwide celebrations of World Environment Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly. On June 5, 1972, at the UN Conference in Stockholm the governments of over 100 countries identified the environmental problems as the issues of global concern. This date became the birthday of the new structure – the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The priority of environmental issues was first recognized twenty years later in Rio de Janeiro at the largest forum – the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. This conference adopted the important conventions on biodiversity, climate change and combating desertification that provided for concerting global effort for the future of the planet.

In Turkmenistan World Environment Day, which was officially introduced to the calendar of the national holidays in 2008 on the initiative of President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov has become the holiday not only for scientists, environmentalists and nature conservation agencies but also the Turkmen society. It is quite natural for the issues of environmental protection, replenishment and efficient use of natural resources, harmonization of development of the society and environment and achievement of environmental security that stand as the key priorities of the national policy from the first years of independence. The national environmental strategy is carried out on the basis of wide international cooperation built on the multilateral conventions and agreements, joint programmes and projects implemented in close cooperation with such authoritative organisations as the UN, the Global Environment Fund, the European Union, the World Wildlife Fund, the World Bank and others.

One of Turkmenistan’s major partners in this field is the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The main purpose of this organisation headquartered in Nairobi (Kenya) is to coordinate international cooperation and take the measures to address the environmental issues in global, regional and national dimension, protect and improve the environment for the benefit of the present and future generations. Some days ago a delegation of the UN Environment Programme led by Kante Bakary, Director of the UNEP Division of Environmental Law and Conventions arrived in Turkmenistan. As is known, this agency develops environmental statutory and legislative acts. The guest from Nairobi gave an interview focusing on the results of UNEP-Turkmenistan cooperation.

The guest informed that the UNEP delegation had arrived at the invitation of the Ministry of Nature Protection of Turkmenistan to discuss the prospects for cooperation on the major environmental issues.

Mr. Kante Bakary said that the UNEP highly appreciated cooperation with Turkmenistan as well as the efforts and steps taken by Turkmen partners and particularly President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to ensure the environmental wellbeing and effective environmental management at national and regional levels.

The guest noted that Turkmenistan demonstrated the initiative and active approach to cooperation and addressing global problems and challenges mankind faced nowadays. Mr. Kante Bakary said that during this visit to Ashgabat had resulted in harmonizing a number of the important issues and reaching the concrete agreements.

In particular, these include the agreement to intensify the activities of the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development (ICSD) and further promote the Central Asian Framework Convention on Environmentally Sustainable Development that had been signed by Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Mr. Kante Bakary said that the UNEP had arrived to Ashgabat from the Uzbek capital, where they had participated in the ICSD regular meeting and raised the question of the ratification of this document by all the countries in the region. Mr. Kante Bakary expressed hope that Uzbekistan would put every effort to ratify this document in the near future.

Mr. Kante Bakary informed that the focus of the talks with the Turkmen partners was the urgent environmental problems including climate change. As is known, the problem is addressed under the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which provides for reduction or stabilization of greenhouse gas emissions. The validity of the document will expire on 31 December 2012. A new climate agreement, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol and will enter into force in 2013, is negotiated across the world today. This document is expected to be adopted at the UN Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.

The guest said that the UNEP would provide assistance to the Central Asian region in enhancing the negotiating capacity. Over the period the decisions on training environmental lawyers in Turkmenistan and other countries of the region would be made and the new field of cooperation – environmental diplomacy would be initiated taking into account importance of the ongoing international negotiations on climate change, biodiversity protection, water conservation, renewable energy. The special courses or trainings would be organized at the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Ashgabat for specialists of the ministries of nature protection and foreign affairs.

In conclusion the guest assured that UNEP would continue to support implementation of the programmes and projects on a basis of profound experience of joint work. For example, the development of the new Forest Code in compliance with international law norms and standards and the Atlas of protected areas in Turkmenistan.