OREANDA-NEWS. January 23, 2008. The executive council of the Project Preservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity of Universal Value in the Khazar Reserve on the Caspian Sea Coast implemented by the Ministry of Nature Protection of Turkmenistan in collaboration with the Global Ecological Fund and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) held a regular sitting. The participants – the UNDP coordinators and experts, the leading specialists of the Ministry of Nature Protection, the State Enterprise for the Caspian Sea under President of Turkmenistan, the State Committee on Fish Industry, the National Desert, Plant and Animal Life Research Institute, the Khazar Reserve, the Balkan city and etrap khyakimliks discussed the trends of the large-scale programme activity and adopted the short-term action plan.

The project promoting effectively achieving the goals of protection the unique resources of the Caspian Sea is aimed at establishing the flexible management system in the Khazar Reserve that can be successfully applied in the national reserves, parks and wildlife preserves throughout Turkmenistan. The innovations include conciliating the interests and concerting efforts of those involved in managing the protected territories – the ministries and departments, research and nature-conservative organisations, littoral population and authorities, business organisations.

The Turkmen specialists in collaboration with the leading international experts develop the special training programs, which include the advanced methods of reserve territories management and nature-conservative measures strategic planning for the local specialists. New universal conception of training and retraining the specialists of the national reserves, the national program will be developed basing on the training programs and submitted for the government consideration. Besides the courses, trainings, seminars it includes certification of the specialists.

The goal-oriented program on involving talented youth in the environmental activity was developed with assistance of the Ministry of Education.

The project includes several components including designing the national model of integrated participatory natural resource management which is expected to take an active part in integrated solution to the ecological tasks set before the structural subdivisions of all ministries and departments, industrial and transport enterprises carrying out their activity at the Caspian region, littoral population and authorities.

To achieve the project goals the working group was established to coordinate the efforts of the parties using the biological diversity of the Caspian Sea and interested in the ecological safety of the unique water body, to adopt the environmental action plans based on the long-term programs of development of various sectors of national economy, social sphere and health resort infrastructure. The relevant proposals were developed to be included to National Caspian Action Plan.

Discussing the short-term workplan the participants focused on the events and actions, which could be conducted within the project activities complying with the goals and the tasks of the large-scale social and economic development programmes implemented in the maritime region nowadays. These include the Avaza National Project.

In collaboration with the international expert organisations the Ministry of Nature Protection designs the software enabling to share the ecological information among the nature-conservative organisations, local authorities, public utilities and relevant institutions in Turkmenbashi town. The trip to study the tourism potential of the Caspian region was made. Within the next few months the TV-4 channel would broadcast the film about the archeological, historical and cultural monuments, the natural landmarks of the littoral city. In this context the participants focused on the necessity of concerting efforts, coordinating the joint activity aimed at preserving the unique nature of ancient Khazar and specified the key fields of further co-operation.