Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Aug. 13/ Trend H. Hasanov /
The Interdepartmental Committee of Turkmenistan on the Caspian Sea coordinates all economic activity in the national sector of the sea, the Ministry of Nature Protection of Turkmenistan reported.
According to the report, the committee is charged with preparing recommendations for the improvement of national environmental legislation on the Caspian Sea.
One of the aspects of this committee's work includes the implementation of the National Caspian Action Plan.
'The monitoring of sea water quality was conducted in the framework of the plan as well as recommendations on legal aspects of the protection and conservation of the Caspian Sea development, the Caspian seal population evaluated, the system of studying migratory and native birds improved, the status of key species of flora and fauna assessed and integrated coastal zone management provided', according to the report.
The report also says that sustainable development of the coastal zone currently constitutes a strategic direction of the Turkmen environmental policy. In this regard, the prospects of the national tourism zone Avaza which recently hosted a scientific and practical conference dedicated to the Caspian Sea Day look promising. This day is celebrated annually by coastal states in connection with the entry of the UN Framework Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea which came into force on this day in 2006.
This is the first legally binding agreement ratified by all five Caspian littoral states. The document defines the main directions of management of the human impact on the marine environment, protection and reproduction of biological resources of the sea as well as procedural issues with regards to common decisions to be made by the Caspian littoral states.
Four protocols have been developed to the convention to date: on the protection of the Caspian Sea from pollution from land based sources as a result of related activities; on regional preparedness, response and co-operation in the event of incidents causing oil pollution; on the impact assessment in a trans boundary context and on the maintenance of biodiversity.