5 Environment Bulletin Final

8/8/2019 5 Environment Bulletin Final

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/5-environment-bulletin-final 1/14

First ECO Experts Group Meeting

on Developing a Work Plan on

Biodiversity Islamabad, 24-25

April 2007

1. The First ECO Experts Group

Meeting on Developing a Work Plan onBiodiversity was held on 24-25 April 2007in Islamabad. The meeting was attended

by the representatives of the IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan, the IslamicRepublic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Tajikistan, theRepublic of Turkey, Turkmenistan and theRepublic of Uzbekistan as well as therepresentatives of the ECO Secretariat.

2. The meeting was inaugurated byMr. Sami-ul-Haq Khilji, AdditionalSecretary of the Ministry of Environmentof the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Mr.Khizar Hayat Khan, Joint Secretary(International Cooperation) of the sameministry made the welcoming remarks.Mr. Ali Khanbutayev, Director for Energy,Minerals and Environment of theEconomic Cooperation Organization

(ECO) delivered his statement on behalf of the ECO Secretariat.

3. The Delegations presented shortstatements on the state of Biodiversity in

their respective countries, covering policies, programs and projects concerningthe subject issue.

4. The participants considered the draftWork Plan on Biodiversity which was

prepared by the ECO Secretariat inconsultation with the concerned authoritiesof the Islamic Republic of Iran and thehost country. After deliberations, themeeting adopted the Work Plan on

Biodiversity in the ECO region as well asa Calendar of Events in this field.

5. The meeting requested theSecretariat to submit these documents for consideration and approval of the 18th RPCmeeting and the 4th ECO MinisterialMeeting on Environment.

6. It was decided that national focal points of the member states be designated

for the above Work Plan to facilitate pursuing a sustainable framework for Biodiversity, ranging from exchange of information, visits, experiences, etc., aswell as implementation of the Work Planon Biodiversity in the ECO region.

7. All ECO member states wererequested to designate one national focal

point on Biodiversity and inform theSecretariat of his/her details at the earliest,

preferably within three months.



8. The Expert Group also agreed thatthe ECO Secretariat would seek nominations for coordinating countries onBiodiversity as well as for the thematicareas covered by the Plan of Action

according to the rules and procedures of ECO. Kazakhstan was requested to act as

a coordinating country for Biodiversity,which was accepted by the delegation of Kazakhstan.

9. The participants exchanged viewson how to increase public awareness on

biodiversity, including local andtraditional knowledge. This matter wasdiscussed on the basis of the presentationmade by the delegation of Pakistan.

10. The Expert Group recognized thefact that Transfer of Technology as well asregional cooperation are an integral part of sustainable development and essential for

protection of biodiversity. Improvement of technical cooperation and transfer of newtechnologies as well as exchange of information can assist member states in

promoting protection of biodiversity at the

national and regional levels.

11. The Pakistani delegation referring tothe high caliber of the biodiversity relatedscientific institutions of the Central AsianECO member states and Azerbaijan, calledfor furthering technical and scientificcooperation for the benefit of other ECOmember states, particularly in the fields of taxonomy and conservation. The delegatesof Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan agreed that

such high tech institutions did exist intheir respective countries. The delegate of Uzbekistan while referring theachievements of Pakistan in the field of community based conservation, called onthe ECO Secretariat to facilitateformalizing extended cooperation withPakistan in this regard.

12. It had been decided by the 4th

Working Group on Environment, (Tehran,

May, 2006) that the ECO Bulletin onEnvironment should cover thematic issues

as well. Member States were thereforerequested to submit relevantarticles/material to the Secretariat for inclusion in the next issue of the ECOBulletin on Environment.

13. The Expert Group also

recommended the activation of exchangeof information, technology, etc. for various issues related to biodiversitythrough the national focal points to benominated by the member states.

14. The Expert Group emphasized theneed for convening the next 2nd Meetingon Biodiversity and welcomed the offer of Kazakhstan to host it (The exact date will

be proposed in consultation withSecretariat). Furthermore, the ExpertGroup, recognizingthe pace of developments inBiodiversity relatedknowledge, decidedthat the Plan of Work would be subject to

revision by 2009.15. The Expert Group alsorecommended that the ECO Secretariatconsider signing MOUs with Biodiversityrelated International Organizations,including non-governmental, Research andTeaching Organizations, for enhancedcooperation, to help achieve global targets.In particular, the meeting felt the need for signing a MOU with the CBD.

Ecological Situation of the

Republic of Azerbaijan and

measures taken for Environmental

Protection

The Topsoil Status

The topsoil of the Republic of Azerbaijan is beset with environmental problems,

ECO Bulletin on Environment2



essentially man-made. Only 4.2 millionhectares (ha) or 49.3% of the total land areaof 8.6 million ha is arable. Degradation canoccur on such a large scale due to theerosion, salinity, swamping, chemical

pollution and such other processes. Erosioncaused by wind, and irrigation is particularly intensive. Around 3.7 millionha or 43% of Azerbaijan’s land has beenaffected by these processes. Out of these3.7 million ha only around 0.7 ha arearable. The main reasons for suchdegradation are man-made elements such aslong-term and continuous diseconomy, lowlevel of the husbandry culture, unsystematic

pasture for livestock, destruction of forests,

along with the natural climaticenvironment.

Around 1.2 million ha of the Republic’sland has been affected by salinity and morethan half of it is irrigated area. Degradationhas also taken place due to a number of other factors such as poor state of collector-drainage lines, construction of barrages indisregard of relief properties of the land,salinity and the level of ground water as

well as flooding of coastal areas due to therise of the Caspian Sea level. As a result,these lands stand excluded from croprotation.

An area of about 300 km2 faces flooding. A particularly dangerous zone is the SmallCaucasus mountain ridge where floods,occurring once every two years, causeheavy losses, affecting as much as 1 millionm2 land.

Absence of waste management was untilrecently, a serious handicap. However a

polygon for hazardous wastes has beenlately put into operation. It is expected tocontribute to solution of the problem.

About 30,000 ha of land has been affecteddue to mining, urbanization and relatedman-made hazards. This includes: 14thousand ha affected by oil; 108 ha bychemical industry wastes; 5571 ha bysludge of irrigation canals; 1580 ha bywidespread minerals; 163 ha by building

wastes and communal services, and the rest by mining wastes.

Oil-polluted areas

Long use of obsolete technologies in the oil

industry has caused pollution of the soilwith oil and mineralized water. Currently,

polluted areas in and around Absheron peninsula are about 1000 ha out of which740 ha is agricultural area (crop land). Ithas been determined that oil penetration inthe soil up to 3 meters deep and mixes withthe ground water.

In many cases, the same land area is also poisoned with radio-nuclides. Gamma

radiation in some of these areas exceeds themaximum permissible limit by 20-50 times.Soil close to oil refining and chemical

plants has been polluted with oil andhydrocarbons. These areas causeatmospheric pollution due to dumping of flying hydrocarbons which are particularlyhigh in summers. Reclamation of these soilsis too expensive in the present economicconditions.

At present, limited on-shore oil is being produced. However, the SOCAR (State OilCompany of the Azerbaijan Republic), hasinitiated a two-phased recovery program for lands used in oil operation. In the first

phase, lands with total area of 2800 ha andnot producing much oil will be treatedchemically and used for crops and pastures

purposes. The second phase would focus onmechanical treatment of the polluted landsand prepare them for house-building and

industrial purposes. This process includesdrying of lakes, pools and swamps, surfacesmoothing, and disposal of urban wastes.The World Bank is supporting pilot projectson chemical recovery of land.

Solid Waste Management

Besides oil and gas industry, the main production establishments operate at 10-30% of their capacity. Consequently, the

amount of industrial wastes hasconsiderably decreased. However, obsolete

ECO Bulletin on Environment 3



techniques used in the operating enterprisesremain a basic source of industrial wastesand sludge as well as environmental

pollution. The key problem for theindustrial sector is accumulated wastes.

Currently, these sectors are trying to get ridof these wastes by transporting/dumpingthem in uncontrolled landfills from theindustrial areas.

Domestic Wastes

Domestic wastes in Baku consist of flammable (80.8%) and nonflammable(19.2%) components. Building wastemakes about 14% of all urban wastes and it

becomes higher during summer period. Nonhazardous or treated wastes as well as thoseof the small scale enterprises are also addedto these wastes.

Areas are available for each city and districtcenters to dispose their wastes. But none of them is monitored and no practical projectis available for the establishment of proper landfills.

For the time being no landfill, meeting

International Sanitation Standards and Norms, is available in Azerbaijan. Landfillsare generally in unorganized anduncontrolled state and are neither fenced,nor protected. Wastes are not packaged andcovered with topsoil after being discharged.Moreover, wastes are cremated where theyare disposed which causes pollution in formof smoke. There is no protective layer in thesubstrate of the landfills to prevent thehazardous substances from mixing with the

ground waters and no measures have beentaken in these places for the surface water management. As a result, it can alsocontaminate the underground water.Meanwhile, no research or analysis isconducted referring to the physical

properties of the soil around the landfills.Hospital or medical wastes are thrown outtogether with the urban wastes after the

polluted materials are disinfected. In manyhospitals syringes and other cutting toolsare discarded separately.

In order to raise the level of domestic wastemanagement in Azerbaijan a competitioncalled "Beautiful City, Clean Village,Worthy Citizen" involving all the regionalsettlements of the country was initiated by

the MENR (Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources) in March, 2004. Thecompetition is held 4 times a year.

The measures taken have already produceddesired results. The activities on collecting,sorting, carriage and processing of thedomestic wastes, according to the terms of the competition in most cities andsettlements, have been more stimulated.Under the Regulation of the competition

this measure will be regularly implementedevery year, with further publication of itsissues in mass media.

Hazardous Wastes

Hazardous waste management has recentlyreceived increased attention in Azerbaijan.A State Policy was adopted on thehazardous waste management in 2003.Adoption and application of this policywould improve the management of thehazardous wastes, as well as theinstitutional arrangements.

Inventory of all the hazardous wastes wasstarted in mid 2003. All informationrelating to the generated hazardous wastesare sent to the State Statistic Committeeevery year where the data is analyzed and

published in the statistical yearbook.

One of the key environmental problems of

Sumgait, the large-scale industrial city of Azerbaijan, is accumulation of 200,000 tonsof sludge generated from chlorine-alkaline

production containing 0.2-0.3 % mercury.The initial effect of the sludge is the

poisoning of ground waters and soil withmercury as well as polluting environmentdue to mercury emission. The health risk of urban population is particularly high asindustrial facilities are located just 5 kmfrom the city.

Biodiversity Protection




In order to preserve the natural cover of theRepublic, extension of the specially

protected areas has been set as a target bythe relative authorities and some measureshave been taken in this regard.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in2003-2004 issued a Presidential Decreeestablishing the Shahbuz State NatureReserve and Ordubad, Ag-gol, Shirvan,Hirkan and Altyagadj national parks.Moreover, the Cabinet of Ministers orderedthe extension of Pirgulu, Turyanchay,lsmailli, llisu and Garayazi state sanctuaries

by about 2-3 times. Gakh state naturereserve has been formed as well.

The total area of the specially protectednature reserves in Republic has been

brought in a short time from 484,800 ha upto about 593,252 ha which makes 7% of thecountry's total area. If efforts in this regardcontinue, the government is expected toreach its target of having 10% of the area of Azerbaijan declared especially protectedreserves.

National Sustainable Development

Strategy (NSDS) Process in

Pakistan

The International Community hasformulated and agreed upon variousdevelopment goals at successive UNconferences held over the last decade. They

set time-borne targets for promotion of sustainable development. One of the goals isthe implementation of the NationalSustainable Development Strategy (NSDS).These goals have been merged withMillennium Development Goals (MDGs).Development Assistance Committee (DAC)of OECD has defined NSDS as “Acoordinated set of participatory andcontinuously improving processes of analysis, debate, capacity-strengthening,

planning and investment, which integratesthe economic, social and environmental

objectives of society and seeks trade-offswhere such integration is not possible”. Inline with these commitments, Pakistan isworking to develop the National SustainableDevelopment Strategy (NSDS). For this

purpose an inception workshop was held inJanuary 2006 at Islamabad. The UNEPregional office for Asia and Pacific iscooperating with the Ministry of Environment, Government of Pakistan. As afirst step, NSDS guidelines and report will

be prepared followed by preparation of thenational sustainable development guidelines.The process is purely indigenous based onnational priorities.

Pakistan developed its NationalConservation Strategy (NCS) in1992.Though it was developed with a greater focus on conservation of natural resources,sustainable development and improvedefficiency in the use and management of natural resources, the NCS-Mid TermReview (MTR) in 2000 suggested thefollowing:

a) NCS should be fully owned by key

partners and stakeholders includinggovernment;

b) Switch from top-down and supply-drivento bottom-up demand-driven approach;

c) Prepare NCS-Mark II to serve asPakistan's National SustainableDevelopment Strategy, with greater emphasis on poverty reduction andeconomic development in addition toenvironmental sustainability.

Recommendations made in the NCS-MTR laid the foundation stone for thedevelopment of a NSDS for Pakistan. NSDSoffers an opportunity to integrate all thesustainable development related policies andstrategies existing in the country sinceenvironment is not only the concern of aninfrastructural or productive sector, nor is ita social sector facility provider. Instead it isa cross-sectoral phenomenon. Current

assessment of Poverty Reduction Strategy of Pakistan (PRSP) has revealed that poverty




related environmental issues have not been properly addressed. An NSDS typically may provide an opportunity to build on theexisting PRSPs with integration of economic, social and environmental

objectives. Poverty, health and environmentnexus has emerged in Pakistan over thedecades. The expenditure on health, as at

present, had been estimated at US $ 1.8 billion which is attributable primarily to thecontamination of water and pollution of air.The saving of the above expenditure wouldsignificantly help in poverty reduction sincethe poor are the main vulnerable groupaffected by environmental degradation.

Activities of Clean DevelopmentMechanism Cell

Pakistan signed the UNFCCC in June 1992and ratified it in June, 1994. Kyoto protocolwas signed in 1997 and ratified on 11thJanuary 2005. Pakistan has formulated aGreen House Gases (GHG) abatementsstrategy under the GEF/UNDP Asia LeastCost Gas Abatement Strategy (ALGAS)completed in 1997. Pakistan reaffirmed its

commitment to the objectives of Rioconvention at the World Summit onSustainable Development (WSSD) held inJohannesburg in 2002. A National Plan for WSSD implementation was adopted, whichincluded a project activity on WSSDoutcomes and WEHAB. National progressin different areas including Water, Energy,Health, Agriculture, and Biodiversity(WEHAB) has been completed.

A high level national committee on climatechange, chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, has been formed to review policiesand monitor progress on the climateinitiative in Pakistan. An AutonomousGlobal Change Impact Study Centre(GCSIC) has been established in theMinistry of Environment. The centre is nowwell equipped with staff and resources and isengaged in research on climate change andits impacts on water and agriculture.

Ministry of Environment has alsoestablished Clean Development Mechanism

(CDM) Secretariat as part of designated National Authority for approving andfacilitating CDM projects in line withnational sustainable development goals.CDM Secretariat works with public and

private sector partners for attractinginvestment in energy efficiency, renewableand alternate energy together withtechnology transfer and capacity building.Various capacity building workshops incollaboration with GTZ, World Bank andother relevant organizations have beenconducted to increase awareness.

Assessment on Ambient Air Quality in

Pakistan

Air pollution has become an emerging issuein the past few years due to high growth inservice sector. It has resulted largely fromrapid growth in infrastructure in cities withincreased road transport mainly due toliberal leasing system by financialinstitutions. These factors are contributing toworsening ambient air quality in Pakistan.Energy Conservation Centre (ENERCON)of the Ministry of Environment with the

technical and financial support of SUPARCO conducted the Base LineAmbient air equality study in major cities of Pakistan. All these studies revealed that themajor problem relevant to the ambient air quality is the particulate matter (PM).According to this study PM concentrationrecorded in major cities like Lahore,Islamabad, and Rawalpindi is 4.4 to 7.5times higher than WHO guidelines.

Establishing a Multilateral EnvironmentAgreements Secretariat

Ministry of Environment has recentlyestablished a national secretariat to deal withand act as an umbrella project to look after matters relating to Multilateral EnvironmentAgreements. The new Secretariat willcoordinate and facilitate the formulation andimplementation of the National Action Planregarding different MEAs. The Secretariatwill also identify and monitor activitieswithin the framework of these conventions.




SACOSAN Conference

The Second South Asian Conference onSanitation (SACOSAN-2) was held inIslamabad, Pakistan on 20-21 September,

2006. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia,China, India, Indonesia, Maldives,Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

participated in the conference. The participating countries reaffirmed their commitment to the targets of basic sanitationin pursuance of Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs) and the Dhaka declaration.They reaffirmed to accelerate progress for achievement of adequate sanitation deliverysystem in a planned and phased manner. The

Government of Pakistan approved the National Sanitation Policy of Pakistan inSeptember 2006. The implementation of the

National Sanitation Policy will help mitigatethe growing health and environmental

problems associated with poor sanitation inthe country.

The web address of the Ministry of Environment website iswww.pakistan.gov.pk/Environment.

Activities in Turkey in the

Framework of “2006 International

Year of Deserts and

Desertification”

1. Meeting:

A meeting was held on 19 April 2006 at theMinistry of Environment and Forestrychaired by Deputy Secretary and attended

by 20 civil society organizations and publicinstitutions. It discussed activities to informthe public, create awareness and increase

public interest in efforts to CombatDesertification and Drought in theInternational Year of Deserts andDesertification,

2. Radio and TV broadcasts:

Special Radio and TV programs were broadcast on “Desertification andCombating Desertification”.

3. Posters, booklets, bills and invitations:

Around 10,000 posters and 20,000 bookletson desertification and its affects were

prepared and printed. Their distribution allacross Turkey is already underway.

4. A Commemorative Stamp:

A Stamp commemorating 2006 as theInternational Year of Deserts and

Desertification was issued and lunched on5th June 2006.

5. A Website:

A separate logo of 2006 International Year of Deserts and Desertification was added tothe web-site (www.agm.gov.tr ) of theGeneral Directorate of Afforestation andErosion Control. Under the logo, materialcan be found on the subject together with anupdate on activities that have beenundertaken. Moreover, the Directorate of Foreign Affairs and CombatingDesertification has created an e-mailaccount, [email protected] , to be used for efficient communications.

6. Spot Movie:

A 30 second spot movie was prepared for display through advertisements in cinemas,

symposiums, cocktails and workshops. Themovie is about desertification in Turkey


mailto:[email protected]




and abroad, and its impacts and precautionsto be taken.

7. Mobile phone companies, SMS

messages to subscribers:

Telsim, a mobile phonecompany, sent SMSmessages to 5 millionsubscribers on “17 June,World Day of CombatingDesertification”, to emphasize theimportance of the day. The SMS messagesread as follows: “Desertification; silent

disaster of the world” and “Erosion is an

invitation to desertification, less bread and more tears for humans.”

8. Tennis tournament:

“Welcome Summer Tennis Tournament”was organized and commemorated to “2006International Year of Deserts andDesertification” from 3 to 11 June inAnkara Riding Club. An award ceremonywas held on 11 June, 2006 which was

attended by 1000-1200 people. TheMinister of Environment and ForestryOsman PEPE made a speech on the hazardsof desertification in the ceremony anddistributed prizes to sportsmen.

9. A panel discussion:

On 14 June 2006, a panel discussion washeld titled “Convention to CombatDesertification and the National ActionProgram”. The panelists were Prof. Dr.

Cemil CANGIR, Prof. Dr. Selim KAPUR,Dr. Katalin ZAIM, Prof. Dr. KorayHAKTANIR, Prof. Dr. Omer KARAOZ,Dr. Mahir KÜÇÜK and Mevlüt DÜZGÜN.The audience included representatives of the Ministry and civil society organizations.

10. Friday sermon:

In coordination with the Department of Religious Affairs, Sermons on

“Desertification” was organized and

delivered in the mosques of Turkey duringFriday prayer on 16 June.

11. Photo exhibition:

An exhibition was organized by theMinistry of Environment and Forestry andFoundation of Ankara Photograph Artistson 17 June, on Combat Desertification Day.The exhibition was inagurated by theMinister of Environment and Forestry,Osman PEPE, and 58 photographs wereexhibited. The exhibition expected 100.000visitors by the end of July and 1 million

people by the end of the year from thewhole country.

12. National lottery:

As a result of talks with Turkish NationalLottery Administration, it is decided thatthe logo of “2006 International Year of Desert and Desertification” and the slogan“Desertification, silent disaster of theworld” would be printed on the tickets for the draw on 29 July.

13. The Logo of 2006 International Year of Deserts and Desertification is being used by

all units of the Ministry of Environment andForestry for all correspondence.

14. Training lessons on Desertification have been given to primary school students inAnkara.

Excerpts from the 3rd ECO

Ministerial Meeting on




Environment (30 June 2006 -

Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan)

The 3rd ECO Ministerial Meeting onEnvironment was held on 30 June, 2006 in

Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan, preceded by Senior Officials’ Meeting on 28-29 June.Important decisions were taken to intensifycooperation in the field of environment.Relevant excerpts are as follows:

1. The Ministers and Heads of Delegations recalled that theDeclaration of the 9th ECOSummit held in Baku on 5May 2006, noted with

concern the degradation of environment and called for early implementation of thePlan of Action for Cooperation on Environmentwhich has been extendeduntil the year 2010.

2. The Meeting underlined theneed for more active

participation of the

environment organizationsof the member states in theimplementation of the Planof Action and stressed, in

particular, the role of theappointed National FocalPoints (NFPs) in facilitatingcoordination of implementation of the Planof Action and their closecollaboration with ECO

Secretariat and with eachother.

3. The Ministers and Heads of Delegations welcomed thesigning of the Memoranda of Understanding betweenECO and WMO as well asUNEP in December 2004and August 2004,respectively, and requested

ECO Secretariat to developcooperation with all relevant

international organizations/financial institutions (UNEP,GEF, IDB, etc) for seekingtheir assistance for implementation of the Plan

of Action and identifyingspecific joint activities,together with the concernedauthorities of the member states. The opportunities for cooperation with sub-regional organizations activein the field of environmentsuch as CAREC (CentralAsia) should also beexplored.

4. The Meeting considered thematters of submission of the

National Progress Reports(NPRs) by the Member States on the implementationof the Plan of Action and,taking into account theexperience of the previousyears, agreed that it would

be submitted by the

concerned authorities of theMember States annually, inthe beginning of the year

positively in the agreedformat, so as to enable theECO Secretariat to prepareand submit an integratedregional report to CPR/RPCand the member states in thefirst quarter of each year.

5. It was found expedient toexplore the possibility of getting assistance of international organizations,in- particular UNEP, for

preparing such a report,through holding a trainingcourse on their preparationas well as reviewing thecourse of the preparation of the NPRs by ECO WGE

meeting to be organized at




the fourth quarter of eachyear.

6. The meeting appreciated theefforts of the ECO

Secretariat for the preparation and publicationof the first four issues of theECO Bulletin onEnvironment, also madeavailable on the ECO Web-site.

7. The Meeting endorsedrecommendations oncreation of Institute of Environmental Science andTechnology for ECO regionas well as the proposedStrategic Plan for the saidInstitute.

8. The Meeting agreed that thefunctions of the Institute of Environmental Science andTechnology for ECO Region

be carried out by the existingCollege of Environment inTehran, provisionally, on a

project basis, until themember states further decideon this matter on the basis of experience to be gainedduring four years of itsfunctioning.

9. With regard to allocating theECO Award for excellencein the field of the

Environment, the meetingtook note that ECO Awardsgiven every two-year on theoccasion of ECO Summitscurrently include one whichis awarded in the field of Environment. As far as theestablishment of an ECOGreen Industries award isconcerned, the considerationof all related issues might be

pursued, including

elaboration of themodalities, by the WGE.

10. The Ministers and Heads of Delegations directed that

formulation of ECO regionalPlan of Action for theProtection of Biodiversity bestarted at the earliest and,welcoming the offer of Pakistan to host a meetingfor this activity, requestedactive participation of representatives of allmember states.

11. The Ministers and Heads of Delegations discussed thesubject of Environment andTourism on the basis of information provided by thedelegation of the IslamicRepublic of Iran and agreedthat development of Ecotourism could bringeconomic benefits to themember states; However, it

is necessary to take intoaccount possible negativeimplications for the uniquecultural and natural objectsin the ECO region. The

participants agreed on theneed to exchangeexperiences among themember states and decidedto establish a Task Forcecomprising representatives

of the Environmental andTourism Organizations of member states in order tostudy the potential existingin the region to developEcotourism and work out aregional program for cooperation in this field.

12. The delegates welcomed theoffer of the Republic of

Turkey to hold a Seminar onEcotourism in 2007, at the




National Park of KureMountains in Kastamonuand invited the member states to participate in thesaid Seminar.

13. The delegates alsoappreciated the presentationmade by H.E. Dr. FatemehVaez Javadi, Vice-Presidentand Head of EnvironmentDepartment of the IslamicRepublic of Iran, on soilcontamination and geo-medicine and decided toconsider the issue during its

next meeting while theWorking Group onEnvironment would alsodiscuss the matter and comeup with its proposals.

14. It was decided that the 4th

ECO Ministerial Meeting onEnvironment would be heldin 2008 and appreciated theoffer made by the

Government of the IslamicRepublic of Pakistan to hostit.

A Glance at the Report of the 17 th

Meeting of ECO Regional Planning

Council (RPC) on Environment

1. The Seventeenth Meeting of the

Regional Planning Council (RPC) of theEconomic Cooperation Organization(ECO) was held at the ECO Secretariatin Tehran, from 19-22 February, 2007.Preparatory/Review meetings were heldon the sidelines.

2. The Council took note of the creation of the Institute of Environmental Scienceand Technology for ECO region, withthe provisional performance of itsfunctions for the next four years, on a

project basis, by the existing College of Environment in Tehran.

3. While welcoming the offer of Pakistanto host the First ECO Experts GroupMeeting in Islamabad on 24-25 April2007 to deliberate and finalize a Work Plan on Biodiversity, the Council urged

the concerned authorities in the member states to actively participate in themeeting. In particular, they wererequested to consider the draft Work Plan on Biodiversity, which wasdeveloped by the Secretariat incooperation with the host authorities inPakistan and circulated to member states together with the draft Agenda of the said meeting vide Secretariat’s NoteVerbal No. EME/ENV/ Biodiversity/

2006/1944 dated 21 November 2006,and provide the Secretariat with their views before or during the proposedmeeting.

4. With regard to the ECO QuarterlyBulletin on Environment, the first 4issues of which were published by theSecretariat during the years 2004-2006,the Council appreciated that as per request of the 3rd Ministerial Meeting on

Environment, the Secretariat made anestimate of the cost of the publication of the next four issues of the Bulletin andincluded it in the ECO annual budgetfor 2007, which was approved by the120th CPR meeting. Accordingly, theCouncil requested all member states tosubmit relevant material/articles for theBulletin on regular basis.

5. The Council took note of the Report of

the 4th

meeting of ECO Working Groupon Environment (WGE), held on 21-22May 2006 in Tehran, as well as theoutcome of the Training Courses onfamiliarization with the ISO 14000 andEnvironmental Management System(EMS) hosted by Iran on 23-24 May2006, back to back with the aboveWGE meeting.

6. Bearing in mind that the first four

meetings of the above-mentioned ECOWorking Group on Environment were




held during the years 2004-2006 inAnkara, Islamabad and Tehran (twice),the Council suggested that the next (5th)meeting of WGE be hosted by one of the remaining member states. They may

offer to host it during the first half of 2007, and in any case not later than theclose of that year, in order to consider developments in different fields of Environment, proposals of member states and other related issues before the4th ECO Ministerial Meeting onEnvironment scheduled to be heldduring the second quarter of 2008 inPakistan.

7. The Council took note of the IranianProject Proposals for cooperation in thefield of Environment, which had beenforwarded to member states videSecretariat’s Note Verbal No.EME/ENV/HES/057 dated 10 January2007, and requested the member statesto let the Secretariat have their views atthe earliest so that these could bereviewed before the 5th Meeting of WGE by the end of June 2007.

Calendar of Events on Environment for

the years 2007-2008 (as approved by the

17th RPC Meeting)

Event/Activity Venue Date5th Meetingof ECOWorkingGroup onEnvironment

To bedetermi

ned

To bedetermin

ed2007

ExpertMeeting ondevelopingthe Work

Plan onBiodiversity

Islamabad,

Pakistan

24-25April2007

4th ECOMinisterialMeeting onEnvironment to bepreceded bythe Meetingof SeniorOfficials

Islamabad,

Pakistan

2nd

quarter2008

"WatershedRehabilitation"Workshop /Seminar

Malatya,

Turkey

21-25May2007

Seminar onEco tourism

KureMountai

n, Turkey

7-9 May2007

Meeting of

the TaskForce onEcotourism

Tehran,Iran October2007




Table of Content

There will be articles from other

Member States in next issues.

• The Executive Board of the ECO

Bulletin on Environment would highlyappreciate your kindcomments/suggestions.

ECO Bulletin on Environment is publishedquarterly by the Secretariat of theEconomic Cooperation Organization.Opinions expressed in articles and othermaterials are those of the authors and donot necessarily reflect ECO policy.

Secretariat of the Economic CooperationOrganization

Address: No.1 Golbou Alley, Kamraniyeh, Tehran – Islamic Republic of IRANP.O. Box: 14155-6176

Tel : (9821) 22831733-34Fax: (9821) 22831732Web: http://www.ECOsecretariat.orgE-Mail: [email protected]

[email protected]

Executive Board of the ECO Bulletin on Environment

Mr. Ali KhanbutayevMr. S. Naveed Mustafa

Mr. Mohammad Reza NabovatiMr. Talantbek Kasymbekov

Electronic Circulation of the ECO

Bulletin on Environment

In order to have wider and promptdissemination of information, ECOSecretariat will be circulating theelectronic text version of the ECO Bulletinon Environment via email.

• If you are interested in receiving

electronic version of the Bulletin viaemail, please send us your E-mailaddress to [email protected]


Contents

♦ ”First ECO Experts Group Meeting onDeveloping a Work Plan on BiodiversityIslamabad, 24-25 April 2007

♦ Ecological Situation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and measures taken for Environmental Protection

♦ National Sustainable Development Strategy

(NSDS) Process in Pakistan♦ Activities in Turkey in the Framework of

“2006 International Year of Deserts andDesertification

♦ Excerpts from the 3rd ECO MinisterialMeeting on Environment (30 June 2006 -Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan)

♦ A Glance at the Report of the 17th Meetingof ECO Regional Planning Council (RPC)on Environment

♦ Calendar of Events on Environment for the

years 2007-2008 (as approved by the 17th

RPC Meeting)

http://www.ecosecretariat.org/



http://www.ecosecretariat.org/





• The ECO Bulletin on Environment

is also available online on thefollowing web address:

http://www.ECOsecretariat.org


http://ecosecretariat.org/ftproot/Publications/Bulletin



Documents

5 Environment Bulletin Final