The Sixths Ministerial Conference «Environment for Europe» held in the Serbian capital of Belgrade on 10-12 October, gathered delegations from 56 countries and representatives of the European Commission.

Environment for Europe (EfE) is a forum for tackling environmental challenges and promoting broad cooperation for sustainable development contributing to poverty eradication, improving quality of life and creating a safer world by means of clear-cut policies. The EfE initiative is based on environmental cooperation among countries in Europe, North America, Caucasus and Central Asia in conditions of the changing political and socio-economic landscape. EfE involves governments, civil society and private sector in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

The First EfE Conference was held in 1991 in Czechoslovakia to define basic guidelines for ecological and health-related strategies in Central and Eastern Europe. The Second, Third and Fourth Conferences were held in Switzerland, Bulgaria and Denmark respectively. The Fifth Conference held in 2003 in Kiev, Ukraine adopted the Environment Strategy for Countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

«Tajikistan suffers from the lack of coherence in regional environmental policies and coordination among the governments within Central Asia, — says Mouazamma Burkhanova, leader of a Tajik NGO «Support to Civil Initiatives». — In Tajikistan, the government pays more attention to cotton – traditional strategic raw material – frequently forgetting about the growing environmental challenges».

Burkhanova considers that the Tajik delegation can benefit from the educational segment of the Sixth Conference. Tajikistan participates in the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Since 2003, the country also has been implementing a specific educational program for local communities supported by several international donor agencies. So far, the program has been relatively successful. However, experts say that the lack of local decision-making and insufficient decentralization of power in provinces and districts are thwarting the program. According to the Tajik Constitution, the President personally appoints leaders on all levels (even heads of district administrations).

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has recently allocated funds for a municipal waste management program in Dushanbe, which is expected to be replicated in other cities of Tajikistan. «In order to create incentives for proper waste management, our NGO together with the municipal authorities in the capital try to attract entrepreneurs, — says Burkhanova. — Commercial waste management and secondary production are fast-growing and very perspective businesses in developed countries. We try to apply this experience in our conditions».

«Very often, funds allocated by numerous donor agencies and international monetary institutions in Tajikistan’s infrastructure and communal facilities are misspent, — says another member of the Tajik delegation who wished to remain anonymous. — Public at large hardly knows about the volumes of foreign allocations and facts of embezzlement, whereas the mayor’s office and the central government are reluctant to share this information with public organizations and the media». A special agency in charge of statistics on external aid (Aid Coordination Unit under the President) was dissolved at the end of 2006, and now, it is difficult to find reliable data on the foreign assistance and programs under implementation.

Another source told the EurasiaNet correspondent that numerous project implementation units (PIU) existing in the ministries very often fail to keep their commitments on grant and loan projects. Eventually, Tajikistan keeps borrowing money from foreign banks, but the public does not know much about the allocated funds and the final outputs of these programs.

The recent report by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) says that «more than 100 million people across the pan-European region do not have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation; air pollution, ground-level ozone, and nitrogen oxides shorten average life expectancy and affect healthy development of people; biodiversity declines and the loss of ecosystem continues…».

The situation in Central Asia is much worse compared to Europe. Despite some progress achieved due to sustained efforts, many environmental problems remain unsolved. Since the late 1990-s, Tajikistan has been suffering from frequent outbreaks of typhoid and malaria – the ailments, which were completely eradicated in the Soviet time. Despite dozens of millions of dollars allocated for rehabilitation of water supply systems in big cities and small settlements, the quality of drinking water remains extremely poor. Two thirds of the Tajik capital if fed by the water from Varzob river, and during seasonal floods, the water comes to consumers absolutely unpurified and even contaminated.

There are several derelict uranium tailings in Sughd province, the Kanibadam pesticide dumpsite (northern Tajikistan), and a nuclear burial ground in Faizabad district (central Tajikistan). Very little is known about these infrastructural objects inherited from the Soviet era and located in disaster prone areas in vicinity to ground waters and open reservoirs. It is expected that these problems will be discussed at a special forthcoming conference in Dushanbe scheduled for early November 2007 and supported by Iinternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Three countries of Central Asia – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – have been implementing a program «Environment and Security» (ENVSEC) launched in 2002 in densely populated and fertile Ferghana valley (total population is about 9 million). The budget of this program supported by UN agencies and OSCE is $3,1 million.

Mahmadsharif Khakdodov, National Coordinator of ENVSEC Program in Tajikistan says that during the period of 2005-2007 the ENVSEC initiative has covered a number of activities, such as assessment of risks from toxic and radioactive dumping grounds in transboundary areas, public awareness campaigns in communities, and development of information networks. «The next phase of the initiative is focused on the climate change problems among which are the negative impact of droughts on agriculture and human health, excessive seasonal precipitation, melting of glaciers, soil erosion and desertification», says Khakdodov.

The Final Declaration adopted at the Belgrade Conference says that «there is a need to improve the management of chemicals in countries of the region and to take care of old waste legacies». Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) is targeted towards the reduction of environmental pollution from heavy metals and other hazardous chemicals.

Experts stressed at the Belgrade Conference that «the speed of progress varies across policy areas and the implementation of the designed programs remains the main problem». UNECE region is not making sufficient progress with access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015, as well as to a significant reduction of the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010. Ecologists emphasise that the water supply and sanitation, integrated water resource and transboundary watercourse management should be priority areas for action. Protection of water sources and water quality are crucial for human health and sustainable development.

In this regard, Tajikistan is trying to convince its neighbors of the necessity to create a Central Asian Water Consortium. This idea has been repeatedly voiced at various international summits by the Tajik leader Emonali Rakhmon. So far, this idea has found support only from Kyrgyzstan (also an upstream country), whereas Uzbekistan stands aloof from Tajikistan’s appeals. (See EurasiaNet Archive).

«Breaking the link between economic growth and its environmental impacts is one of the key challenges facing economies in South Eastern Europe (SEE), Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA)», says a new report «Sustainable Consumption and Production in South East Europe and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia», released on 11 October in Belgrade. The report was jointly prepared by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Environment Agency (EEA), and launched at the Sixth Ministerial Conference. The report provides detailed analysis in selected economic sectors: industry, food, building, transport and waste disposal.

At the Belgrade Conference, the Ministers evaluated 36 national ESD reports performed by the countries with the help of a specific set of indicators. Another milestone of the Strategy implementation was the collection of the Good practices in ESD in the UNECE region jointly published by UNECE and UNESCO. A number of examples in formal, non formal and informal education were collected from governments, NGOs and business communities in North America, Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

The implementation of the Belgrade Conference recommendations should be adapted to specific challenges of each country and common interest identified by subregions. Ministers agreed that securing funds for national implementation should be one of the priority tasks for governments.

«Global environmental problems affect increasing number of people. The relation between environmental problems on global and regional levels and international stability, peace and security is quite obvious», — says the Final Declaration adopted at the Conference.

Konstantin Parshin, Dushanbe

Источник:

The Sixths Ministerial Conference «Environment for Europe» held in the Serbian capital of Belgrade on 10-12 October, gathered delegations from 56 countries and representatives of the European Commission.

Environment for Europe (EfE) is a forum for tackling environmental challenges and promoting broad cooperation for sustainable development contributing to poverty eradication, improving quality of life and creating a safer world by means of clear-cut policies. The EfE initiative is based on environmental cooperation among countries in Europe, North America, Caucasus and Central Asia in conditions of the changing political and socio-economic landscape. EfE involves governments, civil society and private sector in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

The First EfE Conference was held in 1991 in Czechoslovakia to define basic guidelines for ecological and health-related strategies in Central and Eastern Europe. The Second, Third and Fourth Conferences were held in Switzerland, Bulgaria and Denmark respectively. The Fifth Conference held in 2003 in Kiev, Ukraine adopted the Environment Strategy for Countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

«Tajikistan suffers from the lack of coherence in regional environmental policies and coordination among the governments within Central Asia, — says Mouazamma Burkhanova, leader of a Tajik NGO «Support to Civil Initiatives». — In Tajikistan, the government pays more attention to cotton – traditional strategic raw material – frequently forgetting about the growing environmental challenges».

Burkhanova considers that the Tajik delegation can benefit from the educational segment of the Sixth Conference. Tajikistan participates in the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Since 2003, the country also has been implementing a specific educational program for local communities supported by several international donor agencies. So far, the program has been relatively successful. However, experts say that the lack of local decision-making and insufficient decentralization of power in provinces and districts are thwarting the program. According to the Tajik Constitution, the President personally appoints leaders on all levels (even heads of district administrations).

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has recently allocated funds for a municipal waste management program in Dushanbe, which is expected to be replicated in other cities of Tajikistan. «In order to create incentives for proper waste management, our NGO together with the municipal authorities in the capital try to attract entrepreneurs, — says Burkhanova. — Commercial waste management and secondary production are fast-growing and very perspective businesses in developed countries. We try to apply this experience in our conditions».

«Very often, funds allocated by numerous donor agencies and international monetary institutions in Tajikistan’s infrastructure and communal facilities are misspent, — says another member of the Tajik delegation who wished to remain anonymous. — Public at large hardly knows about the volumes of foreign allocations and facts of embezzlement, whereas the mayor’s office and the central government are reluctant to share this information with public organizations and the media». A special agency in charge of statistics on external aid (Aid Coordination Unit under the President) was dissolved at the end of 2006, and now, it is difficult to find reliable data on the foreign assistance and programs under implementation.

Another source told the EurasiaNet correspondent that numerous project implementation units (PIU) existing in the ministries very often fail to keep their commitments on grant and loan projects. Eventually, Tajikistan keeps borrowing money from foreign banks, but the public does not know much about the allocated funds and the final outputs of these programs.

The recent report by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) says that «more than 100 million people across the pan-European region do not have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation; air pollution, ground-level ozone, and nitrogen oxides shorten average life expectancy and affect healthy development of people; biodiversity declines and the loss of ecosystem continues…».

The situation in Central Asia is much worse compared to Europe. Despite some progress achieved due to sustained efforts, many environmental problems remain unsolved. Since the late 1990-s, Tajikistan has been suffering from frequent outbreaks of typhoid and malaria – the ailments, which were completely eradicated in the Soviet time. Despite dozens of millions of dollars allocated for rehabilitation of water supply systems in big cities and small settlements, the quality of drinking water remains extremely poor. Two thirds of the Tajik capital if fed by the water from Varzob river, and during seasonal floods, the water comes to consumers absolutely unpurified and even contaminated.

There are several derelict uranium tailings in Sughd province, the Kanibadam pesticide dumpsite (northern Tajikistan), and a nuclear burial ground in Faizabad district (central Tajikistan). Very little is known about these infrastructural objects inherited from the Soviet era and located in disaster prone areas in vicinity to ground waters and open reservoirs. It is expected that these problems will be discussed at a special forthcoming conference in Dushanbe scheduled for early November 2007 and supported by Iinternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Three countries of Central Asia – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – have been implementing a program «Environment and Security» (ENVSEC) launched in 2002 in densely populated and fertile Ferghana valley (total population is about 9 million). The budget of this program supported by UN agencies and OSCE is $3,1 million.

Mahmadsharif Khakdodov, National Coordinator of ENVSEC Program in Tajikistan says that during the period of 2005-2007 the ENVSEC initiative has covered a number of activities, such as assessment of risks from toxic and radioactive dumping grounds in transboundary areas, public awareness campaigns in communities, and development of information networks. «The next phase of the initiative is focused on the climate change problems among which are the negative impact of droughts on agriculture and human health, excessive seasonal precipitation, melting of glaciers, soil erosion and desertification», says Khakdodov.

The Final Declaration adopted at the Belgrade Conference says that «there is a need to improve the management of chemicals in countries of the region and to take care of old waste legacies». Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) is targeted towards the reduction of environmental pollution from heavy metals and other hazardous chemicals.

Experts stressed at the Belgrade Conference that «the speed of progress varies across policy areas and the implementation of the designed programs remains the main problem». UNECE region is not making sufficient progress with access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015, as well as to a significant reduction of the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010. Ecologists emphasise that the water supply and sanitation, integrated water resource and transboundary watercourse management should be priority areas for action. Protection of water sources and water quality are crucial for human health and sustainable development.

In this regard, Tajikistan is trying to convince its neighbors of the necessity to create a Central Asian Water Consortium. This idea has been repeatedly voiced at various international summits by the Tajik leader Emonali Rakhmon. So far, this idea has found support only from Kyrgyzstan (also an upstream country), whereas Uzbekistan stands aloof from Tajikistan’s appeals. (See EurasiaNet Archive).

«Breaking the link between economic growth and its environmental impacts is one of the key challenges facing economies in South Eastern Europe (SEE), Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA)», says a new report «Sustainable Consumption and Production in South East Europe and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia», released on 11 October in Belgrade. The report was jointly prepared by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Environment Agency (EEA), and launched at the Sixth Ministerial Conference. The report provides detailed analysis in selected economic sectors: industry, food, building, transport and waste disposal.

At the Belgrade Conference, the Ministers evaluated 36 national ESD reports performed by the countries with the help of a specific set of indicators. Another milestone of the Strategy implementation was the collection of the Good practices in ESD in the UNECE region jointly published by UNECE and UNESCO. A number of examples in formal, non formal and informal education were collected from governments, NGOs and business communities in North America, Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

The implementation of the Belgrade Conference recommendations should be adapted to specific challenges of each country and common interest identified by subregions. Ministers agreed that securing funds for national implementation should be one of the priority tasks for governments.

«Global environmental problems affect increasing number of people. The relation between environmental problems on global and regional levels and international stability, peace and security is quite obvious», — says the Final Declaration adopted at the Conference.

Konstantin Parshin is a freelance journalist based in Dushanbe.

Konstantin Parshin, NANSMIT

Источник:

The leaders of former Soviet states signed a bevy of agreements during three separate inter-state gatherings held recently in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe. Despite the move toward greater integration on paper, it remains uncertain to what extent the agreements will be implemented.

The main event in Dushanbe was the Commonwealth of Independent States summit on October 5. In all, the summit produced 17 agreements. Among the most prominent deals signed were a framework for the regulation of labor migration, and a pact aiming to promote the civil rights of migrants. Other agreements were designed to stimulate free trade among CIS states.

On October 6, two separate meetings occurred – a session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Security Council, and a summit of Eurasian Economic Cooperation (EEC) organization.

During the CSTO gathering, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered member states an incentive to tighten security cooperation, announcing that Russia was prepared to sell advanced military hardware to neighboring states at «Russian domestic prices.» In return for discounted arms sales, Moscow expressed a desire for other CSTO member states – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – to take a more active role in international peacekeeping. The CSTO chief, Nikolai Bordyuzha, suggested that a CSTO peacekeeping force could be deployed in the separatist Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. «Peacekeeping forces will act according to a verbal agreement with the United Nations, and will be used according to decisions made by the [CSTO] council,» Bordyuzha said.

In addition, the CSTO signed a cooperation agreement with another regional institution – the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, of which Russia and China are the leading members. Overall, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are members of both groups. The agreement would appear to enhance China’s security leverage in Central Asia.

«The documents signed in Dushanbe give a very serious impulse to the development of the organization [CSTO],» Bordyuzha said.

The EEC leaders, meanwhile, agreed to establish a fully functioning customs union by 2011. Three states – Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan – will be the founding members of the customs union. Three other states – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – intend to join the union after meeting various accession conditions. Participants are now expected to establish a commission on customs regulations, and harmonize trade-related legislation.

Putin hailed the results of the Dushanbe meetings as a significant step forward for inter-state cooperation. «We have made a principally new step in the development of the processes of the post-Soviet area,» Putin said.

For all the agreements, however, the three meetings in Dushanbe proved that it is impossible to satisfy all CIS member states. Azerbaijan, for example, expressed concern on October 8 that Russia’s offer to sell discounted weapons could be exploited by Armenia to engage in an arms build-up that would complicate the search for a Nagorno-Karabakh peace settlement. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. «We hope that Russia will take into account all sensitive issues while taking these kinds of steps,» Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim said during a news briefing in Baku.

Meanwhile, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili declared that the CIS had not served Georgia’s interests, and refused to sign a development concept paper.

Even Tajikistan, the host for the meetings, suffered its fair share of disappointment. Tajik President Imomali Rahmon pressed his fellow CIS leaders to explore agreements on sharing increasingly scarce water resources. Rahmon’s initiatives did not gain traction, however. Only Kyrgyzstan, which like Tajikistan, is a primary source nation for water supplies, strongly backed Rahmon’s call for the establishment of a water-use framework. Uzbekistan, another of Tajikistan’s neighbors, is believed to oppose the initiative.

The inability to cooperate on water usage could soon emerge as a regional security issue in Central Asia, said Tajik scientist Sabit Negmatullayev, a former president of the Tajik Academy of Sciences. «To ensure its energy security, Tajikistan intends to build two hydropower cascades on the Vakhsh River (in central Tajikistan) and on the Zeravshan River (in the North of the country),» Negmatullayev said. «The downstream countries, whose populations grow rapidly, [i.e. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan], suffer from seasonal shortages of water so badly needed for irrigation. Having appropriate agreements in place, we could ensure stable discharge of water in the region, i.e. a fair distribution of precious resources, which are seen very often as a potential bone of contention.»

Editor’s Note: Konstantin Parshin is a freelance journalist based in Dushanbe.

Источник: www.eurasianet.org

Every now and then, Central Asia’s leaders break with official silence on the topic of the Internet to hint at its significance and pledge to improve public access to it.

And indeed, more city-dwellers are getting online all over the region, where Internet cafes have become a booming business and many schools and offices provide free connection to the World Wide Web.
But beneath the surface, the situation is arguably different: Internet cafes are subject to regular inspections by security officials, getting an Internet connection at home requires authorization, and independent news, civil-society, and opposition websites are blocked.
When the Tajik parliament introduced recent legislation criminalizing libel and other forms of defamation on the Internet, some media rights groups criticized the bill as an effort to hinder the free flow of information.

ISPs In Tow
Article 19, a London-based group that campaigns for freedom of speech worldwide, argued that no other country in the world includes such a specific provision for Internet postings.
Nuriddin Qarshiboev, who heads the National Association for Independent Media in Tajikistan, accuses the Tajik government — which has a history of strictures on independent media — of trying to extend its grip over online media.

«Since the Tajik governmental authorities are unable to close down an Internet website, they are now trying to restrict Internet freedom through technical means — and they want Internet [service] providers to help them in dealing with the issue,» Qarshiboev says.
Tajik authorities have blocked a number of antigovernment news websites in the past.

Tajikistan and other post-Soviet governments in Central Asia — particularly Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan — employ a range of methods to restrict public access to the Internet.

In Uzbekistan, most Internet service providers (ISPs) operate under government control. They have blocked opposition and rights groups’ websites, as well as regional and international news sources that cover events in Uzbekistan. Websites like centrasia.ru, fergana.ru, and RFE/RL and BBC news sites have been «filtered» to prevent Uzbeks from seeing them.

Cafes, Too
An Internet cafe owner in Tashkent, who did not want to give his name, tells RFE/RL that officials regularly come to his cafe to monitor which websites customers are using.

«Yes, they check us regularly. Inspections take place here,» he says. «There is an information inspection body that operates under [national telecommunications operator] Uzbektelecom. They usually come in and check us.»
He adds that many Internet cafe owners are required to put up signs warning that «access to pornographic and political websites is prohibited.»

Mahina, a 21-year-old student in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, says she goes to Internet cafes to read up on the news that is otherwise unavailable.

«Mostly, I read Radio Ozodi [RFE/RL’s Tajik Service] and BBC news websites in Tajik, as well as Asia-Plus, Varorud, and avesto.tj news agencies,» Mahina says. «I look for news that we can’t find on Tajik television.»

Mahina says she must surf through those web pages «as quickly as possible» because of the high price of the connection for students like her.

Surfing In Uzbekistan
Apart from what are officially regarded as «pornographic and political» sites — a catchall that is used to block non-state news outlets — the Internet is expanding in Uzbekistan.

The number of Uzbek ISPs has grown from 25 in 1999 to 539, according to the latest available figures, from 2005, according to Open Net Initiative. Still, official Uzbek statistics suggest that just 1.2 million of the country’s 27 million people has access to the Internet.

There are increasingly Internet cafes offering inexpensive connections to the net. The Tashkent Internet cafe owner we quoted earlier says the going rate — equivalent to about $0.50 per hour — is affordable for many Uzbeks.
Same Old Turkmenistan?

In Turkmenistan, it is a different story. The late strongman president, Saparmurat Niyazov, kept his impoverished public as hermetically sealed as possible. No Internet connections at home — with even the handful of people who received official permission for it in the 1990s later banned from using the web.

The new president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, famously vowed to open the
Internet up to his people.

But even under his tentative reforms, the cost of using the Internet is prohibitively high. In a country with an average salary of about $70 per month, the several Internet cafes that have opened charge around $4 per hour.
When he officially succeeded Niyazov in February, Berdymukhammedov pledged an immediate improvement in access to the Internet: «Starting from today,

Internet cafes will be opened in Ashgabat and other cities. We are working on a program that gives every school and university access to the Internet.»
Six months on, there appear to have been few changes. All opposition, human rights, and independent news websites are still blocked by the authorities. All ISPs are said to be closely controlled by the government.

Getting authorization for a household Internet connection is out of reach for most, with thorough checks by the National Security Ministry.
Limited Option

In Tajikistan, officials put the number of active Internet users at an improbably high 500,000, which would represent one in 12 citizens.
Tajikistan’s unreliable electricity supplies present a major challenge for would-be web users, with power available in many places limited to a few early-morning and late-evening hours.

The same problem exists in many provinces of neighboring Uzbekistan.
While there is Internet growth all over Central Asia, the number of the net users still remains low relative to more developed places.

Out Of Reach
Only a tiny minority of people in Central Asia — mostly urbanites — have home computers. Where possible, those others access the Internet in offices or cafes, schools or universities. Some international organizations, like the Organizations for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), have opened special press centers in the region where journalists get free Internet access. In several Turkmen cities, U.S. cultural centers offer free Web connections.

More recently, the Internet is reaching some remote areas, too. But in the most Central Asian villages, the Internet is practically nonexistent.
Internet cafes are gaining popularity primarily in cities and on the outskirts of capitals.

Owners say that Internet cafe customers are mostly teenagers, usually playing online games or chatting on the web. Some come to use e-mail.
Editor’s Note: (RFE/RL’s Tajik, Turkmen, and Uzbek services contributed to this report)

Posted July 27, 2007 © Eurasianet

Источник: http://www.eurasianet.org

Licensing commission under the Tajik TV and Radio Broadcasting Committee has exhausted its resources and must be reorganized, Chairman of the National Association of Tajikistan’s Media (NANSMIT) Nuriddin Karshiboev said at a conference on improvement of licensing procedures.

He cited “non-transparent activity of the licensing commission” main problem TV and radio companies face with.
A member of the licensing commission Barakatullo Abdulfaizov, on his turn, said the commission is open for all but in the majority of cases the commission has to deal with people who have little or no idea of how to fill documents.

“Competitors are not ready to comply with our requirements due to lack of professionalism,” he said. “Thus, only four of 25 competitors were professional journalists.”

Meanwhile, Executive Director of the Tajik Association of Independent Electronic Media (TajANESMI) Ms Hosiyat Cast said the commission impedes the licensing process due to biased approach to private TV and radio companies.
Mr Karshiboev, on his turn, suggested to set up an independent licensing body which would compose of representatives of all related structures, not only TV and Radio Broadcasting Committee.

Abdulfaizov rejected Karshiboev’s suggestion saying that the committee is ready to present all related documents connected with the activity of its commission.

“We are ready to present all documents connected with licensing process,” he said. “But I suggest to set up an independent commission that would examine the activity of the licensing commission. If any violation is found I will resign. Otherwise, I will file a lawsuit over violation of my moral rights.

J. Kadyrov Avesta News Agency

Источник: Avesta News Agency

Lake Sarez is a natural wonder of Tajikistan, containing 17 billion cubic meters of one of Central Asia’s scarcest commodities – water. Tajik leaders are now searching for a way to unlock the lake’s economic potential.

The lake was created in the early 20th century, when an earthquake touched off a massive landslide in the Bartang Valley in the Pamir Mountains, creating a natural dam across the Murgab River. The mass of soil and rock holding back the water was dubbed the Usoy Damn. The lake extends for over 60 kilometers and in some spots is over 500 meters deep.
In recent years, experts have grown increasingly concerned that the dam could give way, sparking a natural disaster with severe consequences for all of Central Asia. These days, the lake is the subject of intensive monitoring: data on even the slightest fluctuation in the water level, for example, is relayed immediately to central government officials in Dushanbe. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
A late May conference on Lake Sarez, held in Dushanbe, considered ways to minimize the risks of a natural disaster. While conditions at dam appear stable for now, some experts warn that the situation is capable of rapid change. «We have to keep in mind that it [the Usoy Dam] emerged as the result of a powerful earthquake,» said Col. Kadam Maskayev, a department head at the Tajik State Committee for Emergencies and Civil Defense. «[The dam] is situated in a seismically hazardous area, at an altitude of more than three thousand meters above sea level. We cannot underestimate the … dangers of Sarez.»
A $4.3-million program has been implemented with the worst-case scenario in mind. Under the initiative, food, water and medicine have been stockpiled in small warehouses in at-risk villages in the Bartang Valley. Thus, in the event of a dam burst, residents who survived the initial flood, would, in theory, have access to emergency supplies that could sustain them while they remained cut off from the outside world.
Some Tajik officials want to harness the existing risks, and turn them to the country’s advantage. To keep the water pressure against the dam at a stable level, some experts at the May conference proposed the construction of a safety-valve tunnel which could divert water into the Murghab River. Others proposed construction of a hydro-electric plant. A feasibility study suggests the combination of a safety-valve and power plant could cost almost $300 million, and would cause the lake level to drop roughly 50 meters.
Meanwhile, Tajik President Imomali Rahmon recently proposed an alternate idea, the construction of a water pipeline that would serve all of Central Asia. Calling his idea a «great humanitarian project,» he urged the creation of a consortium of Central Asian governments, which would then work with international development agencies to make the pipeline project a reality. «Giving water to thirsty people is considered to be the best deed in the true religion of Islam,» Rahmon said during an address to a joint session of parliament on April 30, when he unveiled the water pipeline initiative.
While experts in Dushanbe laud the president’s ambition, they generally believe the pipeline plan, under the present circumstances, is unrealistic. The main obstacle is inter-governmental differences over the use of water resources in the region. Officials have not yet come close to agreeing on a framework for the management of water resources. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Even if consensus could be reached on the practicality of building a Lake Sarez pipeline, myriad smaller obstacles would still stand in the way of construction.
«The joint use of Lake Sarez’s clear water resources is a marvelous idea. However; Tajikistan would hardly attract the [needed] investment,» said a Dushanbe economist, who spoke on condition of anonymity. «Moreover, the implementation of such ambitious intentions – apart from money and technical means – would require gigantic human resources.» The economist indicated that Tajikistan suffers from a lack of skilled workers needed to complete such an engineering task.
Building a safety-valve tunnel and a power plant near Lake Sarez might be an even longer shot than the water pipeline. The lack of a developed infrastructure in the area is almost a significant problem. The Usoy Dam is situated about 150 kilometers from the nearest city, Rushan, and much of the distance between the two can be traversed only with a four-wheel-drive vehicle. To build a road that could facilitate power-plant construction would be, in itself, prohibitively expensive, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars per kilometer, according to one estimate.

Editor’s Note: Konstantin Parshin is a freelance writer based in Tajikistan.
Posted July 2, 2007 © Eurasianet

Konstantin Parshin

Источник: http://www.eurasianet.org

The high peaks of Gorno-Badakhshan constitute the definition of remote. Yet, nothing is so remote or obscure these days in Tajikistan that it is beyond the reach of President Imomali Rahmon.

In the mountainous region, a two-day drive from Dushanbe, radio stations can be hard to pick up. But just outside the village of Ishkhashim, a signal comes in loud and clear. Tajik pop plays for a brief interlude, then comes a blast of martial music marking the opening of perhaps the most talked about broadcast in Tajikistan these days.
«These are the New Rules,» the announcer intones dramatically, synthesized newscast music punctuating the end of each sentence. All across the country, even here, Tajiks are tuning in and straining to hear the latest diktats in President Rahmon’s austerity campaign.
This particular broadcast rails against a traditional pastime √ buzkashi √ a contest in which two sides on horseback struggle to carry a goat carcass across a goal line. «A buzkashi horse can easily cost 50,000 somoni ($15,000),» notes the broadcaster. In recent years, the Tajik government has sponsored large buzkashi contests, normally coinciding with the Novruz holiday. This practice, according to Rahmon’s newest New Rule, is about to end. «The government can no longer countenance spending as much as 1,000,000 somoni (about $300,000) on this expensive sport,» he says. Buzkashi matches may continue to be put on by private sponsors, but «in a limited, less expensive form that recognizes the importance of saving money.»
And so it goes in Tajikistan. Of late, President Rahmon has seemed more like a killjoy than a statesman, devoting a tremendous amount of time and energy to micro-managing daily life.
Since late March, Rahmon has attempted to impose a cultural makeover on his nation. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. He has orchestrated the adoption of regulations that govern how Tajiks can dress, how they can relax, even how they should mourn.
His focus of late has been on curbing «extravagant expenses» with the stated aim of poverty reduction and the promotion of «progress, prosperity, and the prestige of the nation.» Gold fillings, common throughout ex-Soviet Central Asia, have accordingly been prohibited as ostentatious.
He has also targeted traditional ceremonies, including weddings, funerals and circumcisions. On May 24, Rahmon commented on a newly adopted law √ titled On Squaring Traditions and Rites √ that imposes strict limitations on the scope and expenses allowed for ceremonies concerning life and death. The Asia Plus weekly recently published extracts of the new law. Article 8, for example, states that Tajik citizens can celebrate their birthdays only within their families, adding that any festivities must occur between the hours of 10 am and 11 pm on weekends, or from 6 pm to 11 pm on weekdays. It concludes by mandating that birthday celebrations last no more than three hours.
In justifying the measures, the president complained that spending on weddings, funerals and other events had gotten out of hand, and insisted that austerity was necessary. «Each year, citizens of our small country spend [almost $1.5 billion] on weddings and funerals, whereas the whole national budget is only [about $1 billion,» Rahmon claimed. «Taking the oath [at my inauguration], I promised that in the next five years the living standard of the Tajik people will change fundamentally. And I will do this. The [adoption of the] law in question is just a first step.»
Some foreign experts suggest the president may be relying on very creative accounting to come up with spending and budget totals. «There is an obvious confusion in the figures,» said a Tajik-based foreign consultant. «According to the Tajik Finance Ministry, Tajikistan’s annual budget in 2006 amounted only to $400 million. And who invented the formula to calculate the expenditures on private festivities?»
One Tajik academic was incredulous over the timing and motivation for the lifestyle changes. «I can’t fathom why only now the president is taking ▒first steps.’ He’s been in power for 15 years now,» the academic stated.
While many believe Rahmon is overstepping the bounds of responsible government, the president does have his supporters. A significant number of Tajiks shares Rahmon’s view that social pressure is driving people to spend more than they can afford on lavish ceremonies.
In the case of deaths, families traditionally have honored the departed not only with a funeral, but with a series of subsequent meals three, seven, 20 and 40 days later. Every resident of the village is invited to attend. In addition, a sheep or goat is slaughtered and its meat distributed to other members of the community every Friday for a year. Rahmon, however, has banned the traditional village funeral dinner as well as the series of memorial dinners honoring the deceased.

Such cutbacks are quietly applauded by many. «Limiting these expenses is a good idea,» said Kamal, a Dushanbe resident. «Not only have families lost someone through death, they risk becoming poor because they have to buy and sacrifice so many animals.»
Rahmon has pushed the changes without permitting substantive public debate about them. This fact has prompted an expression of concern from The Public Council of Tajikistan, an organization that promotes civic dialogue. The council has cautioned that hasty implementation of lifestyle legislation could have unpredictable outcomes.
Some Tajiks say Rahmon’s social engineering has only focused a spotlight on the disparity in the way the political elite lives and works, and conditions endured by the bulk of the population. While Rahmon is intent on curbing individuals’ expenditures, one Dushanbe resident was quick to point out that the state continues to spend heavily on construction of the National Palace, a massive project in central Dushanbe that is beset with problems. The structure is reportedly sinking in clay-based soil, reportedly requiring $20 million in expenditures to reinforce the foundation.
Others believe that the new rules will only create new opportunities for officials to collect bribes. «The adoption of the new law is insanity,» said one Tajik musician. «Once in a while, I moonlight in a restaurant in Dushanbe. Last week we had some visitors who required a ▒certificate’┘ It turns out that I have to apply to the Ministry of Culture to perform in public places. Our administrator had to bribe the unexpected auditors. But for sure, they will show up again.»

EurasiaNet

Источник: http://www.eurasianet.org

Report notes gap between information laws and reality

Region :Eastern Europe-Central Eurasia
Country :None
Topic :Press Freedom, Media Laws, Access to Information, Publications

Over the past decade, most countries in Europe and Central Asia have enacted laws that better guarantee the right to access public information, a recent report says. However, there remains a sizable gap between those laws and actual practice.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) recently completed a comprehensive survey of information access laws in its 56 participating states. Broadly, the survey found that 45 of those governments have adopted laws that support the public right to get information.

But, in practice, implementation of these laws varies widely and often presents obstacles. For example, many of these countries unnecessarily classify broad categories of information as “state secrets,” the report says.

And in 29 states, journalists and other citizens—not just public officials—can face prosecution for revealing government secrets. Related to that problem, authorities in many OSCE states can try to force journalists to reveal their confidential sources.

The OSCE report also offers specific recommendations that encourage governments to enact laws that more closely embrace the idea of freedom of information—that the public’s right to know supercedes the government’s interest in keeping secrets.

Miklos Haraszti, OSCE media freedom representative, released the findings on May 1. More information, including a survey summary and country-by-country reports, is available at http://osce.org/fom/.

OSCE

Источник: http://osce.org/fom/