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:

National Association of Independent Mass Media (NANSMIT), the Union of Tajik Journalists, Bureau on Human Rights and Legality, the Memorial Fund of Tajik Journalists, the Tajik Media Alliance, and the Public Unit «Khoma» came up with an initiative to reform the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan «On Printing and Other Mass Media».

This initiative has found support from the International Freedom of Speech Fund «Adil Soz» (Kazakhstan), and by international organization IFEX.

Representatives of various media were not allowed to attend a public meeting held on 16 October in Khatlon province.

Journalists say that Information-Analytical Unit of the President’s Office had preliminary invited certain media to the meeting.

However, on 15 October the same Unit’s officials informed the journalists that representatives of some media are not allowed to attend the meeting, referring to the decision assumed by National Security Committee.

Only editors of three provincial government newspapers and correspondents of the First State TV Channel were allowed to attend the meeting.

NANSMIT monitoring service.

Representatives of various media were not allowed to attend a public meeting held on 16 October in Khatlon province.

Journalists say that Information-Analytical Unit of the President’s Office had preliminary invited certain media to the meeting.

However, on 15 October the same Unit’s officials informed the journalists that representatives of some media are not allowed to attend the meeting, referring to the decision assumed by National Security Committee.

Only editors of three provincial government newspapers and correspondents of the First State TV Channel were allowed to attend the meeting.

NANSMIT monitoring service.

A press conference scheduled for 16 October 2007 in Vose district was cancelled due to another public meeting in Kurgan-Tube city attended by the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmon.

Chairman of Vose district Alimurod Tagaimurodov accompanied by a group of officials left for the administrative center, Kurgan-Tube city to attend the meeting.

However, the head of the State has nothing to do with the cancelled press conference since the date of his visit had been known well in advance, and the Khatlon province chairman’s press service presented an unconsidered schedule of press conferences to be held in the province.

This is not the only failure of the province’s press service. A meeting between the Kulyab municipal administration with the media had been scheduled for 12 October (which was the final day of the sacred month of Ramadan; it should be noted that 95 percent of Tajikistan’s population are Muslims who wanted to properly celebrate the Reverence Day).

The press conference in Vose district was postponed for 25 October; and in Kulyab for 27 October.

NANSMIT monitoring service.

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

Tajik Press Review, 4 October 2007

Press review in Russian is available at: [url=http://www.nansmit.tj/publish/?id=118]http://www.nansmit.tj/publish/?id=118[/url]

Tajik politicians complain that the popular Russian TV show “Nasha Russia” (“Our Russia”) defames the national dignity of Tajiks. Among the characters of the TV serial are two Tajik labor migrants have become an object of derision.

However, nobody intends to dramatize the incident. So far, there has been a proposal to organize a meeting with representative of the Russian TNT channel, the host of the TV show for an amicable settlement.

The TV channel administration considers this situation absurd. In October, the TV company intends to launch the third season of “Nasha Russia”. The script writers and actors will present new funny characters, but they are not going to forget about the old ones.

The Tajik characters (heroes of the scandal) – Jamshut and Ravshan – will be presented in a new quality; they will refurbish an apartment of Kseniya Sobchak (a Russian show business celebrity).

According to Radio Liberty / Radio Free Europe, Mirek Topolanek, Prime Minister of Czech Republic in his public speech called on the global community to strengthen international pressure on Russia.

Topolanek made his statement on 4 October, during a press conference at RL/RFE office in Prague. The meeting was dedicated to the memory of Anna Politkovskaya, a famous Russian journalist, correspondent of “Novaya Gazeta”, who was murdered on 7 October 2006 in Moscow.

The Czech Prime Minister also noted that the outcomes of investigation on the journalist’s murder will clarify the real situation in Russia in the sphere of media and freedom of speech.

NANSMIT monitoring service

According to Radio Liberty / Radio Free Europe, Mirek Topolanek, Prime Minister of Czech Republic in his public speech called on the global community to strengthen international pressure on Russia.

Topolanek made his statement on 4 October, during a press conference at RL/RFE office in Prague. The meeting was dedicated to the memory of Anna Politkovskaya, a famous Russian journalist, correspondent of “Novaya Gazeta”, who was murdered on 7 October 2006 in Moscow.

The Czech Prime Minister also noted that the outcomes of investigation on the journalist’s murder will clarify the real situation in Russia in the sphere of media and freedom of speech.

NANSMIT monitoring service