Training Course for SME's Representatives on Cleaner Production and Energy Efficiency in Armenia

On July 06-08, 2010, REC Caucasus organized a national training in the frames of "Promoting Competitiveness and Efficiency of Small and Medium Enterprise Through Cleaner Production in the South Caucasus" regional project in Yerevan, Armenia. The Project was implemented with the financial support of Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment of the Netherlands.
 
The overall objective of this project was to contribute to sustainable development in the South Caucasus and minimize environmental impact of industrial sector by stimulating small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) to take steps towards cleaner production (CP). The objective will be reached via increasing SME’s capability in the preparation of financial documentation for CP projects. The increased possibility for getting the financial resources from local and international financial institutions will improve SME’s operation capabilities to become more economically efficient and environmentally friendly.
 
The inception meeting of the Project was attended by the representatives of different governmental, non-governmental and international organizations as well as other stakeholders who stressed the relevance of the Project to Armenia and importance of introducing CP in the local business practices.
 
The two-day training was attended by the representatives of several small and medium business companies, such as "Lukashin" agricultural association, Federation of Agricultural Association (FAA), "Meghri Cannery" (production of canned fruit), "Conser" (production of canned food) "Sateni" (fruits and vegetables), "ARFS" LLC (ceramics production) and others (12 participants in total).
 
The participants were exposed to the concepts of CP, types of CP action, CP tools and techniques, performance audit, impact assessment, CP audit, tools and methods used for CP auditing and other useful topics, supported by examples from international experience.
 
The training also included several case studies and a site visit to the local bakery, after which a detailed analysis of the production process was made and ways for improvement were suggested. The participants were also encouraged to make presentations about their own companies and focus on identifying possibilities for CP intervention. Follow-up activities and future cooperation perspectives with REC Caucasus were discussed.
 
The event was finalized by general discussion and expressing opinions about the training. The participants, most of whom did not have any knowledge and skills on CP before, confirmed practical applicability and usefulness of the gained knowledge for their businesses. After the successful completion of the training the participants were awarded participation certificates.

Steering Committee Meeting on "Fostering community forest policy and practice in mountain regions of the Caucasus " Project in Georgia

On 15 June 16, 2010 REC Caucasus organized the first Meeting of the Steering Committee on "Fostering community forest policy and practice in mountain regions of the Caucasus" Project in Georgia.
 
The meeting was attended by representatives of REC Caucasus, EU Delegation to Georgia, Georgian government, international organizations, NGOs and professional circles involved in the project.
 
Ms. Sopho Akhobadze, Deputy Executive Director of  REC Caucasus opened the meeting and made the presentation on the goals, objectives, and expected results of the project "Fostering Community Forest Policy and Practice in Mountain Regions of the Caucasus".
 
Mr. Michal Nekvasil, Deputy Head of Operation of EU Delegation to Georgia stressed the importance of the Project and underlined social, economic and environmental benefits as three functions of the Project.
 
Implemented activities and outputs in 2009-2010 years, problems raised during the project implementation were presented to the Committee members by Mr. Irakli Matcharashvili, Project Team Leader in Georgia.
 
The Steering Committee Members discussed the roots of mentioned problems and made corresponding comments.
 
Mr. Irakli Matcharashvili presented the Legal Analysis of Forest Management in Georgia, document elaborated in the framework of the Project.
 
The Steering Committee Members were asked to provide the Project team with comments, ideas and recommendations  on Forest Management issues.
 
During the discussion part of the meeting, the necessity of expansion of the pilot area was identified. As a result, it was anonymously agreed to include the Racha District villages Ghebi and Glola in the pilot area of project implementation.
 
The next meeting was scheduled for September.
 
The overall objective of the project is fostering community forest policy and practice in mountain regions of the Caucasus to address deforestation and climate change issues, secured land tenure and forest rights, rural poverty reduction, diminishing regional and national tensions and the risks of insurrections let by alienated elements, conservation and sustainable development needs of local communities. 
 
The project’s specific objective is respond to current demands of the countries in 1) elaboration of relevant to institutional, legal and technical set-up for community forest management, 2) awareness raising and capacity building of local communities and local authorities on sustainable forest management and 3) demonstration of best approaches/methods of immediate reforestation.

Regional Stakeholder Meeting of the Project: "Creation of Enabling Environment for Integrated Management of the Kura-Aras Transboundary River Basin"

REC Caucasus organized the Regional Stakeholder Meeting of the Project: "Creation of Enabling Environment for Integrated Management of the Kura-Aras Transboundary River Basin"
 
The objectives of the project is to gain a consensus-based agreement between the South Caucasus countries, donor organizations and other concerned parties on further steps towards improved and creation of basis for sustainable cooperation and coordination through establishment of regional institutional mechanisms for major participating countries of the Caucasus, including governments, supporting control and coordination of projects (including donor ones) for integrated management of the Kura-Aras transboundary rivers basin, and adoption of Road Maps for assessment of progress in sustainable management of the Kura-Aras river basin with view to introduction of the EU Water Directives.

The meeting was attended by the representatives of governments of South Caucasus countries; EU Delegation; international organizations, such as USAID, WB, OSCE; NGOs and independent experts.
 
Mr. Georgi Arzumanyan, REC Caucasus Executive Director made the presentation on the history of the projects its goals and objectives, future prospects and obstacles.
 
Mr. Pierre Henry de Villeneuve, IWRM project director at the International Office for Water introduced the principles of IWRM and made the presentation on the experience of the transboundary river basin management in Europe. 
 
Mr. Denis Besozzi, Expert of the Rhine-Maas Water Agency, made the presentation of the experience based on the Rhine transboundary river basin management plan preparation.
 
The work done on the prefiguration of the Kura-Aras Road Maps for IWRM was also presented to the participants of the meeting.
 
Several presentations were done on the situation in South Caucasus countries concerning IWRM and introduction of EU water framework directives.
The need of regional cooperation in integrated management of the Kura-Aras transboundary river basin has been stressed at the meeting.
 
The discussions of institutional set-up options, consensus  based agreement on creation of basis for sustainable cooperation and coordination through establishment of regional institutional mechanisms were held on the second day of the meeting.

In light of several discussions over institutionalization of the transboundary management of Kura-Aras basin, considering experience of a number of projects conducted in the region with aim of establishing regional coordination body for joint management, and referring to political realities of the region, participants have come to the conclusion, that establishing of new structure in short-term perspectives is not realistic. It has been decided and agreed by all participating countries, that REC Caucasus, as the already established regional institution, within its mandate is the best positioned in the region for implementing coordination activities towards implementation by countries of EU WFD and providing kind of secretariat functions for thematic working groups for introduction of IWRM principles.
 
Further elaboration of National and Regional Road Maps, as well as finalization of institutional mechanism will be expected at later stages of the project.

Meeting within the framework of REC Caucasus Project "Fostering community forest policy and practice in mountain regions of the Caucasus"

The representatives of REC Caucasus as well as members of the project implementing group organized the meeting with Mr. David Gagoshidze, governor of Amrolauri, Oni, Tsageri and Lentekhi districts within the framework of REC Caucasus Project “Fostering community forest policy and practice in mountain regions of the Caucasus" in Ambrolauri.  The meeting was attended by the Second Secretary of the European Commission delegation, Deputy Head of Projects Department, Mr. Michal Nekvasil.

Representatives of the project team informed the governor of the results of studies conducted in the project and plans for the future. Mr. David Gagoshidze told about problems in the forest sector and stressed the importance of forests for local people. He promised full support to the Regional Environmental Centre in the planned activities under the project.

In the framework of the project was also organized a meeting with Chiora (Oni district) village population. Participants discussed problems of forestry, and their solutions, challenges facing the project and possible participation of the local population in the project. Ways for future cooperation between the project team and the local population were identified. The meeting was attended by representatives of the regional forest administration of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti areas and representatives of the municipality Oni districts.

It should be noted that the Regional Environmental Centre in the period 2004-2009 successfully implemented the project "Sustainable development of mountain regions of the Caucasus. Local Agenda-XXI century " in the village Chiora.

The project "“Fostering community forest policy and practice in mountain regions of the Caucasus" is a regional project being implemented by the Regional Environmental Centre - REC Caucasus (in South Caucasus countries: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia) and the Russian Regional Environmental Centre - REC Russia (in Russia, North Caucasus), with the EU financial support. The project focuses on the following issues:

• Deforestation and climate change issues,

• Secured land tenure and forest rights,

• Rural poverty reduction,

• Diminishing regional and national tensions and the risks of insurrections let by alienated elements,

• Conservation and sustainable development needs of local communities.

Steering Committees Meetings on "Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation and Reducing Poverty in the South Caucasus Region" Project in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

REC Caucasus organized the first Meeting of the Steering Committee on “Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation and Reducing Poverty in the South Caucasus Region” Project in all 3 countries of South Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
 
The need of regional cooperation in combating desertification has been stressed at the International Conference on the Issues of Draught and Desertification in the Countries of the South Caucasus hosted by REC Caucasus in 2002. Even though desertification has intensified over the past years in the South Caucasus region, no measures have been taken at the regional level to address this problem. The program launched in 2009 year and covers Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
 
The overall objective of the project is to ensure continued ecosystem functions and integrity, reduce poverty and enhance food security and income for rural farmers in the South Caucasus countries by combating desertification, strengthening the natural resource base and revitalizing the agricultural sector.
 
The meetings were attended by representatives of REC Caucasus and CENN, organizations implementing the above mentioned project, “Ruzgar” (partner organization in Azerbaijan), “Green Lane” (partner organization in Armenia),  and members of steering committee. The members of steering committee represented the authorities, NGOs and scientific circles involved in the project.
 
REC Caucasus representatives made the presentation on “Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation and Reducing Poverty in the South Caucasus Region” Project: its goals, objectives, expected results etc. The Committee members were familiarized with their duties, in particular to provide consultation to the project national coordinator, to monitor the project implementation and to facilitate implementation of the project at the governmental level.
 
Implemented activities in 2009-2010 years and future work plan were also presented to the Committee members. The Steering Committee Members discussed the Project work plan for 2009/2010 years and made several comments, especially they stressed the necessity of deeper research of soil in the Region.
 
In Armenia the Committee members stressed the need for the strategy of agriculture development which will be the guideline for the future activities. On the meeting of Azerbaijan Steering Committee the problem of the lack of knowledge in the region about the rational use of land for agriculture was mentioned. The elaboration of the guidelines for the soil research was named as one of the most crucial issues in Georgia.
 
The next meeting was scheduled for late May.

REC Caucasus Regional Conference – "LEAPs is SEA proof! Seven Years of Experience in Local Environmental Planning in the South Caucasus" was organised by REC Caucasus on December 4, 2009 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The event aimed to summarize all LEAPs projects implemented by REC Caucasus since 2003, assess the result achieved and outline the areas of future interventions for strengthening local environmental planning in the South Caucasus.

The Conference was attended by the representatives of LEAPs cities: local authorities of Ararat, Vardenis, Kajaran (Armenia), Ganja, Lenkoran (Azerbaijan), and Kutaisi as well as Mayor of Poti (Georgia), the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Georgia, Ministry of ecology and natural resources of Azerbaijan, Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia, LEAPs experts, international organisations (USAID, UNDP, EU Delegation to Georgia, etc) as well as embassies (Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Georgia, Embassy of the Azerbaijan Republic in Georgia,  Embassy of the Germany in Georgia), as well as non-governmental and media representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and other concerned. More than 50 representatives of stakeholders participated in the Conference.

Background

Begun in 2003, the South Caucasus Local Environmental Action Programme (LEAP) was designed to demonstrate participatory approaches to solving environmental problems at the local level while building the long-term institutional capacity to conduct LEAPs and other community-based programmes throughout the region in the years to come. The South Caucasus LEAP created opportunities for citizens, NGOs to engage in priority setting alongside municipal officials and business leaders and take constructive action using creative, low-cost, and cost-effective approaches to solve priority community environmental problems.
 
The aim of the Local Environmental Action Programme is to promote public participation and intersectoral cooperation in local environmental decision-making process through involvement of all environmental stakeholders in the process of LEAPs development. The LEAPs is a long-term process of prospective planning and implementation of environmental activities. Local Environmental Action Plan is a unique document by its essence since it reflects the ideas and recommendations on improvement of the state of the environment presented by all local environmental stakeholders.
 
The Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus (REC Caucasus) helped to strengthen local governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and businesses to effectively manage local environmental problems. Through this capacity-building effort, REC Caucasus raised environmental awareness, promoted public participation in environmental decision-making, and stimulated citizen involvement in directly solving local environmental issues. REC Caucasus tapped into local expertise to the greatest degree possible and engaged experts from outside the region to provide technical assistance to local experts and communities.
 
Financial Support The LEAPs projects were implemented with the financial support from the Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM), the United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA),  Ministry of Environmental Affairs, Land Use Planning, Agriculture and Forestry of the Principality of Liechtenstein.

The Regional Conference "Development of NGO Capacity and Public Awareness on Climate Change and Mitigation Measures in the Caucasus" was held on October 27-28, 2009 in Tbilisi.
 
Main objective of the conference was to elaborate regional NGOs' position for forthcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (Additional information on the COP-15 is available at http://en.cop15.dk).

The event was organised by the Greens Movement of Georgia/FOE Georgia in cooperation with the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus and Woman in Europe for Common Future (WECF).

The Regional Conference convoked high level representatives from governmental, nongovernmental and international organisations. NGOs representatives from Armenia and Azerbaijan participated in the meeting.

The position of respective countries towards the forthcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen has been presented by diplomatic missions in Georgia (Sweden, UK, Germany, USA, Netherlands, Israel, France as well as EC Delegation in Georgia) as well as a number of international nongovernmental organisations. The participants agreed over the major aspects to be included into the joint Statement by NGOs of the South Caucasus (being under development) that will be further presented by REC Caucasus in the Copenhagen.  
 
The Conference  was conducted within the frame of the first Climate Change Week in Georgia being organised from October 24 – November 3 with the support of the EС Delegation to Georgia.

Presentation of the results of the project "Support to Recovery of the Paliastomi Lake Ecosystem" implemented by REC Caucasus in cooperation with the local government of Poti was conducted on October 24 in Poti.
 
The initiative was implemented with the financial support from the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, Land Use Planning, Agriculture and Forestry of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
 
The aim of the project is to improve the environmental condition of the self-governing city Poti through support to rehabilitation of the Paliastomi lake ecosystem and protection of the small rivers from degradation. To ensure inflow of fresh water from the river Rioni into the Paliastomi lake, a canal (46 meters) from the river Rioni to the already existing canal  has been rehabilitated and a water gate constructed. Besides, 150 meter long section of the existing canal has been cleaned. 
 
The representatives of Poti Municipality, local government, media, LEAPs Stakeholders Committee of Poti, the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, Land Use Planning, Agriculture and Forestry of the Principality of Liechtenstein, REC Caucasus as well as experts and other concerned from Kutaisi participated in the presentation.

The Guideline to Local Environmental Action Programmes (LEAPs) in the Caucasus was developed within the  REC Caucasus Environmental Policy and LEAPs Programme with the support from the United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
 
The publication has been developed to assist municipal government officials, representatives from non-governmental organisations, and general public to better manage environmental problems at the local level.  Basic planning methods and tools used by some local governments and citizen groups in the Caucasus are presented in the publication.

The publication is available in Russian and English at REC Caucasus, as well as the electronic version can be downloaded from
http://www.rec-caucasus.org/recc/files_eng/273_Leap_Guidelines_En.zip

The annual EAP Task Force (the Task Force for the Implementation of the Environmental Action Programme for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia) meeting was held on October 15-16, 2009 in Paris, France. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the progress in the implementation of the EAP Task Force's Programme of Work.
 
The designation of new Bureau members and the election of the EECCA co-Chair was conducted.  The delegations have agreed upon a high-level governmental official to serve as the EECCA co-Chair of the EAP Task Force.
 
The progress over joint work programme implementation by the OECD Secretariat and EECCA RECs was observed. Implementation of 2009 activities was discussed, as well as proposed work for 2010 outlined. A roundtable discussion on environmental cooperation in the context of green growth was organized. The aspect of recent trends in aid flows to EECCA countries by IFIs and Donor countries, and the possible impact of the economic and financial crises on the overall situation was targeted. Questions related to possible contribution from EAP TF to the Astana Ministerial Conference on Environment were discussed.
 
In terms of the next EAP TF annual meeting the decision was made that EECCA RECs will take responsibility for the organization and will host the meeting in 2010.     
 
A Special Session on Water Supply and Sanitation was held back-to-back with the Task Force Meeting on  October 16. The objectives of this event were to provide an update on key challenges in the water sector in EECCA; to outline the activities to address these challenges that are being carried-out in the framework of the EAP Task Force and the EUWI EECCA Working Group and presenting some of the results achieved, and to make available information on donor/IFI interventions and to discuss possible future work.

The Focus-group meeting in the frame of REC Caucasus Project "Fostering Community Forest Policy and Practice in Mountain Regions of the Caucasus" in Azerbaijan
 
On October 16, 2009 the first meeting of the Focus-group was held in the frame of the project “Fostering Community Forest Policy and Practice in Mountain Regions of the Caucasus”. The high level officials from the respective Ministries and the Parliament as well as the representatives of non-government organisations engaged in the issues related to the sustainable development and involvement of local communities in management process took part in the meeting. Participants positively assessed the results of the activities undertaken in the frame of the project.
 
The village Yeniyol 2 was proposed for implementation of the project “Fostering Community Forest Policy and Practice in Mountain Regions of the Caucasus” (the project “Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions of the Caucasus – Local Agenda 21 has been successfully implemented in this village).
 
The proposal was supported by NGO representatives. The majority of the participants underlined the timeliness and significance of the project implementation in the light of the most recent resolutions adopted by the Government of Azerbaijan. The decision on conduction of the next session of the Focus-group to finalize the selection process of the pilot community and institutionalize the status and functions of the National Focus-group has been made by the session participants.

Meeting of the Working group within the framework of "Fostering Community Forest Policy and Practice in Mountain Regions of the Caucasus" project in Armenia

The first meeting of the working group of experts within the framework of the project «Fostering Community Forest Policy and Practice in Mountain Regions of the Caucasus» in Armenia was held on October 9, 2009.
 
The questions concerning the Action Plan within the framework of the project and as well as distribution of duties between the experts have been considered during discussions. The necessity of making additions and amendments to the Action Plan has been also stressed.
 
The experts of the «Fostering Community Forest Policy and Practice in Mountain Regions of the Caucasus» project have visited Tavush in October 16-18, 2009 for familiarization of the local population with project actions, especially discussion of questions concerning awareness raising and strengthening of possibilities of local communities and local authorities in the sphere of sustainable forest resources management.
 
During the trip the meetings with community leaders took place. On the basis of the  existing materials on reforestation in Kohb and Dzhudzhevan communities of Tavush marz the pilot reforestation areas have been identified with GPRS, a decision on elaboration of community reforestation plans has been made, and the information for future activities has been collected.
 
Series of awareness raising trainings targeted at familiarization and capacity building of local population with forest rules, policies, schemes and implementation of management plans are expected.

The Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus was held on October 2, 2009 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
 
The Executive Director presented the review of REC Caucasus activities within the past quarter, shared  the vision of the Troika over the strategic development and future plans. Besides, the new organisational structure of REC Caucasus was presented for consideration and approval of the Board. It will come into force from January, 2010. 
 
The programme managers as well as the directors of the REC Caucasus branches briefly reported on on-going programme activities and presented the list of new initiatives. The current financial situation of the organisation has been presented to the Board Members. The representatives of the governments of founder countries updated Board Members on the status of allocation of premises for the regional office and local branch offices.
 
Besides, Mr. Christian Goner,  Team leader for the “Sustainable management of Biodiversity in South Caucasus” programme (GTZ) in Azerbaijan, participated in the Board meeting as an observer. He delivered presentation of the Project, shared experience of GTZ in the South Caucasus as well as the prospects of cooperation with REC Caucasus.
 
The next Board meeting is planned to be held by the end of January, 2010.

The Fourth Meeting of LEAPs Stakeholders Committee in Lenkoran, Azerbaijan
 
On September 29-30 the meeting of the LEAPs Stakeholders Committee within the framework of the REC Caucasus project Replicating LEAPs Experience to Three New Communities in the South Caucasus was organized in Lenkoran, Azerbaijan.
 
During the meeting the Stakeholders Committee discussed the methods and actions for solving the environmental problems of Lenkoran among which the activities directed at conservation of biodiversity, effective waste management and reduction of sea and fresh water pollution were emphasized. The discussed actions were further elaborated and included into the long-term environmental action plan of Lenkoran.
 
In the nearest future the city conference will be organized to present the LEAPs document approved by all stakeholders. The LEAPs document will be adopted by the local authorities as guidance for implementation of environmental activities specified in the action plan.

The focus-group meeting in the frame of REC Caucasus Project "Fostering Community Forest Policy and Practice in Mountain Regions of the Caucasus"

On September 29, 2009, the focus-group meeting was held at the conference hall of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Georgia in the frame of REC Caucasus Project “Fostering Community Forest Policy and Practice in Mountain Regions of the Caucasus”.
 
During the meeting, Irakli Macharashvili, REC Caucasus Project Team Leader, briefly introduced participants the main goals of the project and presented national criteria, elaborated for pilot region identification.
 
The Focus-group members, composed of the representatives of NGOs involved in forest management activities and respective government bodies, discussed the given criteria and presented respective recommendations. At  the  end of the meeting, participants completed the questionnaire, elaborated on the basis of abovementioned criteria.

Preparatory meetings with State Environmental Inspectorate of Armenia and Azerbaijan were conducted in Yerevan and Baku. Within the meeting the REC Caucausus new project - Establishing a Structured Approach Towards Training of Environmental Inspectors in Armenia and Azerbaijan was presented and discussed.
 
In frame of the project development of a coherent multi-year training programme and organization of trainings are planned. Establishment of bilingual web portal for trainers and inspectors to share training materials, analytical reports, and practical experience is also envisaged by the end of project.
 
Project duration is 3 years. The project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.

Meeting dedicated to the clean fuel and vehicles in Baku was held on September 24, 2009 at the REC Caucasus National Office in Azerbaijan.
 
The representatives of the ministries of environment, transport and health, as well as the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic underlined the significance of the meeting and discussed priority problems in this field. In the frame of the meeting the REC Caucasus Project on "Clean fuel and Vehicles in EECCA countries" was presented. 
 
During the discussions recommendations concerning selection of the pilot districts in the city as well as the concept of creation of bicycle lanes were made. Besides,  the changes in the transport infrastructure of Baku and the new nine highways and tunnels were mentioned.

The Meeting of the International Advisory Council (IAC) of the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus took place on September 22, 2009 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
 
The IAC composition has been changed according to the amended Charter of REC Caucasus as well as rotation scheme. Specifically, number of the members of the Advisory Council consisted of a maximum of twenty-two members, was reduced to 11 members - the stakeholders' forum: 3 government representatives - 1 from each founding state; 3 NGO representatives - 1 from each founding state; 3 independent representatives (chosen from the scientific/academic or business) 1 from each founding state; and 2 donor community representatives.
 
In addition, the terms of the NGO representative form Georgia, independent scientific representative from Azerbaijan, independent scientific representative from Georgia, independent business representative from Armenia, as well as two donor community representatives were extended for two years.
 
All new members in accordance with the rotation scheme were approved for the three years term.
 
Election of the new President of IAC
Besides, the term of Mr. Ramiz Mamedov, the President of the IAC has expired. The IAC members expressed their sincere and deep gratitude to Mr. Mamedov for his significant contribution and dedicated support for establishing and strengthening REC Caucasus.
 
In this regard, Ms. Nino Gokhelashvili,  Head of International Relations Division of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Georgia, was nominated and approved by the meeting for the position of the new President of the International Advisory Council. The position is elected from the members of the state representatives of the countries – founders of REC Caucasus and rotated every year among the countries.
 
The meeting agenda also covered a number of crucial issues including discussion of the strategic directions of REC Caucasus, financial strategy and perspectives of the organisation, new initiatives, possible themes and opportunities for the financial support of the REC Caucasus Annual International Conference and etc.
 
REC Caucasus Annual International Conference
Concerning the last issue it has been decided that the next International Conference will cover the Climate Change and Adaptation theme. The conference is planned to be held in spring with the possible financial support, of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The commitment was kindly expressed by Mr. Felix Naescher, Director General, Office of Forests Nature and Landscape, the Ministry for Environment of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
 
For any additional inquiries concerning the IAC or REC Caucasus, please, visit www.rec-caucasus.org  or contact us at info@rec-caucasus.org

The national meeting of the Stakeholders Committee on the issues of clean fuel and vehicles promotion in the framework of REC Caucasus Project «Clean Fuel and Vehicles for EECCC countries» took place on September 17 at REC Caucasus Armenian Branch Office
 
The meeting was attended by the representatives of different sectors, in particular, the Ministry of Nature Protection, Ministry of Transport and Communication, Police of Republic of Armenia, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Ministry of Economy, non-governmental organisations, such as “Protection of the consumers' rights”, “Ecoteam”, “Ecological Survival”, "ACHILLES" as well as business organisations - DHD Contact LLC Consulting group, Euromotors LLC.
 
As a result of the discussion, the participants highlighted many important problems and ways for their solution for the improvement of fuel and vehicle quality in Armenia. Specifically, such issues as imperfect legal basis, lack of data and analytical documents, inefficient promotion of alternative vehicles, lack of public awareness and others were mentioned.

• Suren Deheryan,  www.echannel.am
• Gayane Khachatryan, Newspaper "Chorrord  Ishkhanutyun"
• Galust Nanyan, Newspaper "Hayastani Hanrapetutyun" 
• Anna  Muradyan, Newspaper "Ankakh” - www.ankakh.com
• Ashot Khachatryan, Newspaper "Agrolratu"

In Azerbaijan, on the basis of the Grant Committee decision, the following journalists were selected:

• Babek Djahandarov, Newspaper  "Paritet"
• Elmira Mehtiyeva, TV and Radio of Azerbaijan  
• Sima Rzayeva, independent journalist  
• Arifa Nadjafova, Newspaper "Gafta-ichi"
• Teymur Mammadzade, Newspaper "Eco  Inter"

In Georgia, on the basis of the Grant Committee decision, the following journalists were selected:

• Nana Toshkhua, Television Company "MegaTV", Kutaisi  
• Marika Vacharadze, Independent Newspaper "P.S.",  Kutaisi
• David Kldiashvili, Newspaper "Imeretis Moambe", Kutaisi  
• Lasha Zarginava, Newspaper "Resume", Poti  
• Sophiko Chulukhadze, Radio «Harmony»,  Poti

The grant programme aims to stimulate production of information in areas of social importance in the South Caucasus, particularly for issues relating to water resources management issues and problems associated with water bodies (rivers, lakes, sea and etc) with main focus on environment, health, civil society, sustainable development.

The Fourth Meeting of LEAPs Stakeholders Committee in Vardenis, Armenia
The fourth meeting of LEAPs Stakeholders Committee within the REC Caucasus project “Replicating Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) Experience to Three New Communities in the South Caucasus Countries" took place in the premises of Vardenis City Council, Armenia on September 8-9, 2009.

In order to finalize the Action Plan of the Project, during the two-day event the experts of LEAPs had a number of consultations with the Mayor of Vardenis Mr. Volodya Khloyan, representatives of the City Council as well as local experts in relevant fields.

During the discussions, details of such problems as lack of green spaces, poor condition of water supply and wastewater removal systems, inefficient operation of municipal waste were ranged and prioritized and actions for their solution were integrated into the final version of the document.

On August 26 – 27 a kick-off city conference within REC Caucasus "Replicating Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) Experience to Three New Communities in the South" Project took place in Lenkoran, Azerbaijan.

The aim of the presentation was to introduce the Project to the wide public of Lenkoran and discuss goals and objectives of LEAPs – the process that has become the basis of an effective environmental policy in the majority of the developed European countries, while simultaneously reflecting public activity in resolving environmental problems on the local level. The meeting took place with the participation of representatives of the regional administration, heads of the basic city structures and managements, municipal authorities, representatives of various social classes, local old residents and city youth.
 
During the meeting the participants were presented the Status Report on the Existing  Environmental Situation of Lenkoran, developed by the LEAPs experts within the project.
 
In the frame of the meeting Stakeholder Committee was established. The Committee consists from 25 representatives of the main city authorities – education, health, environment, water supply, fishery, business sector as well as general public.
 
Special training was conducted for the Committee members aimed to identify strategy of the priorities setting, “problems and objectives tree” as the essentials for development of the LEAPs document.
 
Identification of the basic environmental problems of a city has begun in the second day of a seminar. More than 12 basic environmental problems of  Lenkoran city were presented. After discussions 3 priority problems were identified:

• drinking  water
• urban waste management 
• degradation  of urban biodiversity.

It has to be mentioned, that Lenkoran has already become the second city in Azerbaijan to implement LEAPs. It was preceded by Ganja which was a LEAP pilot city.
 
The Project is implemented within the framework of the REC Caucasus Governments Initiatives Programme with the financial support from the Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) and United States Environmental Protection agency (USEPA).

The regional inception meeting of the REC Caucasus project "Fostering Community Forest Policy and Practice in Mountain Regions of the Caucasus", funded by the European Union, was held on the 3rd of August in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The event aimed at presentation of the project objectives and current stage of implementation, as well as to attract the attention of decision-makers and the civil society to the problem of community forest management issues. 

The meeting was attended by the representatives of the ministries of environmental protection and natural resources, agriculture, relevant national forest institutions, non-governmental organisations from the South Caucasus countries media as well as international organisations, the Russian REC and representatives of the European Commission.
 
During the meeting presentations were delivered by REC Caucasus and European Commission. Welcoming speeches were made by Forest Department of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Georgia, Forest Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, “Armenian Forest” State Non-commercial Organisation under the Ministry of Agriculture of Armenia.
 
Meeting gave opportunity to discuss prospects of cooperation with other forest related  projects, such as FLEGT Project of IUCN/WWF and KFW Project on community forest management in Kharaguli, Georgia.
 
The Inception Meeting was followed by the Regional Working Meeting which took place on 4th and 5th of August. During the meeting representatives of relevant ministries and other governmental agencies  discussed details of the project implementation.

Peace Corps Volunteers Armenia in REC Caucasus Armenian Branch Office

The meeting with the Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) took place in the Armenian Branch Office of the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus in July, 2009.  The meeting was conduced in the frame of the Peace Corps introductory tour to the relevant organisations of Yerevan, looking into establishing linkages, potential partnerships, involvement in ongoing project and programmes and etc.
 
During the meeting, Director of the REC Caucasus Armenian Branch Office, Ms. Nune Harutyunyan made a presentation about REC Caucasus, with a focus on its history, past and ongoing activities, success stories and plans for the future. During the Q&A session, such issues as environmental education in Armenia, sustainable development of rural areas, opportunities for volunteer involvement and many others were discussed.
 
It has to be added, that REC Caucasus is a regular host of PCVs and a participant of annual fair for newly-arrived volunteers.

Inception meeting of the project Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation and Reducing Poverty in the South Caucasus Region in Telavi, Georgia

The local inception meeting  of the project “Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation and Reducing Poverty in the South Caucasus Region” was held on June 30 in Telavi, Georgia.
 
The event aimed to present the project objectives and current stage of implementation, as well as to attract the attention of local decision-makers and the civil society to the problem of land degradation.
 
During the meeting presentations of two other projects – EU Project Trans-Boundary River Management Phase II for the Kura River basin - Armenia Georgia Azerbaijan and GTZ Project Rehabilitation of Degraded Landscapes (Georgia) also were made by the representatives of the respective implementing agencies. The presentations were followed by discussions.
 
The meeting was attended by the representatives of the ministries of environmental protection and natural resources and agriculture, local government, NGOs, media as well as international organisations, REC Caucasus and CENN.
 
The project is being implemented by the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus in partnership with Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) in the South Caucasus region - Khrami-Debeda and Alazani-Iori watersheds. The project is financially supported by the European Union (EU).

Roundtables in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia Dedicated to the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought within the framework of the Regional Project: Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation and Reducing Poverty in the South Caucasus Region

The roundtable discussions dedicated to the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought were held in parallel in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia on June 17, 2009. The aim of the events was to attract the attention of decision-makers and civil society on the importance of land degradation for the South Caucasus countries and urgency to take relevant steps to mitigate this process.
 
The roundtables were organised within the framework of the Regional Project Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation and Reducing Poverty in the South Caucasus Region being implemented by REC Caucasus in partnership with CENN. The project is financially supported by the European Union.
 
The event was hosted by the Aarhus Centers in Tbilisi, Baku and Yerevan. In Armenia it was organised with the support of the associated partner of the project in Armenia – NGO “Green Lane” and in Azerbaijan – by the associated partner in Azerbaijan NGO “Ruzgyar”.
 
The representatives of different NGOs, relevant governmental bodies, experts, REC Caucasus and CENN attended the meeting.
 
During the meetings brief presentation of the project was made, in particular the goals, planned activities, expected results were presented. Besides, the experts involved in the project and the specific objectives of the study were presented.
 
It was mentioned that at the first stage of the Project, a study to analyze the trends and dynamics of land degradation in the Khrami-Debeda and Alazani-Iori watersheds is being implemented by joint experts groups. Later, based on the results of the research, the land sensitivity maps and internet portal of the watersheds will be created.
 
It has been underlined that the project will be implemented in close cooperation with all stakeholders and the meeting was the first step in this direction.

The new project Support to Recovery of the Paliastomi Lake Ecosystem is started by REC Caucasus in cooperation with the local government of Poti with the financial support from Ministry of Environmental Affairs, Land Use Planning, Agriculture and Forestry of the
Principality of Liechtenstein.
 
The aim of the project is to improve the environmental condition of the self-governing city Poti through support to rehabilitation of the Paliastomi lake ecosystem and protection of the small rivers from degradation. To ensure inflow of fresh water from the river Rioni into the Paliastomi lake, a canal from the river Rioni to the already existing canal will be rehabilitated and a water gate will be constructed.
 
The first presentation of the Project was held in April, 2009 in the City Hall administrative building of the self-governing city Poti.
 
Experts meeting to discuss issues related to Paliastomi and the REC Caucasus new project was held on June 23 in the City Hall administrative building of  Poti. Experts from Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi and Poti visited the project site. During discussion the activities in frame of the project were welcomed and idea to organise a scientific conference focused on problems of the Paliastomi lake was proposed.
 
Since June, 2008, REC Caucasus has been working with the local government of Poti to stimulate public involvement in local environmental decisions through the formation of multi-stakeholder groups and preparation of local environmental action plans (LEAPs). LEAPs involve assessing environmental issues, setting priorities, identifying the most appropriate strategies for addressing the top problems, and implementing actions that achieve real environmental and public health improvements. Based on the review of environmental status and identification of problems by the stakeholders, the priority environmental issues have been determined, among which the deterioration of environmental state of the Paliastomi lake and heavy and rapid eutrophication of small rivers linked to it, causing degradation of ecosystems are the most crucial.

The fifth meeting of the Stakeholders Committee within the REC Caucasus project in Georgia
The fifth meeting of the Stakeholders Committee within the REC Caucasus project “Replicating Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) Experience to Three New Communities in the South Caucasus Countries" took place in self-governing city Poti on June 22-23, 2009.
 
During 2-days-meeting the city representatives discussed the draft of Local Environmental Action Plan (LEAPs). The experts introduced methodology of ranking. In working groups the priority actions were identified based on ranking method. Comments made by the stakeholders committee will be reflected in final document. Afterwards Action Plan will be provided to relevant state bodies for reviewing. Published document will be presented during the final city conference.

The third meeting of Stakeholders Committee within the REC Caucasus project in Armenia
 
The third meeting of Stakeholders Committee within the REC Caucasus project “Replicating Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) Experience to Three New Communities in the South Caucasus Countries" took place in the City Council premises of Vardenis, Armenia on June 12-13, 2009.
 
The meeting was attended by the Mayor of Vardenis Mr. Vladimir Khloyan, programme experts, representatives of different stakeholder groups and REC Caucasus. During the two-day meeting, the final amendments to the Status Report of Environmental Situation in Vardenis were made with the direct participation of the Stakeholder Committee members, Mayor of Vardenis, representatives of local self-governance and other relevant institutions, who were actively involved in the correction, verification and finalization of the information.
 
During the second day of the event, the participants worked on the next phase of the LEAP process, i.e. development of the Action Plan. Prioritization of the identified problems was implemented based on specially selected indicators. Based on the existing LEAP methodology, the Action Plan was developed by the participants in groups, under the guidance of the programme experts. Such problems as lack of green areas, poor wastewater treatment and water supply systems were prioritized.
 
By the end of the meeting, the selected problems were analyzed, approximate project costs were calculated, implementation stages discussed. The next steps of the programme and upcoming actions were defined and coordinated with the participants.

The Meeting of Government nominated Experts on the Protection and Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions of the Caucasus was held onApril  28-29, in Bolzano, Italy, by joint efforts of REC Caucasus and UNEP. The meeting gathered representatives of ministries of environment and foreign affairs  of the Azerbaijan Republic, the Republic of Armenia, Georgia, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Turkey, the Russian Federation and Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as observers of the process such as Mountain Partnership, Alpine and Carpathian Conventions’ secretariats, WWF, etc. The meeting was attended by representative of European Commission as a main donor of the process. The meeting was attended also by REC Caucasus partner in the process Russian REC.

The Government nominated Experts concluded that the meeting has provided an opportunity to exchange views on a wide range of topical issues related to the promotion of sustainable development in the mountainous parts of the region. Governmental nominated Experts considered and revised the background paper entitled "Sustainable development of mountain regions of the Caucasus: A case for intergovernmental cooperation", and agreed that the meeting resulted in revision of the background paper, which reflects a set of ideas aimed at strengthening efforts to achieve sustainable development in the region.

REC Caucasus New Publication
REC Caucasus with the support from the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV)   developed publication - Fuel Quality and Vehicle Emission Standards Overview for the Azerbaijan Republic, Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Moldova, the Republic of Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation

The Overview is based on the information gathered for and discussions during the first Conference on Clean Fuels and Vehicles for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia hosted by REC Caucasus on January 24-25,  2008 in Tbilisi, Georgia. (For more information, please, visit http://www.unep.org/pcfv/meetings/tiblisimeeting.asp)

This report summarizes the result of data collection on fuel quality and vehicle emission standards and technology used at the national level in nine countries within the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) region. 

The publication was presented and disseminated among the partner organisations during the 7th Global Partnership Meeting (GPM) held on April 28-29, 2009 in Szentendre, Hungary.

The publication is available on Russian and English at REC Caucasus, as well as the electronic version can be downloaded here.

New Regional Project: Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation and Reducing Poverty in the South Caucasus Region

The recent studies revealed that the South Caucasus region faces critical challenges due to the degree of desertification and threats to its fragile ecosystems that are largely caused by poverty, unsustainable nature resource management and improper agriculture practices as well as climatic factors. The forms of land degradation such as desertification, overgrazing, excessive logging, reckless agricultural practices, soil exhaustion and subsequent erosion and nature disasters are found all over the South Caucasus region. The land degradation affects heavily local households, leading to decrease of land fertility, lesser yields, low quality crops and, finally, increase of poverty. The problem is complex and calls for environmental, social and economic analyses and elaboration of effective regional and national action plans. The need of regional cooperation in combating desertification has been stressed at the International Conference on the Issues of Draught and Desertification in the Countries of the South Caucasus hosted by the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus (REC Caucasus) in 2002.

In April 2009, the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus REC Caucasus in partnership with Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) has launched a regional initiative - Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation and Reducing Poverty in the South Caucasus Region. The project will be implemented in the South Caucasus region - Khrami-Debeda and Alazani-Iori watersheds.

The project is financially supported by the European Union (EU).

The objectives of the Project are:

• Strengthening policy, planning and regulatory environments for promotion of sustainable land management (SLM) in transboundary watersheds of the South Caucasus region via development and endorsement of bilateral watershed SLM Action Plans; and
• Demonstrating benefits of watershed based sustainable land management and alternative livelihood for rural people while protecting fragile ecosystems and disseminating lessons learned and best practices.

At the first stage of the Project, it is planned to conduct a study to analyze the trends and dynamics of land degradation in the Khrami-Debeda and Alazani-Iori watersheds. Later, based on the results of the research, the land sensitivity maps and internet portal of the watersheds will be created. 

The Project will be implemented in close cooperation with all stakeholders in the South Caucasus Region. At present, the Project team is working on development of the land degradation database and identification of stakeholders within governmental, NGO, scientific and business sectors.

REC Caucasus Board Meeting
The Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus was held on April 22, 2009 in the hotel Old Tbilisi (Tbilisi, Georgia). It was the first Board Meeting after approval of the New Charter of the organization with participation of the new Executive Body (Troika).

The meeting was opened by HE Mr. Per Eklund, Head of the EC Delegation to Georgia  and chaired by Mr. Michal Nekvasil, representative of the EC.

In his welcoming speech Mr. Per Eclund highly appreciated the work of the new Management Body of REC Caucasus. Re-emphasising the unique role of REC Caucasus he stated clear position of the EC to further support REC Caucasus in its endeavour. He also appreciated the contribution of the founder governments to the REC Caucasus and expressed hope that they would continue further  support to the Centre’s performance

The Executive Troika presented the initial review of REC Caucasus activities, shared their vision over strategic development and the future plans. The programme managers briefly reported on on-going programme activities and presented the list of new initiatives.. Detailed analysis of the financial situation of the organisation has been conducted and presented to the Board Members. The representatives of the governments of founder countries updated Board Members on the status of allocation of premises for the regional office and local branch offices.

REC Caucasus Board Members approved the new director of the REC Caucasus Armenian Branch Office. 

The Board of Directors approved the work plan of the organisation for 2009 and made valuable recommendations for further improvement of the REC Caucasus’s performance.

Events within the REC Caucasus project: "Promotion of Media - Government - Civil Society Environmental Dialogue in the South Caucasus"

The final regional presentation of the results of the REC Caucasus project: "Promotion of Media - Government - Civil Society Environmental Dialogue in the South Caucasus" was held on April 6, 2009 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

During the meeting the outcomes of the project were presented. Positive aspects of the Project, as well as shortcomings of its implementation in the three South Caucasus states and the opportunities for undertaking new environmental initiatives oriented on development of environmental journalism in the region were discussed.

Besides, the Electronic Interactive Map covering comprehensive information on the environmental and nature protection issues of the region was presented within the meeting.   

The meeting was attended by more than 40 representatives of media, NGOs, governmental structures and other concerned from the South Caucasus region.

The REC Caucasus project: “Promotion of Media - Government - Civil Society Environmental Dialogue in the South Caucasus” project was implemented with the financial support of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).

The first media-tour in Azerbaijan was held on March 19-20 in Lenkoran area.  Training on environmental reporting, highlighting the role of media in addressing environmental problems was conducted in Girkan National Park for journalists from Baku, Astara, Jalilabad, Masali and Bilyasuvar.

During the meeting it has been stressed that despite certain environmental problems existing in the country the nature has granted Azerbaijan not only natural landscapes, but also waterfalls, mountains, minerals and other duties. The participants of the media-tour visited the forest and the legendary lake Khanbulag.  

More than 35 representatives of the local and central media participated in this tour. They met local communities as well as heads of the local governmental bodies. During the meetings participants recorded interviews and made notes used for the development of follow-up articles and TV and radio materials covering environmental conditions of the south region of Azerbaijan.

The second media-tour in Azerbaijan was organised on March 21-22 in the Guba-Gusar district with participation of the representatives of national and local media, NGOs, as well as
employees and experts of the fifth territorial environmental department of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan. The Guba-Gusar district is one of the most developed districts of Azerbaijan, where the infrastructure of the Shakhdag National park is being built and the ski resort Suvar, where Azerbaijani and foreign sportsmen will be trained constructed. The Shakhdag National park is one of the largest national parks in Azerbaijan, since it covers the territory of the five districts of Azerbaijan: Guba, Gusar, Ismaily, Gabala, Oguz. 

During the tour experts shared information with more than 20 journalists from the local regions – Khachmaz, Devechi, Siazan and Guba-Gusar.

The journalists visited the most interesting sites of the reserve. They were given the opportunity to meet and record interviews with the representatives of public, governmental structures, NGOs and other stakeholders. This event was attended by more than 30 journalists and experts.

The meetings within the project “Promotion of Media - Government - Civil Society Environmental Dialogue in the South Caucasus” in Azerbaijan brought together more than 80 representatives of local and central media, NGOs, local authorities, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Republic.

Meeting participants together with independent experts discussed local environmental problems and outlined the ways for future cooperation in this field. The discussions were lively and comprehensive. All of them stressed the importance of combined efforts of all stakeholders in solving environmental problems existing both at local and national level.      
  
During the tours the journalists were given the opportunity to see at the first hand all problems presented by experts and meet representatives of the local government and population.
  
As a follow up of the training and media tour articles, TV and radio materials on environmental issues have been developed and published/broadcasted in local and central newspapers/TV and radio channels.

Transboundary Media-Tour within the REC Caucasus project: "Promotion of Media - Government - Civil Society Environmental Dialogue in the South Caucasus" was held on March 30-31, 2009 in the Lagodekhi Protected Area, Georgia.

The project was implemented with the financial support of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).

More than 45 representatives of regional Georgian and Azerbaijan media, NGO, experts and other concerned.

Within the tour special training dedicated to the local transboundary environmental issues as well as specifics of its coverage in media was conducted. Besides, briefings and interviews with representatives of the apparatus of the governor of Kakheti region, gamgeoba of Lagodekhi, other local decision-makers, NGOs, experts and other stakeholders were organised.

The fourth meeting of Stakeholders Committee within the REC Caucasus project "Replicating Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) Experience to Three New Communities in the South Caucasus Countries" took place in self-governing city Poti on March 16-17, 2009.

During 2-day-meeting representatives of the city discussed six strategic goals identified on previous meeting and developed draft of action plan for each strategic goal.

Further consultations with experts will be undertaken by project team to develop draft of the final document and present it for comments to the next meeting of the stakeholders committee.

National Presentation of the REC Caucasus Project "Promotion of Media - Government - Civil Society Environmental Dialogue in the South Caucasus" in Azerbaijan

The National Presentation of the REC Caucasus Project “Promotion of Media - Government - Civil Society Environmental Dialogue in the South Caucasus” in Azerbaijan, being implemented with the financial support of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), was held on March 2009 in the administrative building of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Azerbaijan Republic.

The main goal of the Project is to support journalists working in the field of environment, increase awareness and commitments of decision-makers to sustainable development, environmental protection and biodiversity conservation in the Caucasus.

The meeting was attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Azerbaijan Republic, REC Caucasus, National Coordinator of the Project in Azerbaijan and the representatives of NGOs and media.

Mr Issa Aliyev, Head of the Propaganda Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Azerbaijan Republic opened the meeting and greeted the participants. He informed those attended that due a number of objective reasons the Project had been implemented with certain delays. Therefore the final phase of the Project should be fulfilled in a short time.  Mr Issa Aliyev made a brief overview of the Project activities to be implemented Azerbaijan and stressed the importance of the Project, especially for the journalists living in the regions. In conclusion he asked the meeting participants to render their assistance and support for implementation of the Project in Azerbaijan and wished all success in its implementation.

Mrs Malak Shukurova, Executive Director of REC Caucasus informed about the activities of REC Caucasus and stressed the importance of the organisation in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development in the South Caucasus region.

Mrs Lela Janashia, Manager of the Public Participation and Information Programme of REC Caucasus, Regional Coordinator of the Project “Promotion of Media - Government - Civil Society Environmental Dialogue in the South Caucasus” made a presentation of the Project and answered the questions.

After getting acquainted with the planned activities within the framework of the Project, the meeting participants proposed their suggestions and recommendations for successful implementation of the Project in Azerbaijan. They asked the representatives of REC Caucasus to develop and implement more projects oriented on development of environmental journalism and awareness raising of the general public in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development. They also expressed their readiness to be involved in implementation not only of this project, but also in other on-going and future initiatives of REC Caucasus.

The second meeting of Stakeholders Committee within the REC Caucasus project "Replicating Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) Experience to Three New Communities in the South Caucasus Countries" took place in the City Council of Vardenis, Armenia on February 26-27, 2009. The meeting was attended by the Mayor of Vardenis, programme experts, representatives of different stakeholder groups and REC Caucasus.

During the two-day meeting, the draft of Status Report of Environmental Situation in Vardenis was discussed. Local self-governance and representatives of relevant institutions were actively involved in the baseline analysis and development of draft version of the document. The document was amended and complimented. In order to get first-hand experience and insights, the experts visited water administration office, general dispensary, hospital and military hospital of Vardenis. During the meeting with the leading specialists of the aforementioned organisations, important details as well as general outlook on the situation were received. At the end of the meeting, next steps of the programme and upcoming actions were defined.

REC Caucasus New Executive Body

The third meeting of Stakeholders Committee within the REC Caucasus project "Replicating Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) Experience to Three New Communities in the South Caucasus Countries" took place in self-governing city Poti on February 16-17, 2009.

The Project is implemented within the framework of the REC Caucasus Environmental Policy and LEAPs Programme with the financial support from the Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) and United States Environmental Protection agency (USEPA). In Georgia project is running in Poti.

In the frame of the project the Status report of the existing Environmental situation of Poti was developed and main environmental problems of Poti identified.

The aim of the third meeting of stakeholders committee was identification the main strategic goals for the Environmental Action Plan for Poti.

The next meeting to draft Action Plan is scheduled for the end of March.

For any additional information contact: Keti Samadashvili
E-Mail: keti.samadashvili@rec-caucasus.org