A new, upgraded, online platform was launched on 8 November 2018 to support joint action under the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea, also known as the Tehran Convention. The objective of the completely revamped Caspian Environment Information Center is to provide the Parties to the Tehran Convention with an online collaborative information-sharing tool, making it easier for different stakeholders from the Caspian littoral states to collaborate on environmental issues. The platform has been developed by GRID-Arendal with the support of British Petroleum Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan.
A major step forward was made in 2003, when the Tehran Convention was signed as the first legally binding agreement among the Caspian littoral states. The expanding work under the UN Environment-hosted Convention identified the need for a reliable and easy way to exchange information. An initial portal was set up in 2012 to facilitate collaboration across the region. Six years later, the Caspian countries have been provided with an enhanced version with a broader data base and an expanded array of tools.
“The Caspian Environmental Information Center is a portal that is a kind of library where you can find information related to the Caspian environment, biodiversity, monitoring, the economic potential of the region, etc. The portal also contains information on activities carried out in the Caspian littoral countries”, said Nurgul Tastenbekova, a 23-year-old user from Kazakhstan. “The portal is very convenient to use and well thought-out”, she added.
Portal features
The online portal contains a series of functions that enable easy access to Caspian Sea environmental data. Stakeholders such as governments, administrators, academia, private companies and non-governmental organizations can become users and join different groups, contributing to public and private information sharing. It has been pivotal in the ongoing process of preparing the Second State of the Environment Report for the Caspian Sea. Even for the casual viewer, the site provides access to a wide range of information included in the collections of documents, news, events, forum discussions and maps.
Supporting implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals
The portal aims at contributing to the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly number 17 “Partnerships for the goals” and 16 “Peace, justice and strong institutions”. This online tool provides the Caspian countries with a technological means for regional cooperation and information sharing, promoting policy and institutional coherence. Furthermore, by encouraging private, public and civil society engagement on the platform, it contributes to increased openness and public awareness on environmental issues in the Caspian region. The portal is set up for inclusive and participatory knowledge creation, aimed at informing decision makers, scientists and civil society stakeholders. Ultimately, this will contribute to achieving goal 14 “Life below water” by supporting the sustainable use and conservation of the sea and its marine resources.
The Tehran Convention Interim Secretariat (TCIS) is located within UN Environment’s Europe Office, in Geneva, Switzerland. The Secretariat supports the Conference of the Parties and the implementation of the Tehran Convention in organizational, administrative and technical matters.
GRID-Arendal is a center collaborating with UN Environment, which provides support to monitoring, assessment, reporting, information exchange, back-up networking and research, and environmental management and administration-related work.
For more information, please contact Mateusz Benko: mateusz.benko@un.org
