The workshop held in Turkmenbashi under the Project Turkmenistan: Conservation and Sustainable Use of Globally Significant Biological Diversity in Khazar Nature Reserve on the Caspian Sea Coast implemented by the Ministry of Nature Protection of Turkmenistan in collaboration with the UN Development Program (UNDP) and Global Environment Fund (GEF) was aimed at designing the effective approaches to modern environmental challenges.

The international best practice of natural resource management in protected territories was presented to the participants of the workshop including the specialists of the Ministry of Nature Protection, the State Committee for Fish Industry, the Khazar State Reserve, the leadership of the municipal and village authorities in the Caspian region, the representatives of the Union of Hunters and Fishermen of Turkmenistan and other organisations so that they could assess the opportunities of applying the international practice in Turkmenistan, the Khazar State Reserve in particular.

Those speaking at the workshop noted that the more integrated, participatory approach to protection, use and restoration of biological diversity based on the economic, social, demographic and other aspects prevailed in the international practice. It was conditioned by that the centralized management of protected territories with the strict system of bans and restrictions on hunting fish, birds, using the biological resources was not effective enough and cost-inefficient for the national budget.

The new, more flexible conception stipulated for harmonizing the interests, concerting the efforts of those somehow related to the network of protected areas - the ministries and departments, research and nature-conservative organisations, local population and authorities, business organisations. It can be achieved through different ways based on the national peculiarities, the historically established traditions, the state of biological diversity - wildlife and other factors. The most important factors include the active involvement of local population in natural resources management and decision-making process. The project implementation mechanism requires establishment of the relevant legal base and selection of the structures responsible for strategic planning, management, monitoring and assessment of effectiveness of the new system.

The participants were unanimous that Turkmenistan had the prerequisites for successful approbation of the new model of nature resource management through involving local population including the effective institutes of the sovereignty of the people and local government - gengesh and the elders’ councils. In this regard a pilot project aimed at passing the biological resources under the shared control of local communities on the Caspian Sea coast will be launched in the settlements Chekishler, Garagele, Gyzylsuv. The resource centres will be opened in the maritime settlements to educate and train civil society activists to apply the methods of mobilizing community resources for solving the local problems, to provide assistance, to design business plans and projects.

The priorities of the policy of the Turkmen state include efficient use of natural resources and protection of the environment. President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov put emphasis on it in his address to the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly. Those speaking at the workshop noted that the Avaza national tourism zone project initiated by the Turkmen leader, the investment programmes implemented in the Caspian region vividly evidenced that the tasks of preservation of the unique ecosystems of the Caspian Sea were fulfilled through the new global approaches to social and economic development of the region. Thus, applying widely advanced environmental technologies and best international practice is of paramount importance nowadays and promotes establishing the effective and reliable system to protect the unique biodiversity of the Caspian Sea.