From 16 to 27 May in Ashgabat, in the building of the Institute of the Caspian Sea of Turkmenistan, the eighth training course “Caspian Sea - sustainable development and management” will be held. The organizers of the event are: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the International Ocean Institute (IOI) and the Institute of the Caspian Sea of Turkmenistan.

The participants of the multi-day event began their work on Monday morning. The head of the course, Dr. Yuriy Olyunin, and the Director of the Institute of the Caspian Sea of Turkmenistan, Myrat Atajanov, addressed the audience.

One of the main objectives of the international training course is the implementation of international initiatives of the President of Turkmenistan related to cooperation in the Caspian region and its sustainable development. The course is designed to improve the professional level of specialists dealing with the issues of the Caspian Sea. During the entire period of the seminar, there will be an exchange of useful information and publications on topics related to the Caspian Sea and an exchange of experience on topical issues related to the water area of this body of water. The speakers of the curriculum will be scientists and teachers from the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran, specialists from Spain, the Republic of Honduras, Malta and Turkey.

The agenda of the forum includes such issues as:

1) The concept of sustainable development, management of maritime spaces;

2) Features of the legal status of the Caspian Sea and the legal regime of its maritime spaces;

3) Discussion of cooperation with specialized international organizations, including the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO;

4) Marine spatial planning;

5) Environmental problems of the Caspian Sea, ways to solve them;

6) Sustainable maritime transport, conventions of the International Maritime Organization;

7) Fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea;

8) Fisheries and anti-poaching issues;

9) Sustainable extraction of seabed resources and joint development zones;

10) Reduction, prevention and control of marine pollution;

11) Regional environmental cooperation.

After the completion of the event, its participants, who represent all the countries of the Caspian region, will receive certificates of completion of the course.