Geneva/AshgabatUNECE kicked off the Environmental Performance Review (EPR) of Turkmenistan on 22 February in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The team of international experts that will perform the review, initiated upon the request of the Government of Turkmenistan, will remain in the country until 3 March 2011. The review is coordinated by UNECE and enjoys the logistical support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Turkmenistan.
During its two week-stay in the country, the EPR team will have series of meetings with a broad range of Government officials and other key actors. On 24 February, a plenary meeting will be held with key international organizations in the country. Participants will discuss the projects and programs in environmental protection and sustainable development, including energy, pollution prevention, water, waste, forestry, biodiversity and protected areas.. A second meeting with environmental NGOs will discuss environmental protection and sustainable development issues, and public participation in environmental matters.
For more information, lease visit: http://www.unece.org/env/epr/mandate.htm
Note to editors
Environmental Performance Reviews (EPR) are an independent, external evaluation of how a country is reconciling its environmental and economic goals and objectives and how it is meeting its international environmental commitments. An EPR assesses the performance of a country in reducing its overall pollution burden, in managing its natural resources, in integrating environmental and socio-economic policies, in adjusting and in implementing its environmental policies and strategies, and finally, in strengthening the international cooperation.
EPRs were initiated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1991, at the request of the Environment Ministers of the organization, to help Member countries improve their individual and collective performances in environmental management.
At the second Ministerial Conference "Environment for Europe", in April 1993, the Ministers decided that the EPR Programme would be gradually extended to the whole European region and mandated UNECE to carry it out.
Since 1996, Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe and Central Asia countries have been reviewed by UNECE, in addition to a few countries in transition that were reviewed in cooperation with OECD (Poland -1995, Bulgaria - 1996, Belarus - 1997 and the Russian Federation - 1999).
Since 2001, UNECE has launched the second round of reviews, in Belarus (2005), Bulgaria (2000), Estonia (2001), Republic of Moldova (2005) and Ukraine (2006), Serbia (2007), Montenegro (2007), Kazakhstan (2008), Kyrgyzstan (2008), Uzbekistan (2008-2009) and Georgia (2010).
Ref: ECE/ENV/11/P03