From: Dr. Pardis Minuchehr <[log in to unmask]>
To: Serguei Alex Oushakine <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 8:26 AM
Subject: conference annoucement
The Columbia Caspian Project presents a conference
Seeking Civil Society: Environmental NGOs and the Caspian
Wednesday May 3, 2000
Conference Organizers: Pardis Minuchehr and Peter Sinnott
School of International & Public Affairs Columbia
University
15th Floor, International Affairs Building, 420 West 118th St. and Amsterdam
Avenue
After the collapse of the Soviet Union the economic, political and
environmental
fate of the Caspian Sea could no longer be determined by only two, but five
littoral states (Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran)
sharing
this large water basin and the environmental policies related to it. In
addition
to pre-existing environmental problems, recent oil and gas developments have
given
the region international importance. A new investment environment for the
exploration of oil and gas resources in the seabed and adjoining coastal
areas of
the Caspian Sea has led to the formation of several international
consortiums.
Recent initiatives by the United Nations and World Bank to put in place a
comprehensive environmental program for the littoral states has accelerated
these
states’ attempts to be involved in the coordination of this large scale
endeavor.
A role for independent NGOs with environmental concerns is not certain in
this
process. While international organizations help to articulate the Caspian
states’
responsibilities for potential oil-related environmental disasters, this
region’s
environmental groups have had very limited experience in reaching out to
other
organizations beyond their own state borders.
This conference will address regional environmental issues and how
partnerships
among non-governmental organizations can influence government policies. It
will
also attempt to understand how environmental NGOs could contribute to the
strengthening of civil society and human capital in the areas they serve,
seeking
ways to link partnerships with other local and international environmental
NGOs,
and crossing over geographic boundaries. Furthermore, this forum will
highlight
the newly emerged region’s need to end its isolation by assembling the human
capital to negotiate environmental policies.
The Columbia Caspian Project is an initiative of the School of International
and
Public Affairs at Columbia University that concentrates the strong regional
expertise of the faculties of the Harriman Institute which studies the
successor
states of the Soviet Union and the Middle East Institute’s overlapping
approach to
what is better known as Central Asia and the Caucasus.
This Conference is made possible by funding from the Texaco Foundation
and Conoco Corporation
Caspian Project
Conference
May 3, 2000
Seeking Civil Society: Environmental NGOs and the Caspian
School of International & Public Affairs
Columbia University
8 - 8:45 am Registration and Breakfast
8:45 am Conference Opening Remark Pardis Minuchehr, Columbia Caspian
Project
9 - 10:45 am
Panel I Identifying Problems: Local and International
Nurgul Amanova. Visiting Fulbright Scholar, San Diego State University
The Role of Remote Sensing in Identifying Ecological Problems
Petr Bukharitsin. Astrakhan Division of the Russian Geographical Society
Astrakhan and Caspian Ecology
Rafig Verdiyev. Ecores, Azerbaijan and Editor of Green Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan’s Kura River: Problems of Water Provision and Climate Change
Tina Nelson. Program Officer, Council on Economic Priorities, New York &
London
Assessing Ecological NGOs’ Capacities in Azerbaijan
10:45 - 11:00 am Tea and Coffee Break
11:00-12:45
Panel II Ecological Movements and Democracy
Megan Delaney. School of International & Public Affairs, Columbia
University
NGOs in Environmental Protection: A Burgeoning Civil Society?
Makhambet Khakimov. Kaspii Tabighaty, Atyrau, Kazakhstan
Building an Environmental NGO in the Caspian
Kate Watters. Program Manager, ISAR Washington, DC
ISAR and NGO Development in the Caspian
Mansoureh Shojaii. Women Against Environmental Pollution, Teheran, Iran
Women and Environmental NGOs in the Iran
This conference is made possible by funding from the Texaco Foundation
and Conoco Corporation
Plated Luncheon Keynote Speaker
Shannon O’Lear. Assistant Professor of Geography, Illinois State University
Environmental Security and Environmental Scarcity in the Caspian: Section
907 and
Azerbaijan’s Building of Civil Society
2 - 4:00 pm
Panel III National and International Cooperation: NGOs, Businesses and
International Financial Institutions
Farrokh Mostafi. BoomIran, Teheran, Iran
Iranian Environmental NGO Projects and International Organizations
Ali Artaman. Avicenna International Foundation, Ottawa, Canada
Public Health Strategies for the Caspian Sea Region
Islam Mustafaev. Ruzgar Ecological Organization, Baku, Azerbaijan
NGO Cooperation Across Borders
Gulmira Izimbergenova. ISAR, Atyrau, Kazakhstan
The Development and Role of NGOs in Western Kazakhstan
Timur Berkeliev. Castena Ecological Group, Turkmenistan
NGO Linkages with the Caspian Environmental Program’s Biodiversity Concerns
4 - 5:00 pm
Panel IV General Forum of NGOs, Businesses and International
Organizations
Ghobad Fakhimi. Caspian Sea Environmental Protection Foundation, California
Bruce Silverberg. Bruce A. Silverberg Associates.
5:00 pm Closing Remarks Peter Sinnott
This Conference is made possible by funding from the Texaco Foundation
and Conoco Corporation
The Columbia Caspian Project
School of International & Public Affairs
Columbia
University
Seeking Civil Society: Environmental NGOs and the Caspian
Wednesday, May 3, 2000 Conference will be held on the 15th floor of the
International
Affairs Building, 420 West 118th Street, just off Amsterdam Avenue.
Registration Form
Name (to appear on badge)
Address
City, State, Zip or Postal Code, Country
Phone (work)
Fax E-mail
Affiliation (to appear on badge)
REGISTRATION FEE: $ 75
Registration includes conference materials, continental breakfast, and a
formal
lunch
Methods of Payment:
1. Fax the Registration Form and make your payment at the Registration Desk
on
the day
of the conference. We cannot accept credit cards.
Or
2. Mail the completed Registration Form with an enclosed check.
Make checks payable to Columbia University and send to the address below.
Peter Sinnott - Coordinator
The Columbia Caspian Project
School of International and Public Affairs
Middle East Institute, 1113 IAB
Columbia University
420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027
Tel: 212.854.2332
Fax: 212.854.1413
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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