The implementation of a new project has begun to fulfill the international obligations of Turkmenistan under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, ratified by the country in 1996.

Measures to fulfill the country's international obligations under the Basel Convention are supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, which instructed the Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Sustainable Development of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (SIC ICSD IFAS) to implement the relevant project. About this informs “Turkmenistan: Golden Age”.

The project is at the initial stage of implementation, when one of the tasks is the preparation by experts of an analytical review of national legislation related to waste management, on the basis of which further proposals will be prepared.

Within the framework of the project, three seminars are expected to be held with the participation of representatives of all interested parties - the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, the State Committee for Water Resources, the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, the State Migration and State Border Services of Turkmenistan and other departments related to the problem of waste.

In the near future, booklets to clarify the Basel Convention, which provides a classification of waste to be stored, removed or disposed of locally will be prepared. Let us remind that the purpose of the Basel Convention is the protection of the life and health of people, the environment from the adverse effects of transboundary movement and disposal of hazardous waste. Such waste includes biomedical and medical waste, used petroleum products, persistent organic pollutants, chemicals and pesticides, electronic and electrical waste, materials containing mercury and asbestos, and others.

The launched project is certainly relevant in view of the growing role of Turkmenistan in transit Eurasian transportation, in connection with which there is a need to ensure that the country is ready to prevent the import of hazardous waste into its territory and, in general, to effectively manage waste.

It is expected that in accordance with the decision taken at the regular meeting of the ICSD IFAS in March this year, a Regional Waste Management Center will be established.