A conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s accession to the Aarhus Convention was held at the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

As reported by “Turkmenistan: Golden Age”, the conference was attended by representatives of the Turkmen Aarhus Center and public organizations, national experts on environmental protection issues and representatives of relevant ministries and departments.

Turkmenistan became the first Central Asian state to ratify the Aarhus Convention and commit to implement the provisions of this key UN document on access to environmental information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.

The event presented the draft National Report on the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in Turkmenistan and its provisions, and discussed the main areas of activity of the Aarhus Centre.

There was also an exchange of experience in organizing environmental campaigns.

The Aarhus Convention was signed on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus within the framework of the “Environment for Europe Process”. The document aims to support the protection of human rights to an environment favourable to health and well-being, access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.

Turkmenistan ratified the Aarhus Convention on 30 April 1999. In August 2012, with the support of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat and the Ministry of Nature Protection of Turkmenistan, the Aarhus Centre of Turkmenistan was opened, operating within the framework of the project at the Tebigy Kuwwat NGO.