Azerbaijan to organise Caspian scientific centre

BAKU (Itar-Tass) - A Caspian scientific centre will be
organised soon in Azerbaijan.
"Following the presidential order, there are several projects on the
Caspian scientific centre, which are being considered by the government
now," Head of the ecology service of Azerbaijan's ministry of ecology and
natural resources Rasim Sattarzade said. The centre will unite all sides
involved in solving problems of the Caspian Sea, he added.
"The centre will consider issues related to protection of the sea's
ecosystem, its biological resources, use of the sea, navigation, fishing,
analysis of climate changes and influence of global processes on this
unique water basin," he continued. Earlier, these aspects were
responsibilities of various divisions inside the ministry of ecology, of
the Academy of Sciences, of different authorities and non-governmental
organisations.
"The present task is to merge their efforts, as the Caspian Sea for
Azerbaijan means, perhaps, more than for any other Caspian country. The
country's practically entire life is around the sea and its shores,"
Sattarzade said.
He did not rule out a possibility that organisation of the Caspian
scientific centre will be discussed at the third session of the framework
/Tehran/ convention on protection of sea environment of the Caspian Sea on
August 12 in Aktau.
"Five Caspian countries have agreed to have official events on the
Caspian Sea Day in that city of Kazakhstan," he said adding that
Azerbaijan's delegation would be there, too.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's National Academy of Sciences also presented
its suggestions on the Caspian scientific centre to the government. The
Academy's Deputy President Akif Alizade is an author of the idea about the
centre. He believes that in future the centre may become international.
Baku is sure that should the centre become international, its
headquarters should positively be in Azerbaijan's capital. This is so,
because, as Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev told scientists during
one of their meetings, Baku is "the only capital of the Caspian countries,
which is situated on the shore of the Caspian Sea and which plays a
special role in research of the sea and in use of its natural resources."