Turkmenistan Needs to Balance Energy Ddevelopment Desires With Environmental Risks - Watchdog Group

Efforts to develop Turkmenistan's abundant energy resources can imperil the country's delicate environmental balance, a prominent watchdog group is cautioning.

With Western conglomerates now lining up to enter Turkmenistan's lucrative energy market, it is important that the potential ecological risks associated with development are fully understood, said Kate Watters, the director of Crude Accountability, a non-profit group that monitors energy-related issues in the Caspian Basin. Watters was a featured speaker at a September 12 discussion group, held at the Open Society Institute's office in Washington, DC.

A report prepared by Crude Accountability, titled Turkmenistan's Environmental Risks in the Era of Investment in the Hydrocarbon Sector, outlines the major ecological challenges in Turkmenistan and makes recommendations on how they should be addressed. The report, released September 12, suggests that increased energy-related activity in Turkmenistan can easily increase the stress on the local environment, in particular Caspian coastal areas where much of the country's energy development is occurring.

Until recently, Turkmenistan was among the most isolated countries in the world. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. With the death of former dictator Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006, followed by the rise to power of incumbent President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan has become more open to foreign investment. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

According to the report, Western oil companies are now eager to seize on the opening. "Turkmenistan represents the