BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 18. Integrated planning can make investment in the Caspian region more predictable by reducing conflicts, stranded assets and future environmental costs.
The International Ocean Institute (IOI) Managing Director Antonella Vassallo said this in an exclusive interview with Trend, responding to a question about how transport, energy infrastructure and coastal development could be better integrated with environmental management without slowing regional economic development.
"Integration should begin at the planning stage, before individual projects have been fully designed, and adhere to the concepts of sustainable development. Marine spatial planning can provide a common framework through which authorities responsible for transport, energy, tourism, fisheries and environmental management identify compatible uses, anticipate potential conflicts and address cumulative pressures, while strongly supporting the sustainable use of the Caspian Sea regional resources," she said.
She noted that strategic environmental assessments and environmental impact assessments should be conducted sufficiently early in the process to impact the selection of locations and the design of development projects.
"Strategic environmental assessment and environmental impact assessment should be applied early enough to influence the location and design of development. Project-level assessments also need to consider the combined effects of multiple activities rather than examining each project in isolation," Vassallo said.
Vassallo also outlined practical measures that could help integrate environmental safeguards into infrastructure and economic development across the Caspian region.
"Practical measures include greener port operations and cleaner shipping under relevant IMO frameworks, oil-spill contingency planning, ballast-water management, clear decommissioning standards, careful siting of offshore infrastructure and renewable energy, and nature-based approaches to coastal protection. Green finance and public-private partnerships can further help align investment with appropriate environmental safeguards to achieve sustainability in the region," she said.
According to Vassallo, integrated planning does not necessarily slow economic development and can instead provide greater certainty for investors, reduce conflicts and help avoid stranded assets and future environmental costs.
"Integrated planning need not slow economic development. It can provide greater certainty for investors, reduce conflicts between sectors, avoid stranded assets and lower future environmental, clean-up and liability costs while bringing due attention to the socio-economic needs of the region. Transport, energy and coastal development should therefore be considered within a wider sustainable blue-economy framework rather than treated separately from environmental management," she said.
For reference, the International Ocean Institute (IOI) is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization focused on ocean governance, training and capacity development. Its headquarters and secretariat are located at the University of Malta in Msida, Malta, where the institute’s Managing Director Antonella Vassallo is based.
The IOI runs training programmes on ocean governance in different regions and lists Turkmenistan as an IOI Training Partner. Its global programme portfolio includes the "Sustainable Development and Governance of the Caspian Sea" course, organized in partnership with the Caspian Sea Institute.