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.
