Caspian Sea: State of the Environment 2019

Domestically, Turkmenistan has introduced national regulatory fees for environmental pol- lution by enterprises, organizations and insti- tutions of all forms of ownership within Turk- menistan (approved by Order of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection and agreed by the Ministry of Finance, 2014). The wetland environment on the Turkmenistan coast of the Caspian Sea is home to unique fauna and in 2012 and 2013, the Government passed the following laws: “On specially protected natural ar- eas”, “On flora” and “On fauna” (Kepbanov 2015). Modernization of the National Environmental Monitoring System of Azerbaijan, an EU-fund- ed partnership project based on the EU practic- es, has supported the development of air quali- ty management and monitoring systems. The project helped to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources in the field of air quality monitoring through training. In addition, new techniques were adopted to control air quality, including modelling the distribution of pollution and cal- culating emission inventories. The air quality monitoring system has been im- proved by developing guidelines for conducting analyses in accordance with the requirements of ISO 17025 and standard operating procedures for various types of monitoring and laboratory work. Azerbaijan is also introducing technical standards for air quality monitoring into the na- tional standardization system. In Kazakhstan, atmospheric pollution legislation is also a means to minimize pollutant emissions from diffuse sources of pollution. The Green Growth concept (Green Bridge Part- nership Program 2017) mentioned above sets out the current environmental priorities in Kazakh- stan, one of which outlines the goal that Kazakh- stan will achieve European air pollution levels by 2030 (Khazakstan 2050 Strategy 2017). In the Russian Federation, the relevant 2014– 2016 version of the federal law “On environmen- 7.4.4. Air emissions

tal protection” introduced significant changes to the 1996 federal law “On protecting atmospheric air”, in accordance with which work is being car- ried out to prepare regulatory acts updating the procedures for rationing and issuing emissions permits, to determine emissions using calcula- tion, to update methodological approaches to calculating diffuse pollutants in the atmosphere and to establish automated control systems for pollutant emissions and discharges at large in- dustrial enterprises classified in the first category for environmental impact. As part of efforts to improve the protection of atmospheric air, a list of pollutants in respect of which state environmental protection regulation measures are applied has been approved (Gov- ernment of the Russian Federation 2015). On 26 March 2016, the Mejlis of Turkmenistan adopted a new law on the protection of atmo- spheric air. It determined the legal and organiza- tional basis for protecting atmospheric air from pollutant emissions to ensure environmental security and prevent the harmful effects of eco- nomic and other activities on the environment and public health. The law emphasizes that the pollution of the atmosphere with ozone-deplet- ing substances is regulated by the law on the pro- tection of the ozone layer. The Ministry of Agri- culture and Environmental Protection has been designated as the responsible state body for the protection of atmospheric air. In addition, the law sets out the duties of legal entities and indi- viduals whose activities are related to pollutant emissions and harmful physical effects on atmo- spheric air (Kepbanov 2015).

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