From June 5-22, the Caspian Caravan conducted a traveling educational campaign on oil extraction, transportation, and financing issues along the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) route. Beginning on the Caspian coast in Aqtau, Kazakhstan, the Caravan held public meetings on environmental and civil society issues related to oil development in: Aqtau and Atyrau, Kazakhstan; and Astrakhan, Elista, and Novorossisk, Russia. These meetings served both as organizing tools for local environmental activists as well as a means for active dialogue among representatives from local and regional nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), government, oil companies, and the media.
A key issue addressed at each meeting was the involvement of international financial institutions (IFIs), such as the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in current and prospective extraction projects in the north Caspian. The Caravan found that the overarching concern of the local communities with which it met was the lack of transparency on the part of oil and gas companies, government bodies, and international financial institutions. Communities all along the north Caspian demand greater access to information on the projects affecting their environment and their livelihoods.
The Caspian Caravan also visited major development projects, including:
- the Tengiz oil field,
- CPC's Komsomolsk pumping station and terminal
- lesser known World Bank-funded projects such as the Uzen and Sazankurak oil fields in Kazakhstan.
After its final stop at the CPC terminal on the Black Sea coast, three Caravan activists traveled to Budapest, Hungary where they participated in the World Bank's Extractive Industries Review. At the Review, activists from Central and Eastern Europe as well as the former Soviet Union had the opportunity to speak with Bank officials regarding World Bank investment in the gas, oil, and mining industries in their respective regions. Participants also presented video testimonials from colleagues and other activists regarding World Bank-financed projects through Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Interviews and footage taken along the Caravan of residents living near the Uzen and Sazankurak oil fields were included in the testimonial session.
The Caspian Caravan was funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding and reflects ISAR's long-term commitment to facilitating dialogue and interaction among sectors, thereby supporting local NGOs as they meet the challenges presented in this complex region.
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