Georgian NGO Monitors Environmental Impact of Oil Pipeline

by Maka Chichua & photo courtesy of EBA

In March 1996, the governments of Georgia and Azerbaijan signed a major agreement to build a pipeline that will transport oil from the land-locked Caspian Sea across Georgia to a terminal on the Black Sea. While the pipeline has the potential to bring economic development to the two countries, the potential for environmental devastation is equally great. Local environmental NGOs have begun to play an important watchdog role, working to raise public awareness about the pipeline and monitoring proposals to ensure that they meet international environmental protection standards.

The proposed pipeline originates at Sangachal, 40 kilometers south of Baku in Azerbaijan, and stretches over 850 kilometers to Supsa on Georgia's Black Sea coast. From a new onshore terminal near Sangachal, oil will be transported by a refurbished pipeline to a point near Akstafa, Georgia. From there an entirely new pipeline, approximately 70 kilometers in length, will be constructed to join an existing pipeline at Samgori, Georgia.

International regulations and the Georgian Constitution require assessment of the potential environmental impacts of such large-scale projects. Georgia has suffered in the past when implementation of large-scale projects caused considerable damage to the ecosystem because the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process was disregarded. For the pipeline project, the Georgian government required an EIA, and a Norwegian company was contracted to do the work. The assessment was conducted in a four kilometer-wide corridor along the pipeline and at the location of the proposed Supsa terminal.

Several protected areas are in the path of the proposed pipeline route:

• the Gardabani forest and hunting reserve is located approximately eight kilometers from the pipeline route;
• the Saguramo Nature Reserve is located adjacent to the pipeline corridor;
• the Ajameti nature reserve in western Georgia is crossed by the pipeline in its northwestern corridor;
• the Kolkheti wetlands, designated a system of protected areas in December 1996, lie close to the proposed Black Sea terminal.

The successful implementation of the first stages of the EIA was strengthened by the participation of Georgian NGOs, among them the Ecological Biomonitoring Association (EBA). EBA's main goal is protecting the biosphere against the harmful impact of chemical pollution. The organization was established in 1995 by a group of physicians, chemists, biologists and toxicologists united by their common interest in environmental problems. From 1995-1997 EBA successfully completed a project to investigate and publicize the danger of improper use of pesticides in the regions of the Black Sea coast and eastern Georgia.

EBA's latest project, "The Oil Pipeline-Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," funded by ISAR-Georgia and the Soros Foundation, is an awareness campaign to increase public involvement in the pipeline decision-making process. EBA began by collecting information from international NGOs about public participation in the EIA process, researching the exact route of the oil pipeline, the signed agreements between the governments of Georgia and Azerbaijan, and the sensitive areas that could be affected. Armed with this information, EBA has distributed information leaflets, arranged public meetings, prepared three radio broadcasts and written articles for local newspapers. These activities are increasing public awareness about the potential for oil leaks and spills.

The environmental impact assessment of the proposed pipeline was one of the first attempts in Georgia to include concerns about the environment in public policy. Georgia has little experience with public participation. With EBA acting as a link between government, private sector and public, Georgians will be informed about the importance of public participation in the EIA process, and newsletter articles and leaflets will provide them with contacts for further information and feedback. EBA hopes its work will contribute to a better understanding of the problems related to the oil pipeline, improved transparency in government decision-making, and the development and implementation of a strategy to deal with potential hazards.

Maka Chichua is director of the Ecological Biomonitoring Association. Ecological Biomonitoring Association, 60 Agmashenbeli Avenue 2nd floor, Room 28, Tbilisi 380002, Georgia; phone: (99532) 95-96-02; e-mail: eko@eba.org.ge