OREANDA-NEWS. June 30, 2008. Some 50 specialists from the countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) gathered in Tashkent on 17 June to take part in the annual meeting of Regulatory Environmental Programme Implementation Network (REPIN), reported the Official website www.mf.uz.

At the moment the EECCA countries are experiencing number of ecological problems, such as air pollution, soil desertification, loss of bio-diversity, and lack of water resources. Moreover, the crisis of Aral Sea is yet another factor that aggravating the ecological problems of Central Asian countries.

Majority of these problems has cross-border nature. Thus, it is especially important for the countries to pursue their own environmental policies while cooperating in this sphere with other players at both regional and national levels. Tashkent meeting is aimed to exchange the views and establish relations with partners on various aspects of environmental policy, as well as discuss the issues of funding this sphere.

The delegates noted that coordination of activity in dealing with the environmental issues is vital for Uzbekistan, Jahon information agency reported. The three-day international forum also includes a seminar, which will assess the works undertaken by EECCA countries to reform the indicators of regulatory and enforcement activities.