Tehran Convention: COP-3 Outcomes

The five Parties to the Tehran Convention on the Environmental Protection of the Caspian Region agreed to two new protocols during COP-3 in Aktau (Kazakhstan). Once ratified, the Protocol on Regional Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in Combating Oil Pollution Incidents will introduce an emergency response system for oil pollution incidents. Agreement on the text of the Protocol on Environmental Impact Assessmetn in a Transboundary Context was reached "in principle" and is intended to provide common rules for the parties to assess any planned activities that could cause significant adverse effects on the Caspian Sea's marine environment. The protocol also would require countries to notify one another of such activities.

The draft Protocol on Regional Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in Combating Oil Pollutions Incidents (Document TC/COP3/6), as conveyed in the Note of the interim Secretariat to COP-3.

The draft Protocol on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Document TC/COP3/4), as conveyed in the Note of the interim Secretariat to COP-3.

IUCN: Report on Freshwater Species in Africa

IUCN has released the report titled "The Diversity of Life in African Freshwaters: Underwater, Under Threat - An analysis of the status and distribution of freshwater species throughout mainland Africa." The analysis represents the most comprehensive assessment of freshwater biodiversity at the species level for an entire continent and presents key messages, inter alia, on the need for better designing protected areas, employing principles of catchment management, and that environmental impact assessments should expressly require reference to the species data sets made available through the IUCN Red List.