Environmental NGOs of the South Caucasus met on 15-16 October 2005 in Tbilisi, Georgia, to explore ways of building a regional NGO platform for involvement of civil society in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) process. The meeting participants discussed recommendations in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development for inclusion into Action Plans for Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The Action Plans establish ambitious targets, ranging from cooperation on common environmental concerns. Participants also discussed ways of building a regional NGO Platform in the Caucasus region. After lively discussions, the recommendations and commitments to the ENP process were agreed by the NGOs.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
The objective of the European Neighbourhood Policy is to share the benefits of the European Union’s enlargement with neighbouring countries in strengthening stability, security and well-being. The ENP aims to prevent the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged EU and its neighbours. Implementation of the agreed Action Plans is expected to receive significant financial and technical EU assistance.
The South Caucasus NGO meeting had been organized by the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus in partnership with WWF Caucasus with the financial support of Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.
