BAKU, Azerbaijan—The Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation–Azerbaijan (OSIAF) today announced the completion of an important phase in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline monitoring conducted by local NGOs in Azerbaijan with OSIAF support.
In April 2004, OSIAF and BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for supporting NGO monitoring and capacity building. According to the MOU, OSIAF acted as a donor, facilitator and coordinator of local NGOs throughout the monitoring project. Since then, OSIAF, participating NGOs, and BP have worked intensively on this groundbreaking and rewarding project.
In May 2004, OSIAF initiated the project with a broad announcement in the national media in Azerbaijan, inviting NGOs with relevant experience to participate in monitoring of the BTC oil pipeline. Monitoring by NGOs was to focus on the following areas: (1) environment; (2) social issues; (3) human rights (particularly labor and land rights); (4) historical, cultural, and archaeological heritage; (5) use of local resources.
OSIAF, in agreement with BP, wanted the process to be as inclusive as possible and not limit it to only a few NGOs. As a result, 86 local NGOs applied to OSIAF to participate in the monitoring process. To ensure more ownership and capacity building among this large number of NGOs, OSIAF facilitated a selection process, and 27 NGO representatives were grouped together in five NGO working groups, one for each of the five areas listed above. Each working group consisted of four to seven members, each of them representing the NGOs selected to participate in the BTC pipeline monitoring.
From the outset, it became apparent that many of the NGOs in Azerbaijan needed development of special skills and experience in monitoring (methodology, planning, data collection and audit analysis, interview techniques, report writing, presentation skills, etc.). Capacity building was therefore considered essential to promote efficient data collection, systematic interpretation of findings, production of quality reports and ultimately meaningful outputs for all the parties concerned. For this purpose, BP provided OSIAF with funds to cover all training and mentoring components of the project.
The project commenced in April 2004 and involved activities ranging from training and presentations, initial document reviews, data collection, and report writing. They also included site visits to 75 percent of communities along the pipeline. The result of this was reflected in five reports produced by the working groups, the last of which was completed in early May 2005. A review of these reports took place during a number of workshops attended by the NGOs, OSIAF, and BP over the course of May 2005. During this review, valuable recommendations were identified and taken on board by BP, and an agenda was set for the review of findings that merit further study.
Farda Asadov, OSIAF-Azerbaijan Executive Director, commented: “The project of civil society’s monitoring of the BTC pipeline construction was not only about identifying positive and negative impacts of one of the world biggest construction projects, it was most importantly a first real opportunity for local civil society and a trans-national business giant to cooperate and engage in an equal, healthy, constructive and ongoing dialogue.”
Michael Townshend, Chief Executive of BTC, commented: “BTC has been subject to an unprecedented degree of monitoring meeting international standards and encouraging public scrutiny. This monitoring initiative provides an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to transparency, to identify areas for improvement and play our role in strengthening the capacities of civil society."
To develop this dialogue further, OSIAF and BP are planning a second cycle of monitoring later in 2005. This will enable the NGOs to increase knowledge and understanding of BTC and to further develop their capacity and skills.
Five reports prepared by the NGO working groups together with BP/BTC responses will be disclosed to the public on May 30, 2005, during an NGO working groups joint press conference, to be held at the International Press Centre.