By Emil Omarov, Regional Program Associate for Central Asia and the Caucasus
On October 29-30, Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) coalitions in the Caucasus and Central Asia held their sixth regional meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
As with previous conferences, the 2010 meeting offered an occasion to celebrate EITI progress in the region, with new countries joining the initiative and others advancing towards EITI validation. Over the past year, Ukraine has expressed interested in implementing EITI and Albania became a candidate country. The EITI international board in October formally recognized Mongolia as "compliant," and Kyrgyzstan as "close to compliant."
But this meeting aimed to address a problem that has arisen after past EITI conferences in the region, when resolutions for joint campaigns among countries and plans for other collaborative work fell through, due to a lack of a coordinating body. Many states in the Central Asia and Caucuses region share geopolitical and economic concerns as well as issues with extractive companies. EITI coalition members advocating greater transparency and accountability could benefit from partnering with coalitions in other countries.
Past regional meetings also highlighted the need for working groups to conduct research on specific extractive industry issues of importance to the entire region.
RWI and other partners proposed a new form for inter-country cooperation: the regional network model, a framework for regional EITI coalitions designed to improve internal cooperation and outreach. The new regional network will have a central organizing body, patterned on existing associations such as Publish What You Pay, to carry out decisions made at the annual conferences and drive regional EITI campaigns forward.
In its first year, the network will establish basic information sharing tools to ensure that all members are aware of the activities planned by regional colleagues. The network will then work to develop regional campaigns, targeting government and industry in several countries.
"The strong efforts of civil society have helped place the Central Asia and Caucuses region at the forefront of the EITI process," said Revenue Watch Deputy Director Suneeta Kaimal, noting the recent EITI board decisions regarding Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan. Kaimal stressed the importance of regional knowledge-sharing and cooperation to ensure EITI remains a robust and relevant Initiative. "This regional network meeting provides a critical space for new EITI countries to learn from implementing countries, and where coalitions can create incentives for compliance and to advance transparency and accountability."
Conference attendees also resolved to expand their methods of engagement:
- broadening the EITI framework to include energy transit revenues, EITI at the sub-national level, and access to information;
- conducting greater media outreach;
- preparing a three-year regional strategy and a yearly work plan;
- creating thematic working groups according to country needs;
- increasing the capacity of coalition representatives through trainings at the Eurasia EI Hub or study tours;
- improving communication within and between groups and with international partners; and
- highlighting monitoring and assessment.
Galib Efendiev, RWI's Central Asia and the Caucasus Regional Coordinator, noted that meeting attracted greater attention from governments, international organizations and NGOs, including interest in the role of EITI as a good governance tool after a country's EITI validation.
"The meeting underscored the need for more robust joint advocacy campaigns by network members, which will depend on greater coordination among coalition members," Efendiev said. "The renewed interest and the strong participation show that EITI remains a key vehicle for ensuring the transparency of extractive revenues across the region."
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