The overall objective of this project was to reduce, and prevent, over use of the natural resources of the Caspian Sea by assisting local communities to develop alternative and sustainable sources of livelihoods for local communities. The main head office of the project was in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and four other offices were located on the Caspian Coast itself.

The specific objectives of the contract were:

• capacity building among community leaders, government officials, NGOs, and other experts to lead local efforts to reduce pressures on the Caspian environment, including the development of alternative and sustainable sources of livelihoods;
• the provision of expert support to projects receiving funding through the complementary REC-administered small grants programme to ensure the success of funded projects;
• the identification and exploitation of possibilities to develop more sustainable sources of livelihood in the Caspian coastal region;
• the dissemination of positive experiences and lessons learned by Caspian coastal communities in developing more sustainable sources of livelihood;
• the facilitation of regional co-ordination among the Caspian littoral countries with respect to sustainable development of Caspian coastal communities.

The logistics of this project were particularly challenging as the Caspian Coastal communities are located along more than 5,000 km of the Caspian littoral zone and the project needed to reach numerous local communities.

A dedicated web site was set up to describe in more details the aims and achievements of this project. Follow this link to access the site.