BP (formerly called British Petroleum) plans to build a 1,000-mile oil pipeline to transport oil from the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan and Georgia to the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.  This pipeline- the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline- is heavily favored by the Bush Administration as a new source for oil, and is being considered for over $1 billion in public financing from the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and export credit agencies from six countries including the U.S. 

The pipeline could have serious environmental consequences.  In Azerbaijan the pipeline crosses 21 major rivers, impacts a sensitive desert ecosystem that will take at least ten years to be fully restored, and traverses unstable land with high seismic activity.  In Georgia, there are six major river crossings in areas prone to landslides and high seismic activity.  High value forests that support rare and endangered species will be impacted.  In Turkey issues include:

• traversing major fault lines;
• crossing six watersheds;
• over 500 endemic plant species found within the 500 meter corridor;
• 30% of Turkey’s globally threatened vertebrates found within 250 meters of the corridor;
• two critically endangered plant species and 15 bird species with nesting pairs numbering 500 or less are within the corridor; and 
  crossing two sites protected under national legislation, including a wildlife protection area for a global threatened species. 

The pipeline traverses a variety of ecosystems, from desert landscapes in Azerbaijan to alpine zones in Georgia and Turkey. 

In Georgia, the pipeline will permanently impact high value forests that are home to the endangered brown bear and globally threatened Caucasian grouse.  The pipeline will cross the managed reserve and buffer zone of the first national park created in Georgia, a region noted for having the highest biodiversity index in Europe.  WWF Georgia also came out clearly against a route through the Borjomi park system, saying it could irreparably harm “one of Georgia’s most famous national treasures.”  In a letter to the project sponsor, the Georgian environment minister told the head of BP that the project as currently planned and routed violates Georgian law. 

Human communities could also be severely impacted.  In northeastern Turkey the pipeline crosses areas inhabited by Kurds.  Given the government’s responsibility for maintaining security along the pipeline route and the long history of human rights abuses of Turkish Kurds, there are serious concerns that the project will compound ethnic tensions and create a militarized corridor. 

The project also threatens one of the few profitable businesses in central Georgia, the expanding mineral water industry in the Borjomi region.  The industry is the largest employer in the region, a major source of tax revenue to the national and regional budgets, and comprises 10% of Georgia’s exports.  The pipeline crosses catchment areas of some mineral water springs, and in the opinion of international business consultants, the mere presence of the pipeline will erode the value of the business.  This could have serious socioeconomic effects on the economically depressed region. 

http://www.foe.org/camps/intl/institutions/bakuceyhan.html

http://www.baku.org.uk