From the outset, we have focused our campaigns on the local level, bringing the concerns and demands of communities to the international arena.  The first community to invite us to collaborate was the village of Berezovka in western Kazakhstan.  At that time, the residents of the village were seeking to understand why the health of their community had begun to deteriorate with the start of operations at the nearby Karachaganak Oil and Gas Condensate Field, where the operators were financed by the World Bank.  Moreover, they had begun campaigning for compensation and relocation to a healthy location of their choosing.  Since then, Crude Accountability has been working hand-in-hand with the villagers to achieve these goals.  We provide training, information, and campaign support to the villagers, including independent air monitoring training, human rights workshops, environmental health trainings, communication with the World Bank, and interaction with other international human rights and environmental justice NGOs and the press.  Together, we have achieved successes that once seemed out of reach—we have legally obtained access to information deemed confidential by the Karachaganak consortium, attracted international attention to the campaign, and worked as a strong advocate for better project oversight from the World Bank. In fact, as a result of an official complaint by Crude Accountability, the World Bank found its private lending arm out of compliance with monitoring standards for air emissions at the Karachaganak field. With each of these successes, our campaign has grown stronger and, together with the residents of Berezovka, we continue to fight for relocation and compensation.

In 2006, Crude Accountability was invited by citizens on the Taman Peninsula in southwestern Russia to work together to stop the development of oil and gas terminals on the peninsula.  As in the Karachaganak case, the Russkiy Mir Oil Terminal received funding from the World Bank, and the terminal was slated to transport increasing volumes of oil from the Caspian through the Black Sea and on to Europe.  The project threatens local communities by destroying their most productive fishing grounds, polluting the air, water and soil and undermining the existing economy, which is based on fishing, tourism and agriculture.  Crude Accountability is working with the local community to ensure their voices are heard, their economic, environmental and human rights are not violated, and to secure a sustainable and environmentally sound future for the Taman Peninsula. Thanks to our campaign, construction of the terminal has come to a complete standstill since November 2007.

In addition to our priority campaigns in Berezovka and on the Taman Peninsula, Crude Accountability has developed expertise in:

• the impact of oil and gas development in the petroleum-rich and highly repressive country of  Turkmenistan,
• the environmental, social and auditing policies of international financial institutions,
• oil spill prevention and response mechanisms employed in the Caspian Sea and elsewhere,
• the development and implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea, and
• the environmental and social risks associated with the gigantic Kashagan offshore oil field development.

On each of these issues, we conduct independent research and analysis, which we present to the general public, government institutions and academia on a regular basis.  These analytical writings complement our hands-on campaigning by providing a framework for understanding the larger forces at play in the Caspian Sea basin.

Through our campaigns and analytical research, Crude Accountability has become a respected authority on the impact of oil and gas development on local communities throughout the Caspian region. 

Photo: Lotus field, photo courtesy of Nina A. Litvinova