Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 19 June 2015 - UNEP is to step up its support to Central Asian countries on a range of sustainable development topics following a meeting of ministers and high-level country representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Eight decisions for furthering cooperation on sustainable development among Central Asian countries were taken at an Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development of Central Asia (ICSD) meeting taking place on 16-18 June in Turkmenistan. UNEP has consequently pledged support on mountains, waste management, moves to a green economy in light of the upcoming Batumi conference, and legislative and institutional support, among other areas.
Immediately prior to the meeting, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon completed a visit of all five Central Asian countries during which he called for enhanced regional cooperation on sustainable development and environmental protection - including climate change and water issues - outlining a clear pathway for ICSD's further work.
The ICSD is one of the three bodies of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, together with the Executive Committee and the Interstate Commission on Water Cooperation. These three organs are the only formal structures facilitating sub-regional cooperation and negotiations in the field of environment and sustainable development in the five Central Asian states. The ICSD meets biannually and is chaired on a rotating basis. In the wake of adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the ICSD can assist in their implementation at regional and country levels.
Following an ICSD ministerial meeting last November, waste management, climate change adaptation and green economy were confirmed as the main drivers of a reinforced collaboration between Central Asian countries and UNEP.
Represented at the conference by the Regional Director for Europe Jan Dusik, and the newly-appointed Head of UNEP's Sub-regional Office for Central Asia Natalia Alexeeva, UNEP has now been invited by the Central Asian countries to extend its support to ICSD work in promoting the shift towards a green economy in the region; improving the management and exchange of environmental data (upgrading the current Ecoportal system and linking it to UNEP Live); advancing waste management on different levels; assessment of the climate change impacts on mountain ecosystems at the regional level; and providing overall support in ICSD's decision-making and functioning.
The high-level meeting in Ashgabat also displayed renewed commitment to complete ratification of the Framework Convention on Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development for Central Asia, adopted in Ashgabat in 2006, which could also serve to help implement the SDGs. After taking over the ICSD chairmanship from Tajikistan following the meeting, Turkmenistan furthermore hopes to hold the first Conference of Parties of the convention during its tenure. During the two years that the Republic of Tajikistan chaired the ICSD, UNEP's support to the regional body ranged from strengthening regional environmental governance to climate change adaptation, and from strategic guidance to practical capacity building.
In late spring 2016, the eighth Environment for Europe Conference will take place in Batumi, Georgia, while the second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly of UNEP will occur in Nairobi, Kenya. The two ministerial conferences "can serve as a platform to present achievements of Central Asian environmental cooperation and transition to a green economy. UNEP as the United Nations' environmental authority can provide a link between sub-regional, regional and global environmental agenda and facilitate exchange of best practices between Central Asian countries and the rest of the world," Jan Dusik underlined in Ashgabat.
