The first in Central Asia interagency consultative meeting was held in Ashgabat on the development of the Regional Program for the Protection of the Environment for Sustainable Development. The organizers of the event are ICSD IFAS, the State Committee for Environmental Protection and Land Resources with the support of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).
The meeting was attended by representatives of ministries and departments, which formed the national working group on the formation of proposals from Turkmenistan.
Similar work is planned in other countries-founders of the Fund. National proposals of the countries will be built in accordance with the goals of sustainable development, adopted by the UN in September 2015. Turkmenistan was one of the first countries in the world to begin consultations on the adaptation of the SDGs to the national economy.
The program is developed in accordance with the concept of Turkmenistan's chairmanship in the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea. As is known, the validity of the previous Regional Action Plan for Environmental Protection (REAP), adopted in 2003, is completed. It did not take into account in sufficient extent the aspects of climate change, which are now laid in the development strategy of states, including our region, where arid dry land conditions complicate the conduct of agriculture and economic development. The new document will include activities that take into account national development programs and international obligations of the countries of the region.
Work on updating the REAP is carried out in accordance with the decision of ICSD, adopted in June 2017 in Ashgabat. It should be noted that at the same time the development of another regional project is under way - the Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-4). The main objectives of the Program are to improve the living conditions of people living in the sea basin, intensify cooperation between Central Asian countries in addressing environmental and socio-economic issues, rational use of water resources and adaptation to climate change. Regional and national working groups consisting of representatives of IFAS structural units, international experts and specialists of the ministries and departments of the Fund's founding states will be created for its development.
