ASHGABAT (TCA) — The Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, is hosting the Central Asian international ecological forum “Initiative for cooperation in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development in Central Asia”. The three-day forum is devoted to climate change and rational use of water and has a value in the context of sustainable development of Central Asia, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reported on June 5.
The forum was organized by the State Committee for Environmental Protection and Land Resources of Turkmenistan and the Central Asian Regional Ecological Centre, a non-governmental organization founded by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the United Nations Development Program and the European Commission.
Activity of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation, or CAREC, Program is concentrated on the realization of the Central Asian initiative on sustainable development (CAI) which has been put forward by the countries of the region and is supported by participants of the World Summit of the United Nations on sustainable development, which took place in 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The initiative is aimed at strengthening of mechanisms of cooperation, establishment of partner relations between governments, international and public organizations, and private business in the field of preservation of the environment, water resources management, and sustainable energy.
CAREC is a partnership of 11 countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, People’s Republic of China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), supported by 6 multilateral institutions, working together to promote development through cooperation, leading to accelerated growth and poverty reduction. CAREC helps Central Asia and its neighbors realize their significant potential by promoting regional cooperation in four priority areas: Transport; Trade Facilitation; Energy, and Trade Policy.
The Central Asian international ecological forum, which is planned to be held regularly in each of the CAREC countries, is urged to become a platform for multilateral exchange of opinions on a spectrum of issues of sustainable development and to promote intensification of partnership.
The meeting in Ashgabat has united heads and leading experts of ministries and departments, scientific and educational centres, and ecologists from 13 countries: Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, the USA, Czech, Switzerland, and Japan.
On the first day of the forum, it was told of the necessity of systematic measures directed at strengthening of potential of countries of Central Asia in the field of adaptation to climate change. The issues connected with it intertwine with rational use of water; therefore the forum program unites water and ecological subjects. Formation of “mechanisms for clean development” in the oil and gas sector, electric power industry, chemical industry, and transport allowing to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases has a great value.
On the third day of the forum, it will hold sessions on “Possibilities for decrease in climatic risks in Central Asia”, “Green investments as sustainable development possibility”, and “On the path to intensification of actions for adaptation to climate change in mountain regions of Central Asia”.
