Central Asian Sustainable Development Strategy: Subregional Consultation Workshop
22-23 October 2008, AIT-UNEP RRC.AP Conference Room, Bangkok, Thailand
Countries of Central Asia (CA) - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are signatory to Rio Declaration (1992) & Heads of Governments committed to develop respective National Sustainable Development Strategies within Nukus Declaration of 1995 and Almaty Declaration in 1997. Number of decisions for SD were undertaken by International Foundation of Aral Sea and SIC ISDCs in CA counties to address the transboundary water and environmental problems. Emerging ecological crisis has urged to develop a Sub-regional Sustainable Development Strategy (SSDS) for CA, as a common strategy for creation of adequate institutional, economic and legal environment for the implementation of the sustainable development in this region to improve interstate policy of Central Asian countries for SD.
Background on process: The Ashhabad (1999) & the Dushanbe Declarations (2002) and institutional arrangements (Interstate Sustainable Development Commission for Central Asia; Council of Heads of States of Central Asia, Interstate Commission on wate) for SD in Central Asian countries since independence has facilitated the development of the SSDS. The Framework Convention on Environmental Protection for Sustainable Development, unique in nature by covering several issues as first regional legal instrument that was signed and adopted in CA.
- Inception workshop on NSDS/SSDS was conducted in Bangkok in June 2007 organized by UNEP, and participants from Central Asia tasked SIC ISDC to develop the SSDS CA.
- MoU between UNEP and SIC ISDC was signed after Inception Workshop in 2004 to develop SSDS CA with efforts of leading national and regional experts and with technical and financial assistance from UNEP/Government of Norway.
- First consultative meeting of 26 June, 2006 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan has revised the national NSDS inputs from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan to SSDS CA draft.
- Second, third consultative meeting of SIC ISDC of 22 June, 2007, November 14, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan has revised available materials and national inputs and organized the work of SIC ISDC to finalize SSDS CA in 2008
- The draft SSDS CA is being discussed at the Regional Workshop of SDS CA on 7-8 November 2007 in Bangkok, at the national round tables in December 2007-June 2008 in Central Asian countries and at ISDC meeting in June 2008, in Bishkek
- Sub-regional consultations with wider participation of stakeholders from line ministries, NGOs and is scheduled for 22-23 October 2008 in Bangkok to finalize the draft
- SIC ISDC will report on SSDS CA status at the Ministerial Meeting in November 25-26, 2008 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
SSDS Focal Point: Scientific Information Center of ISDC, Central Asia, main office in Turkmenistan and SICs in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Contact Person: Mr. Esenov, P., Director of SIC ISDC
Collaborating Center: National collaborating centers in Kazakhstan, national experts in Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, UNDP project in Kyrgyzstan
Partners: Civil Society, UNDP, EU
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