Uzbekistan and UNEP: Advancing Effective Environmental Projects

Over the past years, Uzbekistan has given particular importance to addressing environmental challenges. The country has taken on a prominent role within the international community in this area and has joined several leading global organizations.

Uzbekistan became a member of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1992 and today is party to nine environmental conventions and organizations administered by UNEP. These include: the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992); the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, 1973); the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, 1979); the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA, 1995); the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (1989); the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001); the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985); the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987); and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES, 2012).

Several projects are currently under implementation in partnership with UNEP. Among them is a project aimed at strengthening institutional capacity to implement international chemical conventions (the Basel, Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions) and to support Uzbekistan’s accession to the Rotterdam and Minamata Conventions. This initiative includes an inventory and digitalization of chemicals and envisages the establishment of an information and resource center the Ministry of Ecology. The project budget amounts to USD 250,000.

Preparatory work is also underway on a comprehensive documentation package for a joint project valued at USD 25 million, designed to expand investments in improving the energy efficiency of buildings and cities. This initiative has been approved under the Mitigation Action Facility (MAF).

In cooperation with UNEP and UN-Habitat, a concept note is being developed for a project proposal valued at USD 10 million to be submitted to the Adaptation Fund. In addition, within the framework of the UNFCCC, a funding proposal worth USD 1.35 million has been submitted jointly with UNEP to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to prepare Uzbekistan’s third Biennial Transparency Report.

To raise public awareness about the state of the environment in Uzbekistan, a National Environmental Report was developed with the assistance of UNEP international experts. The document provides an assessment of environmental conditions and the factors driving change. The most recent report was prepared in 2013 and covered the period 2008–2011.

Another project, supported by the Zamin International Public Foundation in cooperation with UNEP and the Agency of Hydrometeorological Service under the Ministry of Ecology, focuses on the automatic monitoring of air pollution. Within this framework, 63 monitoring stations are planned for installation nationwide, along with the establishment of a centralized analytical center.

Furthermore, under the project “Development and Transfer of Technologies for Data Collection and Use to Support Environmental Monitoring in Central Asia”, a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Center valued at USD 2 million was established at the Research Institute under the Ministry of Ecology of Uzbekistan, in collaboration with UNEP and the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The center is designed to integrate GIS technologies into environmental monitoring.