CAREC’s Key Contributions
Mobilization of Stakeholders
The national multi-stakeholder dialogues in all CA countries were conducted to assess the country needs in the framework of CAI. CAREC will provide the assistance to the Central Asian countries in the conceptual preparation for the ministerial conference “Environment for Europe” of the UNECE region (Astana 2011).
Multi-stakeholder water dialogues were held in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan within the framework of CAI. The pilot basins of small transboundary rivers for projects realization were selected through the intersectoral working groups.
A subregional network on Education for Sustainable Development operates in CA since 2003 and subregional conferences are held annually.
A dialogue platform was provided for Central Asian NGOs to formulate and present their positions at the Ministerial Conferences “Environment for Europe” (Kiev, 2003; Belgrade, 2007).
A “Gap analysis in the area of climate change and sustainable energy” in Central Asia was conducted in 2008-2009.
Capacity Development
The curriculum for the training courses “Ecology and Sustainable Development” and “Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Development” was developed and has been introduced in the universities of Kazakhstan.
Through CAREC 40 high-level officials of Kazakhstan and local officials from Central Asian countries were trained on sustainable development at the Venice International University.
National manuals and training modules on the Access to Environmental Justice were prepared and approved in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
Twenty young environmental leaders of Central Asia enhanced their project development, management and leadership skills, and knowledge in the environmental field over the period of 2008 – 2009.
Applied Environmental Awareness and Practices
The Integrated Water Management Plan for the Ili-Balkhash Basin (Kazakhstan) was developed, which can be used as a model for Central Asia on the application of the ecosystem approach to the river basin management.
Over 10,000 villagers in Balkhash region gained sustainable access to safe drinking water through CAREC project “Drinking Water for Rural Communities in Kazakhstan”. The water user cooperatives were established to ensure project sustainability.
The existing water quality control systems, standards and specifications were assessed in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, and the regional working group on water quality was established.
The project on energy efficient and environmentally sustainable offices of CAREC equipped with the renewable energy facilities is ongoing.
Manual on Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAP) was adapted to the national conditions of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Training programme on LEAP for local authorities and pilot local environmental action plans for three villages in Turkmenistan were developed.
Manual and database of experts on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in transboundary context were developed for Central Asia. The pilot research on EIA on three objects was conducted.
Within the Drynet project, 5 issues of the newsletter in seven languages were published; more than 20 successful project stories on combating desertification and land degradation were collected and 9 of them were described in detail.
