On April 27 CAREC held a briefing in Almaty and raised the issue of strengthening the environmental cooperation in Central Asia. CAREC Executive Director Dr Iskandar Abdullaev opened the event. Dr Abdullaev stressed that the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia was founded precisely with the aim of creating a platform for regional dialogue, and such a name, according to Dr Abdullaev, fully justifies itself. Today there are several levels of partnership in CAREC: The Board of Governors, project management coordinators, the meeting of representatives of the Foreign Ministry and parliaments, as well as the meeting of regional organizations.
In addition, on the initiative of the Regional Environmental Centre in Central Asia, in 2016 countries of the region agreed to hold each year the Central Asian International Environmental Forum. "The main goal is to strengthen environmental cooperation in the region. For this, at the moment, there are all possibilities. First and foremost, a good political situation, the countries of the region find common ground on very complex problems. For environmentalists, a window of opportunity opens up, and they must use it," said Dr Iskandar Abdullaev.
CAREC Project Coordinator Bakhyt Bayanova told that the decision to held CAIEF was taken on June 21, 2016, in Almaty at the International Conference devoted to the 15th anniversary of CAREC. As a result, the first Central Asian International Environmental Forum was held a year later (June 5-7, 2017) in Ashgabat, the main theme of the forum: " "Climate Change and Water Cooperation in the context of Sustainable Development in Central Asia." After the event, the final document of the forum was adopted. Participants noted the important role of CAIEF as a platform for sharing knowledge; international financial and technical support; regional cooperation and partnership development.
Further, the focus of the meeting shifted to the discussion of the forthcoming CAIEF, which will be held on June 5-8 in Tashkent. The theme of the forum: " Strengthening Cooperation on Environment and Sustainable Development in Central Asia". The counsellor to the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Republic of Kazakhstan Timur Rakhimov addressed participants with the invitation to CAIEF and the presentation of the forum. Mr Rakhimov noted that overcoming the environmental challenges facing the region requires the consolidation of the efforts of all stakeholders, and not only at the national level, but also at the regional and international levels. "In this regard, the upcoming forum aims to strengthen the dialogue between all stakeholders on environmental issues and the formation of joint actions for sustainable development of the region," Mr Rakhimov explained.
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The presentation of the forum was continued by the director of the CAREC country office in Kazakhstan, Shynar Toilybaeva. Ms Toilybaeva thanked the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan for support and announced that the participants of the II CAIEF in Tashkent would be representatives of the parliaments of the Central Asian countries, representatives of the environmental protection sphere, as well as international organisations and partners of CAREC. The main thematic areas: conservation of biodiversity and development of a network of protected natural areas, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, integrated management of solid domestic waste.
The briefing ended with an active discussion. Representatives of international organizations and public associations expressed interest in the forthcoming Central Asian International Environmental Forum.
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