October 27, 2023 – The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) held online the third meeting of the Regional Steering Committee (RSC) of the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin Additional Financing (CAMP4ASB AF).
The meeting of the RSC CAMP4ASB AF convened representatives of the regional component of the project from CAREC and the national groups of the CAMP4ASB AF project from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, observers from the World Bank and the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EC IFAS).
CAREC Executive Director Zafar Makhmudov noted that the RSC is held on the eve of the annual missions of the World Bank. He emphasized that the National Coordination Groups (NCGs) of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will present two meaningful presentations to discuss the crucial issues of the project components implementation.
Rustam Abdulayev, Deputy Chairman of EC IFAS, stressed that the work of the CAMP4ASB project makes a significant contribution to the sustainable development of the region, helps effectively solve problems related to climate change in the countries of Central Asia, and helps attract new investments. Within the framework of the regional component of the project, conferences on climate change and other significant regional events regularly run. No less important is the preparation of regional statements, which are voiced during such global climate events as the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC. Today, the project makes a significant contribution to the development of a regional statement on behalf of the governments of the Central Asian countries, which reflects the united position of the Central Asian countries, priorities, and further steps.
Rustam Abdulayev called for supporting the work of the Central Asia Climate Information Portal (CACIP) by strengthening the role of information components so that the accumulated experience and knowledge are presented at CACIP and disseminated among stakeholders in the region.
The technical manager of the CAMP4ASB project, the World Bank, Asferachew Abate, proposed to consider extending the project until the end of 2024.
Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Program Manager/ CAMP4ASB AF Project Coordinator, Dilovarsho Dustzoda, briefly outlined the main issues and achievements of the national components of the project so far. Representatives of the national coordination teams of the CAMP4ASB AF project from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan provided comprehensive information on the results of the implementation of the national component of the project, the level of achievement of the indicators on monitoring and evaluation and discussed implementation plans for the next six months in each country participating in the CAMP4ASB AF.
For more information, please contact Dilovarsho Dustzoda, Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Program Manager/ CAMP4ASB AF Project Coordinator, recath_manager@carececo.org
Background information:
The RSC meetings take place twice a year. Decisions taken at the meetings are the basis for streamlining joint efforts to achieve final CAMP4ASB AF results and indicators at the national and regional levels. The first meeting of RSC was held on June 28, 2022.
The second meeting of RSC took place on January 25, 2023
The RSC comprises the project participating countries – Tajikistan and Uzbekistan implementing the national components and the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EC IFAS) responsible for the regional components with the involvement of CAREC.
The regional project “Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin” (CAMP4ASB) was awarded additional financing from the Green Climate Fund by May 2024 and renamed “Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin Additional Financing” (CAMP4ASB AF). CAREC implements the project jointly with EC IFAS under the financial support of the World Bank and the Green Climate Fund.