On February 3, in Nur-Sultan, by the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan in cooperation with the CAREC Country Office in Kazakhstan, as part of the Year of Volunteers, with the support of the World Bank project “Program for Adaptation to Climate Change and Mitigation of Its Consequences in the Aral Sea Basin” (CAMP4ASB) the First Republican rally of eco-activists, social activists and volunteers was held to address environmental issues, climate change and sustainable development.
“We held the first republican rally of eco-activists of the country. Carrying out such events in the Year of Volunteers, in the year when good deeds are a priority, is very important. We discussed with the participants of the meeting issues of sorting garbage, reducing solid waste, the importance of eco-education,” wrote Kazakhstan’s Minister of Ecology of Geology and Natural Resources Magzum Mirzagaliev on his Twitter page.
Tatyana Shakirova from CAREC, made a presentation on the activities of CAREC in supporting civil society organizations in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, including those carried out as part of subcomponent 1.7. “Outreach activities of the World Bank project CAMP4ASB”. The presentation reflects the main CAREC projects supporting the Central Asian NGOs, and presents regional platforms and processes moderated by CAREC, such as: the Central Asian International Environmental Forum (CAMEF), the Central Asian Conference on Climate Change (CACCC) and the Central Asian Leadership Program (CALP).
The importance of mentoring, youth environmental initiatives and leadership was noted, as well as opportunities for cooperation and support of public organizations existing both within the framework of the CAMP4ASB World Bank project and at the CACCC, which will be held in Dushanbe on June 16-17, 2020.
The Minister thanked CAREC for its support and handed over Certificates of the Ministry to the CAREC Program Manager and the Director of the CAREC branch in Kazakhstan and announced CAREC representatives as Ambassadors of Kazakhstan to promote environmental initiatives. Also, a roadmap will be created that includes all the proposals and initiatives of the participants.
In addition, according to the minister, it was decided to launch the nationwide project Birgemiz: Taza Alem, to create a database of environmental volunteers and volunteer support centers.
Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin or CAMP4ASB is implemented by CAREC and financed by the World Bank. Project aims to enhance regionally coordinated access to improved climate change knowledge services for key stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, communities, and civil society) in participating Central Asian countries as well as to increased investments and capacity building that, combined, will address climate challenges common to these countries.CAMP4ASB is implemented in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan during the period from 2016 to 2021.
