Kyrgyzstan’s Office of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) launches the project “Feasibility study of an effective system of financial self-sufficiency in protected areas (PAs)”.
The project is supported by the UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN-II). BIOFEN is a global partnership that addresses the issue of biodiversity financing in a comprehensive way for the purpose of conservation and sustainable management of natural resources that support the country’s economy and are an integral part of achieving national sustainable development goals.
“At the same time, BIOFIN’s “Review of Public and Private Environmental Expenditures with a Focus on Biodiversity and Adaptation to Climate Change” and “Assessment of Biodiversity Financing Needs” emphasize the need to create such a mechanism – reliable to mobilize additional financial resources outside the state budget. Experts and specialists of the ministries confirmed the need to propose the development and establishment of such mechanisms,” said Kuban Matraimov, Director of the CAREC country office for Kyrgyzstan.
The project “Feasibility study of an effective system of financial self-sufficiency in protected areas (Pas)” was initiated by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic to develop a mechanism to increase the income of specially protected natural areas at the expense of extra-budgetary funds. It is assumed that innovative and sustainable mechanisms for providing income to protected areas in Kyrgyzstan will be developed and the basis for their
implementation will be prepared. The project with a budget of more than 42 thousand US dollars is designed for 6 months.
The work will be carried out in the following areas:
- analysis of the current institutional and legal landscape related to the financing of protected areas in Kyrgyzstan, assessment of the current financial condition of selected protected areas and determination of their revenue potential;
- identification of possible options and mechanisms for obtaining extra-budgetary income for protected areas, assessment of their feasibility and applicability, cost-benefit analysis for identified mechanisms and options for providing income for protected areas;
- development of action plans for the implementation of at least 6 mechanisms for financing protected areas;
- increasing the capacity of employees of the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Protected Areas under the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic on new mechanisms for financing protected areas and the possibility of piloting;
- assistance to Department in integrating the proposed mechanisms for obtaining extra-budgetary income into strategic documents related to biodiversity and the environment;
- assistance to the protected areas in the implementation of the action plan for the introduction of at least 2 income-generating mechanisms in pilot protected areas;
- presentation of the results at the meetings of the interdepartmental working group of the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic on the development and implementation of measures aimed at integrating the components of sustainable development, aspects of biodiversity, the environment and the green economy into the budget process.
Contact person – Matraimov Kuban, Director of the CAREC country Office for Kyrgyzstan, kmatraimov@carececo.org
