OSCE PA Special Representative met with the CAREC team
Almaty – Kazakhstan – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on Central Asia, Farah Karimi, and the member of the Spanish Senate and Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Pere Joan Pons, discussed environmental cooperation in the Central Asian region with the team of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC).
The meeting convened CAREC staff, Chairwoman of the Committee of the Legislative Chamber for International Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Ties Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Dilorom Fayziyeva, Senior Advisors of the International Secretariat of the OSCE PA Farimah Daftary and Manuchekhr Salokhudinov, Secretary of the Dutch Delegation to the OSCE PA Femmy Bakker-de Jong, Secretary of the Committee on Socio-Cultural Development and Science of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and deputy Ainur Argynbekova.
“We would like to focus on the issues of climate change, the impact of climate change in Central Asian countries on water issues, water management and especially the transboundary ones. It would be interesting to learn more about achieving ambitions and implementing legislative norms for the green transition in Central Asian countries. Participation of people in these processes is important,” said the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on Central Asia, Farah Karimi.
“At the moment, CAREC is implementing a number of projects aimed at solving the problems of climate change in the Central Asian region at the local and regional levels. CAREC also assists the governments of the Central Asian countries in promoting their interests at the international level. The 26th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC became historic for Central Asian countries. For the first time, the region performed in a consolidated manner on a single platform – the Central Asia Pavilion. It was organized by CAREC in cooperation with EC IFAS with the financial support, first of all, of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, and many other donors – the World Bank, ERG, FAO and UNDP. The ambitious goal of uniting the countries of the region under the slogan ‘5 countries – 1 region – 1 voice’ at the high-level climate events of the UNFCCC was achieved and continued in the systemic organizations of the pavilions of the Central Asian countries at the Conferences of the Parties,” said CAREC Executive Director Zafar Makhmudov.
The meeting participants gave special attention to the CAREC dialogue platform – regular meetings of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and parliamentarians of Central Asia to discuss environmental issues, joint solutions to common climate problems and exchange of experience.
CAREC provided the distinguished guests with thorough information about work with Central Asia government agencies, local communities, civil society, and scientific and academic communities at the national, regional and international levels.
Over the past few years, CAREC has covered issues of water diplomacy, transboundary water resources, integrated water resources management, the Nexus approach, environmental education, the role of women in water resources management, and issues of mitigation and adaptation to climate change in the Central Asian region.
