REAP Project Completes its Work in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan

“The REAP project promotes sustainable consumption and production in the agri food production and processing enterprises in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, especially the small and medium enterprises,” the Executive Director of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC), Zafar Makhmudov, stated at REAP Closing Ceremony in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

The REAP project was funded by the European Union under the Switch Asia programme and commenced in 2020. The focus was on Resource Efficient Cleaner Production (RECP) with the aim to reduce the consumption of energy and other resources as well as minimization of waste generation.

“Through the technical work was an important aspect, it was also essential to involve stakeholders for building the eco-system.  This includes policy stakeholders and those from financial institutions,” said Zafar Makhmudov.

In terms of the technical activities, a pool of technical consultants was trained in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to carry out RECP assessments and support the implementation of the recommendations. An important aspect of the RECP work was to look at not only the resources saved but also at the business case to highlight the economic benefits of RECP implementations.

“The enterprises were sometimes hesitant to join the project but the early pioneering enterprises helped by providing case studies with examples of resource and cost savings which helped to persuade the other companies,” noted the CAREC Executive Director.

He highlighted the importance of the support from Ministries of Agriculture from both countries, the State Committee for Investments and State Property Management of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan, Institute of Economics and System Analysis of Agricultural Development of Tajik Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Ministry of Ecology, Environment Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as support of the such international development partners as EBRD, USAID and GIZ.

REAP project also worked with financial institutions to assist the enterprises in securing loans for high cost RECP implementations.

“With the groundwork prepared by REAP project in terms of greater awareness among many stakeholders, trained manpower, practical examples from local enterprises with economic benefits, we are hopeful that RECP can continue to be implemented in other regions and other sectors,” said Zafar Makhmudov.

REAP Closing Ceremony took place in Dushanbe on July 16, 2024. It showcased the project’s activities and achievements in both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The event brought together representatives of the industry sector, including policymakers, government representatives, industry associations, financial institutions, and NGOs associated with the project.