28/10/2022 - 10:54 1350

A meeting was held at the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction between representatives of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), with representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and other ministries and agencies.

 

The meeting was attended by the heads and employees of the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Water Management, as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Forestry Committee and the State Committee for Ecology and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan. From the foreign side, the project manager Paul Schumacher (GIZ) and representatives of INTECRATION and ECOLINE organizations were present.

 

The meeting discussed issues of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) within the framework of the Aral Sea Region Ecological Development Project (ECO-Aral) in the form of a pilot project based on international experience in the development of the territories of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and Khorezm region. The aim of the project is to ensure the integration of environmental aspects into State sectoral policy, including through the introduction of a mechanism for strategic environmental assessment of plans, programs and other strategic documents, as well as by assessing the impact of individual projects on the environment. SEA covers such areas as water, forestry, and agriculture, as well as ecology.

 

During the meeting, foreign experts made a report on the organizational issues of SEA and its significance, and also shared their experience in this matter. The meeting discussed issues such as the required time for the implementation of SEA, cross-border impact, as well as the positive effects of SEA. The Uzbek side gave a number of recommendations on the application of SEA in the energy sector, as well as on its legislative consolidation for the qualitative fulfillment of the tasks set.

At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to cooperate in the organizational issues of SEA and the implementation of the above tasks.