To help evaluate the effectiveness of measures taken to protect the environment as the basis for sustainable development, an introductory training workshop was held in Tashkent on 1 February 2023 to develop a methodology for the National Report on the State of the Environment in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The workshop was organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources of Uzbekistan with the support of the UNECE, the UNEP and the FAO.

According to the UNECE, specialists from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Health presented the current situation and trends in the field of environmental protection. 

The event helped to identify key drivers of pressure on specific components of the environment, as well as possible responses. 

“The National State of the Environment report is an analytical document that contains an assessment of the environmental situation and an analysis of the cause-and-effect relationships that cause changes”, said the UNECE Regional Adviser Sarangoo Radnaaragchaa. She highlighted that the methodology of the report will be based on the UNECE Guidelines for the preparation of governmental reports on the state and protection of the environment and that the UNECE Environmental Performance Review conducted in 2019 will serve as a valuable basis.

The report will help Uzbekistan to make environmentally sound decisions and to improve environmental and socio-economic policy, the legal framework, mechanisms for state regulation of nature management and environmental protection. It will also aid monitoring compliance with environmental legislation, developing and implementing targeted environmental programs and scientific and technical developments aimed at ensuring environmental safety. 

“Biodiversity not only contributes to environmental protection, but also helps to ensure food security, nutrition and sustainable livelihoods for rural people. To eat healthy food, we need a healthy environment”, said FAO Deputy Representative in Uzbekistan Sherzod Umarov. 

UzA