A large, multidisciplinary team of international experts under the leadership of UNECE is working in Bishkek, assessing the environmental performance of the country by examining developments during the past decade.
The third review of Kyrgyzstan measures progress made and considers challenges encountered in the areas of air quality, water management, biodiversity and protected areas, waste and chemicals management and greening the economy. It also examines the country’s environmental data, information and observation systems, the extent to which international environmental agreements and commitments are implemented, and activities regarding climate change. Public access to environmental information, participation in environmental decision-making and access to justice on environmental matters is reviewed, as is the integration of education for sustainable development into the education system’s curriculum, institutions and society. The review is also looking at the country’s environmental legal, policy and institutional framework and regulatory and compliance assurance mechanisms. Further, the integration of environmental considerations into agriculture, forestry, energy, industry and transport, as well as issues related to environment and health and to risk management of natural and technological or anthropogenic hazards, is reviewed.
In addition, this third review will assess the country’s progress towards relevant targets and indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The review team will examine how the SDGs are being adapted to the national context and how the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is put into practice, whether the necessary resources have been allocated and responsibilities are clear, what obstacles have been encountered when targeting the Goals and what concrete results have already been achieved.
Building on the analysis of progress made since 2010, the review will result in a set of recommendations on how to improve Kyrgyzstan’s environmental performance. The review process will culminate with the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy considering the recommendations, with a view to their adoption, and the country making a commitment to implement them within the next few years. Before the Committee meets, a group of experts from UNECE countries together with a delegation from Kyrgyzstan will scrutinize the review and finalize the recommendations.
The mission currently underway is organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision in cooperation with other ministries and governmental institutions. During the mission, the international team of experts led by UNECE is meeting with governmental officials, national experts and representatives of academia, business and civil society organizations. The third review of Kyrgyzstan is made possible with financial and in-kind support from Austria, France, Germany (the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and the German Federal Environment Agency, with funds provided through the Advisory Assistance Programme), Hungary, Italy and Switzerland, as well as the United Nation Environment Programme. The United Nations Country Team, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, UN Women and United Nations World Food Programme, participates by sharing experience and activities carried out in the country. In addition, UNDP supports the review mission with logistics.
This is the 57th EPR since the establishment of the Programme over a quarter of a century ago. UNECE EPRs offer a comprehensive tool to help countries identify key environmental challenges and establish concrete recommendations to improve environmental sustainability across all sectors.
For more information about the UNECE Environmental Performance Reviews, please visit http://www.unece.org/env/epr.