Tashkent, Uzbekistan, November 6, 2023 – GGGI Uzbekistan held a Validation Workshop for the “Support for the Realization of a Pilot Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)” project implemented by GGGI in collaboration with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan (MEEPCC).
On 15 February 2023, GGGI and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) signed an agreement for the project “Support for the Realization of a Pilot Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)”. The project seeks to identify a sector policy/program at the right stage of development to be the subject of an SEA (Phase 1), prepare a Scoping Report (Phase 2), implement the pilot SEA (Phase 3), and conduct stocktaking of lessons learned during the pilot to enable mainstreaming of SEA approaches in policy planning (Phase 4).
GGGI and the stakeholders selected the tourism sector and the Master Plan: measures to organize the activities of the Free Tourist Zone “Charvak” (Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, dated 05.01.2019, № DP-5611) to develop the SEA pilot. To identify the baseline and the sustainability issues in the tourism sector GGGI collected information presented in the Scoping Report. GGGI conducted the first consultation with relevant stakeholders on August 22 and the second consultation on October 10.
From those consultations, bilateral meetings, and data collection, GGGI mapped the stakeholders relevant to developing the SEA pilot, the 8 key sustainability issues, the prioritization of the issues according to the experts’ criteria, and the methodologies suggested for the assessment. This information was integrated into the Scoping report and presented to stakeholders in the validation workshop on November 6, 2023.
The Workshop was intended to seek validation of the Scoping Report from the government partners. Moreover, it collected additional information from regional stakeholders useful for the consolidation of the baseline analysis. After this, the project will continue with the third phase SEA Study that is expected to generate recommendations that can be integrated in the next version of the FTZ Charvak Master Plan.
Master plan of FTZ “Charvak” is targeted to create modern tourist infrastructure special functional and seasonal recreation areas with the provision of the necessary conditions for serving tourists, facilities; ensure the availability of vehicles, the introduction of new types of transport in the region, the development of appropriate transport infrastructure; ensure the safety of life and health of tourists in the organization of tourist services; create of an unique ecological system through the introduction of new modern energy-saving systems and technologies, introduce modern information and communication technologies, their active use in promoting the tourism potential of the region, as well as organize training, retraining and advanced training of tourism workers.
The event was opened by Mr. Nomonjon Shakirov, Chief Expert of the Waste Management Policy Setting Department at the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change.
“Climate change and increasing environmental threats clearly demonstrate the need to establish cooperation for economic and social development by making decisions regarding environmental protection,” highlighted Mr. Shakirov, thanking GGGI and AFD for the assessment of the region needed for the environmental protection in question.
Mr. Vincent Caupin, Head of Central Asia Office at the AFD, provided video remarks.
“Bostanlik region is a very beautiful area, that is why there is a big potential to develop tourism here… Let’s make sure that the development of tourism does not harm the beauty of this landscape and that we preserve this region well,” he urged, expressing hope that SEA meets both tourism development and environmental protection objectives.
Mr. Akbar Rustamov, Ugam Chatkal National Park Chief Specialist on Forests, briefly introduced the functions of Ugam Chatkal National Park. The National Park preserves natural complexes in mountainous areas of Tashkent region with special ecological value, regulates activities of organizations and enterprises located in this area in accordance with nature protection procedures and norms, develops scientifically based rules of nature protection in recreation activities and implementation, creates conditions for tourism and recreation, Mr. Rustamov shared. Moreover, he made remarks on the SEA project being essential for the future of the region, as well as the national park, outlining the importance of bringing proper attention to all the issues of the area.
Dr. Aaron Russell, GGGI Uzbekistan Country Representative, made an introductory presentation on the SEA project and the role of the assessment in the planning for tourism sector.
“The Directorate of the FTZ Charvak is responsible for implementing projects to create modern tourist infrastructure facilities, hotel complexes, and special functional and seasonal recreation areas in Charvak territory. The SEA study will elaborate on these interlinkages and identify gaps hindering the FTZ Charvak’s sustainability.”
The event proceeded with presentation on the Scoping Report of SEA project by Ms. Catalina Garcia, GGGI Uzbekistan Green Investment Specialist, sharing the key findings of the document and answering the questions raised. She presented the eight key sustainability issues to be assessed by the SEA:
- Insufficient waste management and collection services for building construction waste
- Insufficient waste management and collection services for non-residential/guest houses
- Air pollution due to congestion by cars
- Degradation of forests, protected areas, and biodiversity due to tourism
- Landscape erosion and landslide risk due to inappropriate infrastructure development and land use change
- Insufficient supply and excessive use of electricity by tourists/guest houses
- Insufficient sanitation capacity and impact on water quality and health
- Insufficient regulation and tax collection for tourism in private residence
Considering the data collection, the two consultations developed with national and regional stakeholders the site visits to the FTZ of Charvak and the relationship between sustainability issues and tourism, Scoping report proposed the prioritization of the first three issues on the list.
“Yet, the SEA will be assessing the FTZ Charvak Master Plan as a whole, covering all the existing issues such as water deficit, inefficient waste management and others. The assessment will not be limited to the priority issues identified. Prioritization will be used to the narrow selection stage and to focus on the measures that can be considered as investment solutions,” Ms. Garcia pointed out.
She then explained that the consultancy company will conduct the pilot SEA and provide mitigation measures recommendations in the Phase 3 taking into account the Scoping Report developed by GGGI.
Next, all the attendees had an opportunity to download and review the report. The participants were invited to ask questions and express their opinions on the results of the report, making valuable input.
Dr. Aaron Russell closed the event, expressing GGGI Uzbekistan’s willingness to receive feedback and additional contributions to the Scoping report.