31 May 2013: Participants at an expert meeting on the outcomes of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) and related challenges and opportunities for the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development of Central Asia (ICSD) agreed on the mandate for a task force to develop an in-depth study and recommendations on implementing Rio+20 outcomes at the regional level.

The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Scientific and Information Center of the ICSD organized the meeting on 30 May 2013, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In remarks to the meeting, Andrey Vasilyev, UNECE Deputy Executive Secretary, noted that the Rio+20 outcome document places a high responsibility on institutions for implementing its outcomes, and calls for improving institutional frameworks.

Participants also addressed ICSD’s participation in implementing the Third Aral Sea Basin Programme, and opportunities for ICSD to improve access to international and donor assistance for green development.

The expert meeting took place in the framework of the UNECE Programme “Regional Dialogue and Cooperation on Water Resources Management in Central Asia” supported by the Germany Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). ICSD was established by the five Central Asian States — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – to develop and coordinate implementation of a regional sustainable development strategy, action plans and programmes, to prepare regional projects and to coordinate the implementation by Central Asian countries of their commitments under environmental conventions with a transboundary dimension. [UNECE Press Release]