5 August 2014: The Climate Change Dialogue Platform of Kyrgyzstan (CCDP-Kg), a multi-stakeholder partnership platform focused on climate change, has been launched in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The CCDP-Kg was launched at a meeting hosted by the Central Asia Mountain Partnership Hub at the University of Central Asia. The Mountain Partnership is a UN voluntary alliance aiming to improve the lives of mountain people and protect mountain environments around the world.

Open to interested parties and stakeholders in order to build effective communication and dialogue, the meeting, organized by a group led by the State Agency on Environmental Protection and Forestry under the Government of Kyrgyz Republic (SAEPF), was attended by 35 representatives of government ministries, civil society, academia and development partners involved in climate change issues.

Emphasizing that “environmental problems can be effectively solved and emerging opportunities can be better used when government and civil society join efforts to achieve economic prosperity, social justice and environmental sustainability,” Sabir Atadjanov, SAEPF Director, urged participatory processes and multi-stakeholder engagement in climate-related activities. Jyparkul Bekkulova, Head of SAEPF Strategic Planning Department, briefed participants on the climate-related activities of the Kyrgyz Government and latest initiatives. Zuhra Abaihanova, Secretary of the National Climate Coordination Committee, shared lessons learned from institutionalizing the multi-stakeholder engagement and introduced the mission, goals and objectives of the platform, which will act as the working body of the inter-ministerial National Coordination Committee on Climate Change.

Elbegzaya Batjargal, Central Asia Mountain Partnership Hub, reported on Kyrgyzstan’s participation in several high-level side-events to take place at the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the UNFCCC, in Lima, Peru, in December 2014. [Mountain Partnership Press Release]