“Empowering Lives, Building Resilience” highlights Eastern European and Asian success stories in the fields of poverty, inequality and social inclusion; energy and the environment; crisis response and post-conflict recovery; and regional initiatives.
The report describes innovative social policies and identifies government-civil society partnerships, national capacity building and project ownership, and knowledge and innovation as factors contributing to long-term, transformational change.
5 September 2012: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has launched “Empowering Lives, Building Resilience,” a publication on transformative development achievements in Central Asian and Eastern European countries. Each story included in the report demonstrates achievements over a five- to 10-year period that are substantiated by data and personal evidence.
Launched at UNDP’s Executive Board meeting in New York, US, on 5 September 2012, the publication showcases strategies that simultaneously advance economic, environmental and social objectives, therefore contributing to “triple wins.” The report describes UNDP support for innovative social policies that enhance human and institutional capacities and address the needs of poor and marginalized populations, including people with disabilities, youth, unemployed populations and the Roma.
Energy and environment stories come from Moldova, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkey. UNDP supported the conversion of traditional heating systems to biomass systems produced from agricultural waste in 60 villages in 12 districts in Moldova, contributing to a profitable biomass industry.
It also reports assisting Kazakhstan in preserving 1.6 million hectares of wetlands that now have Ramsar-protected status, while also facilitating eco-friendly business ventures among local residents. In Tajikistan, UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) collaborated to support community forest management committees, resulting in a 90% decline in tree cutting within an endangered tugai forest, a desert flood-plain forest only found in Central Asia. In Turkey, UNDP and the Government of Turkey collaborated to establish the Kure Mountains National Park, a growing ecotourism center and a model of park management.
The publication also illustrates growing inequalities resulting from economic and political exclusions, even in countries with relatively high average incomes. Additional described threats include environmental degradation and high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. [UNDP Press Release] [Publication: Empowering Lives, Building Resilience]