National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Background: The FOLUR project identifies gender equality as one of its priorities, emphasizing the need for equal participation of women and men in the sustainable use of land resources. The project underlines that effective natural resource management is only possible when all people have equal access to economic opportunities, knowledge and decision-making tools.

The Ministry of Ecology has now initiated the development of a Gender Strategy that will enable the systematic integration of gender aspects into state policies, climate actions and institutional activities. This initiative builds on the experience of the FOLUR programme in Uzbekistan and includes awareness-raising on gender equality, targeted capacity-building and inclusive engagement of stakeholders.

During the session, participants discussed the framework of the future strategy, its key directions, and the expected outcomes. Technical units presented their proposals, which will form the basis for drafting the document.

Among the key tasks identified for the working group are: analyzing the FOLUR experience and assessing applicable gender practices, defining priority gender issues within the environmental sector, agreeing on the structure of the future strategy—its goals, objectives, expected results and indicators and developing a calendar plan for drafting the document, including the allocation of responsibilities and identification of necessary resources. All discussions and recommendations will be taken into account during the preparation of the Gender Strategy and the working group’s gender action plan.

Following the first meeting, the aim is to outline clear directions and proposals for drafting the strategy, ensure a shared understanding of the gender approach and its importance for the Ministry’s work, determine next steps and timelines for preparing the document and systematize the suggestions and successful national examples that may form the basis of future efforts.