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

The updated membership of the Public Council was presented at the meeting and includes representatives of non-governmental, non-profit organizations (NGOs), the expert and scientific community, mass media and bloggers. Natalia (Natalya) Shivaldova, head of the NGO "Ekomaktab", was reappointed Chair of the Council and Eshdavlat Suvonov, head of the NGO "Qalb ekologiyasi", was appointed her deputy. Also joining the Council are Nozimakhon Rakhimova, head of the NGO "Mehr va Oqibat", independent "Green Building" expert Alexey Svetlitsky, Associate Professor Suriya Turaeva of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Erkin Yuldashev, representative of "Falcon LLC", eco-activist Feruzbek Saifullaev,  Shakhnoza Umarhojaeva, Deputy Chair of the Tashkent City branch of the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan, Zafar Achilov, Head of Projects at the NGO Logos, political commentator Dilobar Yakubova of the "O‘zbekiston 24" TV channel, Elena Babenko, International Relations Specialist at the Science and Innovation Support Fund, doctoral candidate Shakhnoza Saidova of the National University of Uzbekistan named after M. Ulugbek; independent specialist Nina Pikul, Nargis Kosimova, head of the NGO "Ekolog.uz", Davlatali Abdullaev, PhD in Biological Sciences and staff member of the Tashkent Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, influencers and eco-activists Mutabbar Khushvaqtova and Akida Mahirova  and Oleg Kashkarov, Head of the Association for the Protection of Birds.

At the session, participants discussed in detail the rules of procedure for the Public Council, defined the rights and responsibilities of its members and reviewed the activity plan for the near term. It was decided to establish working groups on key areas, including monitoring and preventing atmospheric air pollution, the rational use of natural resources, animal protection and conservation, environmental education, the development of green technologies and other topical issues.

Minister Aziz Abdukhakimov noted that the Public Council can play an important role in providing expert support for the Ministry’s activities, including drafting regulatory and legal acts, implementing programs to support environmental start-ups, and addressing other priority tasks. He emphasized that the Ministry remains open to dialogue and new initiatives  and that public participation makes its work more transparent and effective.

In his remarks the Minister also spoke about the Central Asian University of Environmental and Climate Change Studies (Green University), underlining its significance as a new stage in the development of environmental education in Uzbekistan. According to him, training a new generation of specialists in ecology and climate change will become an important pillar of the country’s sustainable development.

During the discussion of the activity plan a proposal was made to organize joint inspections of industrial enterprises involving members of the Public Council and the Ministry’s State Environmental Inspectorate. Such joint inspections would enable prompt detection of violations and help prevent environmental pollution. In addition, the Minister proposed institutionalizing regular reporting by the Ministry’s structural units to the Public Council and adopting the practice of independent evaluation of their performance.

Following the meeting, agreement was reached to develop a detailed activity plan for the Public Council, which will serve as the foundation for systematic and effective work to address the country’s pressing environmental challenges.

At the end of the meeting, the participants visited the Situation Center of the Ministry of Ecology, where they got acquainted with digitalization projects in the field of environmental protection. They were presented with modern systems for monitoring air and water quality, digital certification of trees, monitoring flora and fauna, as well as recording environmental violations and other processes aimed at increasing the efficiency and transparency of environmental control.