EU – CENTRAL ASIA STRATEGY FOR A NEW PARTNERSHIP PLATFORM FOR ENVIRONMENT AND WATER COOPERATION The 6 th meeting of the EU-Central Asia Working Group on Environment and Climate ChangeAstana, Kazakhstan, 10-11 July 2017

Revision of Regional Environmental Action Plan (REAP)

Dr. Batyr Mamedov, ICSD Secretariat

ICSD Decision (June 8, 2017, Ashgabat) - Within the framework of the REAP revision, it is necessary to develop a Regional Program for the Protection of the Environment for Sustainable Development in Central Asia Preparation (August-September, 2017):

u Launch of the plan design process: Meeting of the Revision Committee;

u Lessons learned from the implementation of the current REAP: country implementation reviews, results of monitoring and evaluation of REAP projects targeting the specific lessons learned from the preparation and implementation of the Plan;

u Donor Meeting in order to distribute the tasks (development of a "supporting matrix") to support and finance the development of the Program, on the basis of an agreed position on the methodological approach.

Stage 1: The process of identifying and analysing national priorities, strategies and interests:

u Launching the revision process in all five countries, with the participation of all stakeholders in Working Groups that will: u Analysis of national SDG strategies;

u Institutional analysis of the participating agencies’ structures;

u Determination of national priorities and the level of interest in the regional program for SDG;

u The results from the five countries are integrated into the regional preparatory report, including recommendations regarding the type of SDG that should be targeted at the regional level.

u Results of this step: proposals targeting the goal and scope of the Regional Program and its final roadmap.

Stage 2: Creation of Working group. Definition of goals, objectives and key stakeholders.

u Organize a Regional Meeting under the auspices of ICSD/IFAS with key stakeholders from all five countries, including international and regional organizations as well as expert communities;

u Jointly determine the final goal and scope of the Program; define SDGs included in the Program;

u Decide whether it is necessary to include additional Regional Development Goals (DGs) with specific focus areas;

u Ensure the participation of key donors financially supporting projects in Central Asia, including multilateral Development Banks, the Green Climate Fund and the EU as well as regular partners such as UNEP, UNECE, GIZ and selected EU projects;

u Organize a Working Group for further cooperation on the basis of results of the preliminary work and including recommendations upon Group structure.

Stage 3: Development of the Program

u Program development is the task for consultants, in coordination with the Working Group;

u Consultants shall provide viable recommendations including those concerning direct Program management, i.e.: u Bodies / structure shall be linked to the ICSD bodies

u Procedures, including the system of monitoring and evaluation (M&E)

u Mechanism for making amendments based on the results of M&E

u Medium-term review mechanism

u Integrate national proposals and recommendations into a single document;

u Harmonization of the Program with ICSD member-states and its approval by IFAS Board.

Stage 4: Realization of the Regional Program