This month, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan has been under the spotlight for its proactive efforts to integrate Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) practices and Circular Economy approaches in the tourism sector. Alongside government commitments and policy efforts, the EU funded SWITCH-Asia PERETO project has made its voice heard during dialogues centred on the development of the country’s new Tourism Development Strategy (2023-2033).
On 6th October 2022, PERETO organised a policy dialogue in Bishkek on “Challenges and Opportunities for Implementing Sustainable Production and Consumption in the Tourism Industry of Kyrgyzstan”. The event was held under the auspices of the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as within the framework of the annual initiative of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic "Green Economy Days-2022".
Attended by more than 80 participants including representatives of government agencies, financial institutions, business enterprises, international and donor organisations, civil society, and the media, main result of the policy dialogue was the official submission of several measures and recommendations to Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic to be considered for the development of the country’s new Tourism Development Strategy. In the aftermath of earlier consultations with the government, consensus remained strong on the need for policy to prioritise SCP and circular economy approaches.
Stefano Corrado, project manager from the EU Delegation to Kyrgyzstan, welcomed the vision of the government of Kyrgyzstan for the country’s tourism sector and explained, The European Union, through its SWITCH-Asia Programme, is a strong supporter of the PERETO project, which has already made significant progress in the country. I think we will be pleasantly surprised of its final results. We look forward to PERETO’s continued implementation efforts and thank the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic for its support.
Matching Policy with Actions: Engaging Small and Medium-sized HoReCa Businesses
On 3rd and 4th October and 7th and 8th October, PERETO experts organised and delivered a series of trainings for small and medium-sized businesses in Bishkek and Osh on international practices of green finance and sustainable tourism. The new training programmes focused on the importance of a circular economy, accessing commercial green financing, creating sustainable business plans and showcasing international good practices in adopting sustainable production and consumption (SCP) and energy and resource efficiency (ERE) principles in the HoReCa sector (Hotel/Restaurant/Café).Overall, more than 70 small and medium-sized HoReCa businesses in the provinces of Issyk-Kul, Naryn, Talas, Jalal-Abad, Batken and Osh benefitted from PERETO’s capacity building programme. Visits were also organised to tourist sites that have successfully introduced energy-efficient and resource-saving technologies in Osh and Chui regions.
Increasing Access to Green Finance
In order to introduce energy-efficient and resource-saving technologies to tourism enterprises, PERETO actively cooperates with banking and microfinance institutions. In July 2022, together with Dos Kredobank, the project developed a green loan for "Eco-tourism". Unison Group experts have conducted a training for loan officers of the commercial bank Kyrgyzstan and the green loan is already being issued. This month, PERETO also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Bailyk Finance microcredit company, initiating a partnership to incentivise green products and services through the introduction of financial instruments.
Engaging Institutes of Higher Education to Champion Sustainability
Institutes of higher education are well positioned to champion sustainability and universities can certainly lead or contribute to efforts to build sustainable systems of consumption and production that are equitable, secure, resilient, and leave no one behind. Implemented by the American University of Central Asia as the lead partner, PERETO has also been invested in integrating principles of sustainable production and consumption, resource and energy efficiency in tourism education.
The first university to update and implement the new curriculum was the Academy of Tourism. In order to share successful experiences and invite other interested universities to cooperate, the Academy of Tourism and the PERETO project held a roundtable on 12th October with the participation of senior management and teachers from universities in Kyrgyzstan, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Department of Tourism.
International experts and project co-implementers also joined the meeting, including Kartika Anggraeni and Ahmad Hafiz from the Collaborating Center on Sustainable Consumption and Production (СSCP) in Germany and Asel Doranova from Technopolis, Belgium. They shared international trends and an effective approach for integrating sustainable consumption and production (SCP) into tourism education in order to promote the development of a green economy in Kyrgyzstan.
The main outcome of this event was the decision to strengthen a collaboration between the PERETO project and universities in Kyrgyzstan with the aim to upgrade and improve the curricula of universities in accordance with the goals of sustainable development and the requirements of the tourism industry and the HoReCa business sector.
WATCH the Media Coverage (Russian)
