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Regional / Multi-Country Interventions › Circular Economy Policy Dialogues with the Parliamentarians’ Platform in Central Asia

Location: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan

Themes: Circular Economy, Policy

The Challenge

Unsustainable patterns of consumption and production are key drivers of the triple planetary crises, climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The Central Asian region, with its abundant natural resources and rapid economic transformation, faces mounting sustainability challenges. The region’s high dependence on resource extraction industries, combined with increasing climate vulnerabilities such as water scarcity, desertification, and extreme weather events, underscores the urgency of integrating sustainability principles into economic and climate policies. Central Asia’s ecosystems are intricately interconnected, shaped by shared natural resources and geographic features that transcend national boundaries. A shared understanding of the urgency of the sustainability challenge and relevance of key concepts, including CE, is therefore instrumental for moving forward. Not only nationally specific action towards SCP and CE, but also coordinated activities to effectively address common challenges and leverage shared opportunities are of high importance for the region.

Objectives

This Technical Advisory (TA) project aims to engage with parliamentarians of all countries. As they hold the legislative power to drive transformative policy changes and advocate for integrated approaches to SCP, a shared understanding of where the region stands and what opportunities it holds is of high relevance. The collaborative approach ensures that identified topics are relevant and their approaches tailored to the specific needs of Central Asian countries. By engaging parliamentarians in this dialogue, the region can ensure that policies are not only environmentally sound but also socially inclusive, bringing communities together and promoting a shared vision for a sustainable future. This collective effort can enhance regional cooperation, reinforce climate resilience, and pave the way for a prosperous and sustainable Central Asia.

This initiative will:

Equip members of parliament with conceptual and practical knowledge and context about Circular Economy principles and their benefits.
Facilitate dialogues for the Parliamentarians on Circular Economy and related themes, including climate change, fostering a collaborative understanding and discourse on CE principles.
Identify impactful Circular Economy topics in Central Asian countries, aligning with regional and national priorities and initiate parliamentarians’ engagement.
Support parliamentarians in legislative initiatives promoting or relevant to CE principles.

Way Forward

Members of parliament understand CE principles, and have a shared understanding of the importance of effectively implementing environmentally sustainable policies.
Dialogues among parliamentarians on CE and related themes, such as climate change, established the base to build a shared understanding of sustainability challenges and collaborate on specific issues.
Impactful CE topics have been identified and worked on, aligning regional and national priorities.
Parliamentarians have been supported in developing and promoting legislative initiatives that advance CE practices, strengthening the legal framework for a sustainable and circular economy transition.
There is integration of CE principles into national policies and regulations, inspiring innovative legislative frameworks that support sustainable development.