Section 6
United Nations and its specialized agencies
6.2. Security Council
The Security Council (UNSC) has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security; all UN members are obliged to follow its decisions. It has 15 members, including 5 permanent members with veto power (Great Britain, China, Russia, USA, France) and 10 non-permanent, elected by UNGA for two-year terms for five countries each year.
UNSC activity in 2021
Several high level open debates took place:
• “Addressing climate-related security risks to international peace and security through mitigation and resilience building.” During the meeting, which was attended by heads of state and government, several Council members, including Kenya and Niger, underlined the link between climate change and conflict while others, including Russia and China, questioned this view, arguing that political and economic factors are the key drivers of tension and conflict. At the meeting, Guterres called the climate emergency “the defining issue of our time”. Advocating for enhanced “preparations for the escalating implications of the climate crisis for international peace and security”, he highlighted four priorities to address the crisis: (1) cutting greenhouse gas emissions; (2) increasing investment to help countries and communities adapt and develop resilience; (3) encouraging a concept of security that “puts people at its center”, whereby “[p]reventing and addressing the poverty, food insecurity and displacement caused by climate disruption contribute to sustaining peace and reducing the risk of conflict”; and, (4) calling for a collaborative approach between actors within and outside the UN system to help tackle the climate crisis (February 23).
• “Security in the context of climate change.” Antonio Guterres and Ilwad Elman, the chief operating officer of the Mogadishu-based Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre, briefed. During the meeting, Guterres emphasized that “climate change and environmental mismanagement are risk multipliers” and that when “coping capacities are limited and there is high dependence on shrinking natural resources and ecosystem services such as water and fertile land, grievances and tensions can explode, complicating efforts to prevent conflict and sustain peace”. Elman said that her organization had realized that their peacebuilding goals and mediation work “could not succeed or be sustained unless we addressed the broader environmental issues related to security — whether it be the locust- and drought-induced scarcity of resources that multiplies the threat of intraclan conflict, the decrease of tuna swarms that drives Somali fishing communities towards piracy, or the flooding that continues to drive regional displacement and vulnerable people to violent extremist groups”. She called on the UN, including the Security Council, to be receptive to bottom-up, local efforts to build resilience to the adverse effects of climate change. (September 23).
• “Security in the context of terrorism and climate change” chaired by the President of Niger M. Bazoum. A. Guterres, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission, and Mr. Mamman Nuhu, Executive Secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Head of the Multinational Joint Task Force briefed in the meeting (December 9).
The Informal Expert Group of Members of the Security Council on Climate and Security (IEG) has held two meetings to discuss the security implications of climate change in situations on the Council’s agenda. The first meeting, held on 12 March, focused on the area covered by the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS). A senior UNOWAS official briefed the IEG on the impact that climate change is having in the region and highlighted the challenges and opportunities for UNOWAS in addressing climate change-related security risks. During the second meeting of the IEG, held on 30 April, the group met with the deputy head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Guang Cong. The discussion centered on what the mission is doing to integrate climate change-related security risks into its work in light of the adoption of resolution 2567 on 12 March, which included new language on climate change in the mission’s mandate.
Source: www.securitycouncilreport.org
6.3. Secretariat
The Secretariat is one of the main organs of UN. At the head of the United Nations Secretariat is the Secretary-General, appointed by GA upon recommendation of UNSC for a 5-year term. In June 2021, Antonio Guterres (Portugal) was re-elected for a second term of the Secretary-General position (January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2026).
Each year, the Secretary-General reports on the work of the Organization, including priority areas of the UN’s activity and future plans. 2021 Report highlights the work in the following key area: sustainable development (more than 240 million people received essential services with support from UN country teams and resident coordinators; 120 million people benefited from social schemes); peace and security (deployed 40+ peacekeeping, special political missions and offices to prevent conflict and support peacebuilding efforts); development in Africa (supported 38 countries and 3 Regional Economic Communities in developing national strategies to harness the benefit of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement); human rights (engaged with resident coordinators and country teams in 59+ countries to place human rights at the center of COVID-19 Socio-Economic Response Plans); humanitarian assistance (helped mobilize $19.1B to assist 264.2M people in 64 countries and territories); international justice and law (deposited 632 multilateral treaties with the Secretary-General addressing matters of worldwide interest); disarmament (supported the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force on 22 January 2021, following the fiftieth ratification); drugs, crime and terrorism (contributed to COVID-19 preparedness in detention centers in more than 50 Member States, resulting in improved prison conditions and basic services for detainees).
Source: UN
6.4. United Nations Development Program
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is the UN's global development network that promotes positive change and gives countries access to the knowledge, experience and resources that help improve people's lives. It operates in 177 countries and territories.
UNDP Activity in the Central Asian States in 2021
UNDP in Kazakhstan
SDGs. The Project «Support of the Government with SDG Financing Strategy» (2020-2022) to support the Government in aligning policy and financing with SDGs towards adopting an Integrated National Financing Framework continued. Since 1st of July, the Project «Regional SDG Platform» (2021-2023) is implemented to establish a regional SDG platform that will serve as a mechanism that will accelerate countries’ national efforts in wider regional strategies for the attainment of the 2030 Agenda. A regional workshop on the Development Finance Assessment in the framework of the regional platform on SDGs in Central Asia was held. The key purpose of the Regional workshop on the DFA was to provide an overview of the DFA tool which is an integral element of the Integrated National Financing Framework’s first structural block "Assessment and Diagnostics".
SDG Coordination Council’s 5th meeting, chaired by the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Alikhan Smailov, took place on 12 March 2021. The key objective of the meeting was to look through/assess and discuss the outcomes of the work that has been conducted on SDGs implementation throughout 2020; to set up new priority objectives for 2021 and to approve the national list of SDG targets and indicators to be mainstreamed into the State planning system documents.
Water management. The Irrigation and Drainage in Kazakhstan, Capacity Building and Awareness Raising Project (2017-2021) was completed. The Project was designed to develop the capacities of RSE “Kazvodkhoz” and its branches in Almaty and Turkestan regions by changing institutional management and improving irrigation water management. The 2021 results: a new national development plan for RSE Kazvodkhoz 2020-2030 was drawn up and adopted by the Water Resources Committee in June; RSE Kazvodkhoz Chairman has endorsed the concept of irrigation water automation in August; three new formulas for the irrigation water tariffing for motorized and non-motorized pumping stations have been developed and accepted by the Committee for Regulation of Natural Monopolies in August.
Nature, land resources and ecosystem management. Continued: (1) Sustainable Forest Management (2017-2021) for conservation and sustainable management of key globally important ecosystems for multiple benefits; (2) Ecological Education in Kazakhstan (2020-2025). The key outcome of the project is training of over 6 thousand teachers and creating a network of educational and model sites, preparation of educational and methodological packages in the field of environment protection, natural resource management, and environment and economic security.
The following projects have been completed: (1) Supporting Sustainable Land Management (2015-2021) to transform land use practices in critical, productive, steppe, arid and semi-arid landscapes of Kazakhstan. The 2021 results: The Integrated Land Use Plan (ILUP) has been integrated into the educational curricula of the three agricultural extension centers in the Kyzylorda, Almaty, and Kostanai regions; the new Agro-Industry Sector Development Strategy 2022-2026 was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture on February 4; (2) Small Grants Program (2017-2021) focused on improving resilience of rural and peri-urban landscapes of steppe and desert ecosystems for sustainable development and global environmental protection.
UNDP recommendations on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity were reflected in the new Environmental Code of Kazakhstan signed by the President of Kazakhstan on January 2, 2021. The document includes legal norms aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, based on the principle of equitable distribution of natural benefits and access to them. They include compensation for biodiversity losses, voluntary payments for ecosystem services, principles of sustainable ecotourism and the responsibilities of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the development and approval of methods for calculating greenhouse gas emissions and uptake, including for the forest sector.
Energy and climate change. Continued: (1) Low-Carbon Urban Development (2014-2021); (2) Energy Efficient Standards and Labeling (2017-2022) to transform Kazakhstan’s markets to energy efficient appliances and equipment, thereby reducing electricity consumption and GHG emissions; (3) De-Risking Renewable Energy Investment (2017-2023); (4) development of Kazakhstan’s Eighth National Communication and Preparation of Two (Fourth and Fifth) Biennial Reports (2019-2022): chapters on national circumstances, education, transfer technologies and financial resources, GHG projections were developed; (5) Forest Carbon Offset Mechanisms, Bitfury Initiative (2019-2024) to assist to the Republic of Kazakhstan in fulfilling international obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the carbon footprint of electricity suppliers for the leading technology company Bitfury; (6) National Determined Contributions Programme in Kazakhstan (2020-2022). Attracting Investors in the Field of Energy Efficiency Project was started to advance energy efficiency of buildings, infrastructure, and other facilities by attracting investment from investors and financial institutions to small and medium-sized enterprises (2021-2026).
Kazakhstan has developed a long-term Doctrine of Carbon Neutral Development until 2060 – a framework with a clear sustainable recovery, low-carbon development pathway, and energy sector transition. The doctrine provides a set of key measures to reduce emissions and decarbonize the economy, such as the abandonment of new coal-fired generation projects and the phasing out of coal combustion (2021-2025), the implementation of a program to plant 2 billion trees (2025), doubling of the share of renewable energy sources in electricity generation (2030), 100% sorting of municipal solid waste (2040), sustainable agriculture on 75% of arable land (2045), 100% electrification of personal passenger transport (2045), the use of green hydrogen only and complete refusal to use coal-fired production from 2050 onwards.
Capacity building. Continued Supporting the Economic Empowerment of Afghan Women (2019-2025).
Sources: www.kz.undp.org and open.undp.org/projects
UNDP in Kyrgyzstan
In 2021, the UNDP project portfolio in Kyrgyzstan included 29 projects totaling US $26.5 million.
SDGs. Continued (1) National SDGs Acceleration Support Platform (2018-2024) - an anchor point for advancing SDG integrated approaches; (2) project of the UN Joint Sustainable Development Goals Fund (2020-2022) aimed at creating an Integrated National Financing Framework.
Environmental protection. Continued: (1) Biodiversity of Western Tian Shan (2017-2022); (2) Climate Resilience of the Batken Province (2019-2022) under the UNDP Trust Fund for Development Climate Change Window. A workshop was held to coordinate actions with the national and development partners to ensure project sustainability and get recommendations on implementation of food security and gender strategy in Batken province (September) and the “Agroclimatic reference book in Batken Province” was presented; (3) Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change (2016-2022) to strengthen integrated risk governance capacities and regional cooperation in CA. Results to date: completed construction of the Dolon avalanche station; held consultations at regional level (expert level and high level) to develop regional cooperation; adopted an updated joint action plan; (4) Capacity in Sustainable Development Finance (2018-2022); (5) Capacity Building in Environment (2018-2022); (6) UN Support for Strengthening Disaster Preparedness (2012-2021) to support the coordination activities of the Disaster Response Coordination Unit; (7) Pamir-Alai Project (2021-2022) for integrated community-based management of high value mountain ecosystems in Southern Kyrgyzstan for multiple benefits.
Two meetings of the Working Group on updating Kyrgyzstan’s NDC were held in January and April. The members of the working group were presented with information on the process of updating the NDCs, in particular on the development of the main sections, on the international reporting and verification monitoring system, on gender aspects and on the calculation of the cost of mitigation and adaptation measures.
In June, Kyrgyzstan hosted the First Local Conference of Youth (LCOY), which consisted of a series of three events in different regions of the country. The youth conference was organized by the public association "Students of Kyrgyzstan for a Green Economy" (SKGE) together with representatives of other youth organizations and university students in the country. The event became a reality with strong support from the “Policy Action for Climate Security in Central Asia” project, the second phase of which was launched in October.
The project aimed at improving institutionalization of gender mainstreaming practices into national policies according to the Gender Equality Strategy 2018-2022 has been completed.
Source: open.undp.org/projects
UNDP in Tajikistan
In 2021, UNDP project portfolio in Tajikistan included 42 projects with overall budget of US $29.65 million.
SDGs. Continued: (1) Financing SDGs in Tajikistan (2020-2022) to support the Government of Tajikistan in achieving its national SDG targets through an integrated resource mobilization framework; (2) Monitoring the SDGs in Tajikistan (2020-2022) for exploring the needs for and expanding support to strengthening national system for monitoring of SDG national indicators in close partnership with the Agency of Statistics under the President of Tajikistan. As a result, strategies for preparation of indicators/metadata for monitoring SDGs, including draft national framework on SDG have been developed.
Land and water resources. Continued: (1) Building Climate Resilience in Agriculture and Water Sectors of Rural Tajikistan (2019-2022), with the following results achieved: 4 local communities and 2 Jamoats were trained and have practical experience to rehabilitate watersheds with high flood risk; new orchards established in 28.4 ha of land; 7 projects on irrigation water and mudflow infrastructure rehabilitation initiated; two demoplots on drip irrigation established; (2) Support to Water Initiatives of Tajikistan (2021-2022), the objective of which is to provide support in organization of the 2nd International Conference within the framework of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028, to be held in June 2022 in Dushanbe; (3) Strengthening Communities in Khatlon Region and Rasht Valley of Tajikistan (2020-2022) to equip the residents of pilot rural areas with skills for employment, self-employment and innovations in farming and agribusiness spheres.
The Tajikistan Water Supply and Sanitation Project, Phase III (2018-2021) aimed to strengthen relevant policy and reform development at the national level has been completed. The project results in 2021 included: developed and approved new version of the law on drinking water supply and wastewater disposal; developed and approved methodology for calculating tariffs for water supply and sanitation services; developed and approved technical guidance for water supply system and wastewater management in rural areas.
Energy. The Green Energy SME Development Full-Size Project (2018-2023) aimed to facilitate the transformation of Tajikistan’s energy sector, in particular the emergence of independent energy entrepreneurs, has continued. An agreement was signed with the Tajik Ministry of Energy and Water Resources in October to develop the Energy Sector Development Concept, prepare awareness-raising stuff on energy conservation, energy efficiency and RES, and develop two special green loan products.
Climate change, ecosystems. Continued: (1) Snow Leopard Protection (2016-2022) aimed at conservation and sustainable use of Pamir Alay and Tian Shan ecosystems for snow leopard protection and sustainable community livelihoods; (2) Policy Action for Climate Security in Central Asia (2020-2022); (3) Integrated Landscape Approach to Climate Resilience (2019-2025); (4) Strengthening Disaster Risk Reduction and Response Capacities (2016-2022) that supports the Government of Tajikistan to undertake a nation-wide risk assessment, establish and implement risk reduction measures and improve early warning. In particular, risk assessments results were presented and riskinfo.tj portal was launched, and 70,000 seedlings were planted in 217.5 ha of land.
The following projects have been completed: (1) Conservation and Sustainable Management of High-Value Arid Ecosystems in the Lower Amu Darya Basin (2020-2021). Results achieved in 2021: all required technical reviews and studies conducted (gender analysis, identification of project sites, financial planning, co-financing, etc.); validation workshop conducted and report developed summarizing the outcomes of the validation workshop and other consultations; (2) Climate Promise: Support to NDC Revision in Tajikistan (2020-2021). Results achieved in 2021: the NDC Implementation Plan developed (5-10 year) and submitted to the Government; three position papers for UNDP-led policy work in support of the climate action in Tajikistan developed; (3) First Biennial Update Report and Fourth National Communication under the UNFCCC (2016-2021) to establish effective institutional, legislative and policy frameworks in place to enhance the implementation of disaster and climate risk management measures at national and sub-national levels. Results achieved in 2021: multilateral and bilateral consultations with key national ministries and departments for the GHG emission forecast exercise conducted; training of the local experts and specialists, engaged in energy (hydropower), transport, agriculture and industry sectors, delivered to capacitate them on the GHG emission current trends and forecast as well as on potential measures their agencies might undertake to minimize the climate change impact; (4) Facilitating Climate Resilience in Tajikistan (2017-2021) aimed to contribute to building climate resilient communities and address specific threats to lives and social infrastructure posed by climate-induced natural hazards. Results achieved in 2021: Dekonte LLC was contracted to conduct the assessment of the cost of no-adaptation studies in forestry and water sectors. Asian Institute for Technologies was involved to conduct assessment on introduction of climate risk insurance.
Sources: open.undp.org/projects and www.tj.undp.org/
UNDP in Turkmenistan
In 2021, UNDP project portfolio in Turkmenistan included 28 projects totaling US $23.46 million.
SDGs. The Partnering for SDG Acceleration, Phase II (2021-2023) has been launched: series of meetings on updating the Sustainable Development Goals matrix, reporting, clarifying the responsible ministries and departments for each indicator for analysis and reporting was held; draft periodic national reports on the progress of the SDGs have been prepared; functional database of SDG indicators was created; and, a webinar on applying public-private partnerships to achieve the SDGs was organized. UN and the Government of Turkmenistan held the first meeting of the Joint Expert Group (JEG) to study and develop proposals for introduction of an Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) for SDG financing in Turkmenistan.
Water management. The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for Sustainable Water Management in Turkmenistan Project (2015-2022) has continued. In 2021, a scientific and practical seminar for specialists of water and agricultural sectors, land users, producers of agricultural products and students of agricultural universities of the country was organized to address the issues of irrigation water use efficiency.
Land management. The Conservation and Sustainable Management of Land Resources and High Value Ecosystems in the Aral Sea Basin for Multiple Benefits Project (2020-2021) has been completed.
Climate change and environmental protection. Continued: (1) Supporting Climate Resilient Livelihoods in Agriculture (2016-2022). Results achieved in 2021: gender sensitive local adaptation plans for farmer associations (6) and livestock farms (2) were designed and adopted; 3,061 targeted farmers of which 25% are women-headed households - and their family members, have adopted improved climate resilient on-farm soil and water management approaches; field days dedicated to rational use of irrigation water were organized in Lebap and Dashoguz project pilot regions; a national workshop on the development of a system of measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of adaptation measures and a roundtable for discussion of a draft Law on agricultural extension services in Turkmenistan were organized; (2) Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan: Integrated Green Urban Development in Ashgabat and Awaza (2017-2023). In 2021, a webinar on the topic "Learning international experience in the development of regulatory technical documents for the development of renewable energy in Turkmenistan" and a training seminar "Practical use of new laboratory equipment and capacity building of the environmental monitoring and control system” were organized; a national workshop was held on preparation of the Fourth National Communication on Climate Change and Initial Biennial Update Report of Turkmenistan under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Sources: www.tm.undp.org and open.undp.org/projects
UNDP in Uzbekistan
The directions of UNDP’s work in Uzbekistan reflect the current UN Country Programme Document and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2021-2025. They also align with the national SDGs within the 2030 Agenda, and Uzbekistan’s Development Strategy for 2017-2021.
In 2021, UNDP project portfolio in Uzbekistan included 40 projects with overall budget of US $25.54 million.
SDGs. The Financing for Sustainable Development Project was continued in 2021. Overall objective of the project is to enhance dialogue, coordination, national capacities and policy measures aimed at facilitation of effective financing strategy for the achievement of national SDGs in Uzbekistan. A draft Comprehensive national financing strategy has been developed and presented to stakeholders in the course of the international roundtable “Comprehensive SDG financing strategy in Uzbekistan” (November 17).
Water management. The Sustainable Management of Water Resources in Rural Areas in Uzbekistan: Component 2 on Technical Capacity Building started in 2016 has been completed.
Land and ecosystem management. Continued: (1) Sustainable Development of Mountain Ecosystems (2017-2022). The project developed the Snow Leopard monitoring SMART application to increase the efficiency of animal survey; a training workshop was organized on the use of the application for pilot protected areas, Gissar state reserve and Chatkal state biosphere reserve. The project also introduced a computer software for protected areas that are working with the camera traps. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved an Action Plan on Snow Leopard Conservation for 2021-2030; (2) Sustainable Rural Housing and Settlements in Uzbekistan (2015- 2023) to transform the rapidly growing rural housing sector in Uzbekistan towards a more sustainable and low-carbon development pathway by designing, piloting and scaling-up a green mortgage market mechanism; (3) Complete HCFC Phase-Out in Uzbekistan (2018-2024) through promotion of zero ODS and low GWP energy efficient technologies.
Climate change. As part of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Project (2020-2023): the composition of an Inter-Agency Working Group on climate change adaptation was set and approved; UzHydromet has drafted the Climate Action Strategy for Uzbekistan until 2030 and submitted it to the Government; and, gender sensitive indicators were developed.
The following projects have been completed: (1) Resilience of Farming to Climate Change Risks in Fergana Valley (2019-2021); (2) Developing Climate Resilience (2014-2021) of farming and pastoral communities in the drought prone parts of Uzbekistan, specifically Karakalpakstan.
A number of new projects have been launched: (1) Towards Green Recovery in Uzbekistan (2021-2022): an International online forum “Building forward better: green recovery of Uzbekistan after the COVID-19” was organized on March 3-4; (2) Supporting an inclusive transition to a “green” economy in the Agri-food sector and development of a “climate-smart” Uzbek Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation System (UAKIS) (2021-2025); (3) Enhancing Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (2021-2028) to increase resilience of Uzbekistan communities to climate change-induced hazards.
Aral Sea. Continued: (1) Sustainable Management of Lakes and Wetlands (2020-2021) as pillars of a resilient Aral basin landscape supporting sustainable livelihoods; (2) Building the Resilience of Local Communities against Health, Environmental and Economic Insecurities in the Aral Sea Region (2020-2022); (3) Unleashing young people’s and vulnerable citizens’ creativity and innovation by strengthening their adaptive capacity to address the economic and food insecurities in the exposed communities of the Aral Sea region (2021-2023); (4) Addressing the Urgent Human Insecurities in the Aral Sea (2019-2022) to address the environmental, social and economic insecurities in the most vulnerable communities of the Aral Sea Region (see 2020 Yearbook, Expeditions on the Exposed Bed of the Aral Sea in 2019-2020).
Sources: www.uz.undp.org and open.undp.org/projects