DUSHANBE, 30.05.2022 (NIAT Khovar) – Per initiative of Tajikistan, the UN General Assembly proclaimed the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028.» Against the backdrop of the growing effects of climate change, environmental degradation, demographic development, food and energy crises, great effort must be made to conserve and rationally use water and other natural resources. This was noted by the Chairman of the Committee for Environmental Protection under the government of Tajikistan Bahodur Sheralizoda at the third meeting of the heads of ministries and departments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on environmental issues in Tashkent.

Sheralizoda said that the development of cooperation, partnership and water diplomacy can help take the necessary measures to eliminate the consequences of negative environmental processes that contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

He also noted that the government of Tajikistan pays constant attention to the protection and preservation of natural values ​​for future generations and aims to improving people’s lives. For the first time, President Emomali Rahmon took the initiative to create the International Glacier Protection Fund and proposed declaring 2025 the International Year for the Protection of Glaciers and setting the date for World Glacier Day.

It was suggested that it is advisable for the SCO member states to support this initiative, as this will create a mechanism for financing projects for the conservation of glaciers through the provision of non-refundable assistance to individuals and legal entities.

The pooling of funds received from various donors allows the International Glacier Foundation to finance projects of great importance for the region, thereby positively influencing the state of the environment and the overall economic and social sphere.

Sheralizoda stressed the importance of the joint efforts of SCO member states to implement the Action Plan for the implementation of the concept of cooperation of the SCO member states in the field of environmental protection for 2022-2024.

A meeting of the heads of environmental protection bodies of the SCO member states was held on May 27 in Tashkent under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan.