The Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development of MFSA was created according to Article 2 of the “Agreement on Joint Actions on the Solution of Problems of the Aral Sea and Priaralya, Ecological Improvement and Ensuring Social and Economic Development of the Aral Region”, signed by the Heads of States of Central Asia in Kzyl-Orda on March 26, 1993.
In its activity, the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development is guided by the decisions made by the Heads of States of Central Asia. General management is provided by the Board of MFSA.
Ideas on consolidation of efforts of the Central Asian states in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development were repeatedly represented by the countries of the subregion at the political level: the Almaty Declaration of 1997, the Tashkent Declaration of 1998, the Dushanbe Declaration of 2002, and the Decision of the Heads of States of Central Asia, Almaty, 2009.
The main mission of ICSD CA is coordination and management of regional cooperation in environmental protection and sustainable development of the countries of Central Asia, development of regional strategies, programs, projects and action plans in environmental protection and sustainable development, as well as assistance to interstate exchange of experience and information.
The main objective of ICSD CA is implementation of the Regional Action Plan for Environmental Protection of Central Asia. To strengthen decision-making capacity for implementation of the plan, a management and implementation mechanism was developed, and goals were defined for strengthening the political and institutional basis for regional cooperation, decision-making capacity, civil society participation, resource mobilization and implementation.
In addition, ICSD CA defines priority global and regional issues of coordination with other programs for Central Asia and ensures stable relations with international organizations and NGOs.
For the development of these priorities, experts of country offices of the Research Center developed an assessment study on preparation of recommendations for strengthening the institutional and legal basis of regional cooperation in environmental protection within the mandate of ICSD MFSA, taking into account the development of interaction with civil society.
Kazakhstan’s Activity within ICSD CA
Kazakhstan’s activity within ICSD CA is coordinated by the ICSD Member Minister. The membership of ICSD CA may include representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning or the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Support for implementation of the Regional Action Plan for Environmental Protection in the republic is carried out by the Department of International Environmental Agreements; the responsible official is not defined.
Expert, scientific and technical support to ICSD CA is provided by the Kazakhstan office of the ICSD Research Center, which functions on the basis of RSE “Information and Analysis Center of Environmental Protection”. The ICSD Research Center of Kazakhstan is also a UNEP partner as the UNEP Regional Resource Center of the Asia-Pacific region, provides information for UNEP’s Environmental Knowledge Hub (eKH), and ensures preparation, publication and distribution of materials on the ecological portal of Central Asia.