The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) was established in accordance with the decision of the 4th Pan-European Conference held in 1998 in Aarhus (Denmark).

CAREC commenced its operations in 2001, after the Republic of Kazakhstan ratified the Agreement on Operating Conditions of the Centre as an independent, non-commercial and non-partisan organization of the international character.

Founders of CAREC are Central Asian countries consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan , as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Commission (EC).

The CAREC headquarters are located in Almaty, Kazakhstan with country offices operate in all the five member Central Asian countries.

 

PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES

 

Environmental Management and Policy

• Facilitate multi-stakeholder environmental dialogues
• Facilitate the enforcement of the environmental legislation
• Promote the efficient environmental management tools
• Support local environmental initiatives/environmental management action plans
• Promote sustainable production and consumption

 

Civil Society Initiatives Support

• Provide dialogue platform for environmental NGOs, their representativeness and participation at the international conferences, forums and thematic networks
• Capacity development of environmental NGOs
• Involve civil society into the development and implementation of the projects on CAI priorities

 

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

• Develop the dialogue and networks to exchange experience and best practices on ESD in Central Asia
• Develop the legislative and institutional basis to promote ESD in the educational systems of Central Asian countries
• Harmonize the national education standards and ESD programmes in Central Asia
• Develop the capacity of stakeholders in ESD and sustainable development
• Introduce modern educational and methodological materials on ESD

 

Water Initiatives Support

• Promote the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach in Central Asia
• Support the regional water cooperation and transboundary water resources management (TWRM)
• Mobilize stakeholders to enhance the water use efficiency in Central Asia
• Reduce the level of pollutants concentration in surface and ground water
• Streamline the standards and policies on water management in Central Asia

 

Climate Change and Sustainable Energy

• Bring best practices to develop public-private partnerships for climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Promote Kyoto mechanisms and post-Kyoto dialogues
• Enhance the energy efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy in Central Asia

 

Information and Capacity Building

• Inform and raise the awareness of stakeholders on key environmental issues addressed by CAREC
• Develop the capacity of key stakeholders in the environment and sustainable development
• Ensure facilities for effective awareness raising and capacity building through: website, library, systematic e-mails, mass media coverage and other resources