Background

The Kyrgyz Republic is a mountainous and landlocked country in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. It has a population of around 6 million and an area of 199,949 km².The economic foundation of the Kyrgyz Republic relies mainly on the agricultural, mining and energy sectors. Kyrgyzstan ranks 120 out of 188 on the Human Development Index (HDI 2015). Agriculture accounts for about 40% of total employment (70% of the poor) and over one-third of GDP. However, more than 40% of agricultural land is degraded and over 85% of land is exposed to erosion, posing serious threats to food security and agricultural production. Key poverty-environment issues include land degradation and desertification; threats to food security and agricultural production; natural hazards. Climate change is expected to impact on environment, health, water supply, in turn adversely impacting irrigated agriculture and hydroelectric power supply, contributing to increased levels of poverty and vulnerability of (especially) the rural population. Poverty-environment issues have explicit gender dimension as rural women are more disadvantaged because of their limited access to natural and economic resources, decision making in private and public life, labour market, information and technologies. Due to traditional stereotypes, even as heads of households, they are less likely to own land and property, livestock and agricultural machinery .While women constitute the  majority of labour force in agriculture, their contributions to economy and household activities are not accounted for and valued. Women represent only 6% of members of pasture management committees, 18% of Water Users Associations, 13,6% of local councils and 4,65% heads of LSGs. Women and girls tend to be less actively involved in decisions concerning natural resource management, climate change adaptation and mitigation practices and policy development and implementation.  

Objective:

To enhance implementation of development policies, plans and budgets that combine environmental sustainability and poverty eradication to contribute to the achievement of SDGs.

PEI Interventions

In response to identified challenges, PEI focuses efforts in three key areas with capacity building as a crosscutting objective:

1. P-E approaches and tools for integrated development policies, plans and coordination mechanisms applied
2. National knowledge base is strengthened on cross-sectoral budget and expenditure frameworks, coordination mechanisms, and environment-economic accounting systems

Progress

1. Sustainable development methodological framework endorsed by Ministry of Economy as main planning guideline and applied to integrate national pro-poor environmental sustainability objectives into the National Sustainable Development Strategy (2013-2017), the Government’s Programme for Transition to Sustainable Development (2013-2017), and four provincial development plans.

1. South-south collaboration with Czech Republic: System of Economic-Environmental Accounting roadmap developed. Initial pilot work on economic valuation of forest ecosystems.

1. Partnership with UN Women increased knowledge and understanding of the linkages between gender, women’s empowerment, and environmental sustainability to reduce inequality, drawing from key findings of the joint research on Gender, Poverty, Environment and Biodiversity.

1. Official adoption of the green growth indicators as part of the national system of sustainable development indicators.

1. Developed the first Poverty and Social Impact Assessment on pasture management in the country.
2. Inter-ministerial coordination mechanism at national level led by Minister of Economy upgraded to an SDG Coordination Committee under the Prime Minister.

Remaining Interventions

1. Use PEI supported research and experience for the integration of pro-poor environmental sustainability objectives in the upcoming 2018-2023 National Development Plan and in the 2030 long term development strategy.

1. Complete Public and Private Environmental Expenditure Review (PEER) on biodiversity and climate change in partnership with the UNDP Biodiversity Financing Initiative (Biofin) to identify gaps in public and private financial flows related to environment and natural resources.
2. Support capacity building of the Ministry of Economy and other relevant actors in the monitoring of green growth indicators.

2. (and partly 1) Continue the partnership with Germany’s GIZ to introduce ecosystem-based development planning approaches using valuation of ecosystem services and a System of Economic-Environmental Accounting-Experimental Ecosystems Accounting (SEEA-EEA) through pilot work in the forestry sector.

2. Identify poverty-environment mainstreaming champions among political and civil society leaders to widen and sustain the base for national ownership and sustainability.