DUSHANBE, October 8, 2009, Asia-Plus — A two-day forum formally titled “Labor Migration in Central Asia: Problems and Ways to Solve Them” has opened in Dushanbe today morning.
The main objective of the meeting is in working out policy and legal recommendations on development of rural areas, extension of rights and opportunities of minors, women and elderly people involved in labor migrations, as well as publishing an official report, presenting main problems and conclusions that provide basic information for further activity.
The meeting has established a platform for discussions on current problems, impact of the global financial crisis on labor migration from rural areas of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, impact of labor migration on women as well as the decrease in volumes of labor migrants’ remittances, recommendations on pilot projects for increasing remittances to rural communities.
Ms. Roziya Aliyeva, the chairperson of the CAMP Kuhiston, noted that labor migration is an important component of economies of all Central Asia’s states, especially in rural mountain areas. According to her, labor migrants’ remittances that last year amounted to more than 40 percent of Tajikistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) give mountain areas an opportunity to develop.
“In the meantime, surveys show that despite significant contribution to Tajikistan’s national economy, labor migration has not yet become a large source of earnings and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country,” Ms. Aliyeva said.
Speaking at the meeting, the deputy director of the Agency for Social Protection of the population, employment and Migration at the Ministry of labor and Social Care (MLSC), Anvar Boboyev, said that the results of opinion polls conducted among households showed that in 2003, some 224,000 Tajiks traveled outside the country seeking better employment opportunities, in 2004 – 254,000, in 2005 – 466,000, in 2006 – 562,000, in 2007 – 727,000 and in 2008 – some 805,000.
The forum is organized by the CAMP (Central Asian Mountain Partnership) agency in Tajikistan in cooperation with the Alliance of Central Asian Mountain Communities.
CAMP is a regional network for promoting development in Central Asian mountain regions The CAMP program was initiated in 2000 by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). CAMP program”s final phase (2007 to 2008) was used for capitalizing on results from previous phases and disseminating them, as well as providing further training, both in technical matters and in management, to CAMP staff members. Backstopping was provided by CDE. As of 2009, CAMP agencies act as self-reliant service providers and consultants.
CAMP Kuhiston is a non-profit and non-governmental organization founded in 2006 promoting sustainable development in the mountain regions of Tajikistan. It is a successor organization of the Central Asian Mountain Partnership. Jointly with its partner organizations in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, CAMP Kuhiston forms the CAMP Network. CAMP Kuhiston supports sustainable and multifunctional use of natural and human resources by implementing various projects. These projects are finely tuned to the changing socio-economic and ecological requirements of Tajikistan”s mountain regions. CAMP Kuhiston focuses its work on the specific conditions of living in as well as developing mountain regions and the highland-lowland interaction, giving priority to active and innovative partners.
The Alliance of Central Asian Mountain Communities was founded in the Tajik capital Dushanbe in June 2003 on the model of the “Alliance in the Alps” network of municipalities. Like its sister organization in the Alps, this Central Asian community network is active in the field of sustainable development in mountain communities and knowledge-sharing at the community level. With a program of mutual visits, excursions and information-sharing, the organization has become a platform for good practice and successful projects.
