DUSHANBE, September 16, 2010, Asia-Plus — The UNDP and UNEP jointly with the Ministry of Economy and Trade (MEDT) have launched a new poverty and environment protection project in Tajikistan.
According to press release issued by UNDP CO in Tajikistan, this was pronounced today during the Inception Project Workshop that took place in the Ministry office involving representatives of the ministries, international organizations, various NGOs and other business organizations and hukumats.
Prime criteria upon which Tajikistan was selected to implement the Country Poverty and Environment Program are poverty level, environmental conditions, interest and commitment both of the state and the UNDP Country Office regarding environmental issues that are directly connected with the poverty and population”s well-being.
The UNDP-UNEP Poverty and Environment Initiative in Tajikistan aims to enhance opportunities for the environment to contribute to human well-being, pro-poor economic growth and reach the Millennium Development Goals. This will result in enhanced government and other stakeholders” capacity for integrating environmental considerations into national and sub national planning and budgeting processes.
As it was noted by UNDP experts, the 12 month preparatory phase resulted in a comprehensive analysis of the existing national and sub national planning and budgeting system and key interconnected poverty and environment considerations, and in the development of this project document.
“Under this project UNDP and UNEP experts jointly with actively involved Ministry”s staff members will engage in integrating environment protection considerations in national and rayon planning process, -Zulfira Pulatova, UNDP Project Manager, noted. – We are also planning to implement pilot projects that demonstrate linkages between poverty and resource management”.
Poverty and Environment Initiative is a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) working in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe and Central Asia. The Poverty and Environment Program aims to improve the livelihood of poor people dependent on natural resources by supporting governments to integrate pro-poor environmental considerations into national and sub-national planning and budgeting processes. In Europe and the CIS region, the poverty and environment programs are implemented in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and provide targeted technical assistance to Armenia.
