Closing Ceremony of the 12th Central Asian Leadership Program on Environment for Sustainable Development (CALP)

On September 20-24, 2021, the annual 12th Central Asian Leadership Programme on Environment for Sustainable Development (CALP) was held online for the second year in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 12th CALP was organized by the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Programme in cooperation with the European Union SWITCH-ASIA Programme, the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, the EU Delegations to Kazakhstan and Central Asia, and the World Bank. Along with CAREC, the Kazakh-German University (DKU) has become a co-partner of the Leadership Programme 2021.

The event brought together more than 60 international, regional and national speakers as well as about 38 participants from 5 countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan – representatives of state bodies, green business, civil society organizations, working in the field of SCP, green economy, resource efficient and circular economy. Furthermore, at the request of partners from DKU, the 12th CALP was attended by 1st – 2nd year students of the MA in Integrated Water Resources Management.

The main objectives of the 12th CALP are to strengthen capacity of young people and increasing the role of youth in promoting of SCP, green and circular economy; raise awareness and promote implementation of the SCP policies at national and regional level as well as to build capacity for collective leadership.

Within the five-day event participants were introduced to key concepts by partners and international experts from the Committee for Environmental Regulation and Control of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, international projects such as the EU SWITCH ASIA SCP Facility, OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan, European Union Delegation to Kazakhstan, UNEP, OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, SIWI, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development (ICSD), UNESCO, CAREC, NGOs, green business and CALP alumni network organizing Committee, etc.

This year, the 12th CALP agenda covered a wide range of issues, including sustainable consumption and production, circular/green economy, water management, water diplomacy, IWRM, gender, mentoring, climate change, sustainable energy, the NEXUS approach, impact on food security and safety. access to environmental information on the CACIP Platform, as well as the transition to a low-carbon and resource-efficient circular economy, etc.

The closing ceremony took place on the final day of the 12th CALP and was attended by Mr. Rati Japaridze, Economic and Environmental Officer, OSCE Program Office in Nur-Sultan; Ms. Zinaida Fadeeva, Head of Sustainable Consumption and Production SWITCH-Asia SCP; Ms. Tatiana Shakirova, CALP programme manager (CAREC), participants of the 12th CALP and partners. All participants of the 12th CALP were awarded with special certificates for their active participation.

More than 360 participants from environmental, water, energy, non-governmental and academic sectors of the Central Asian region have been trained within the Leadership Programme over the period 2010-2021. Today, CALP alumni make meaningful contributions to advance regional cooperation and sustainability issues in various sectors across the region.