Round table on the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in the Republic of Tajikistan                   

                                          

On August 22 of this year, in the conference hall of the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, with the participation of the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Environmental Protection Qiyomzoda Zarafo Sufijon, responsible for coordinating the Aarhus Convention in the Republic of Tajikistan, a round table on the topic "Progress in the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in the Republic of Tajikistan" was held. In addition to the specialists of the Committee for Environmental Protection, the responsible representatives of the Aarhus centers in the regions, as well as representatives of public organizations and the OSCE Program Office in Dushanbe took an active part in the round table.

The First Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Qiyomzoda Z.S., made a report on the topic "Fulfillment of Tajikistan's obligations under the Aarhus Convention" and noted, in particular, that the program activities of the Aarhus Centers of Tajikistan are centralized through the NP SUE "Tabiat" of the Committee. All events held by the Aarhus Centers are published on the website www.aarhus.tj, which allows monitoring the activities of the Aarhus Centers in the regions by officials.

At the same time, it was emphasized that the Aarhus Centers of Tajikistan, in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, increase the level of environmental literacy of various segments of the population, including taking into account gender priorities, focus efforts on promoting the "green economy" and implementing the points of the "Comprehensive State Program for the Development of Environmental Education and Enlightenment of the population of the Republic of Tajikistan for 2021-2025".

It was noted that the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, in order to attract the Aarhus Centers to promote the principles of the Aarhus Convention, the dissemination of best practices in the field of environmental protection, plans to hold an Annual Meeting of the Aarhus Centers in Dushanbe on October 17-18, 2023. The hope was expressed that public organizations of Tajikistan, along with the Aarhus Centers of Tajikistan, will take an active part in holding the upcoming event at the proper level.

The participants of the round table were also presented with the topics "Mechanism for notifying the public about genetically modified organisms" (using the example of the Center for Biological Diversity and Biosafety), "Attracting the public to participate in decision-making related to the implementation of the principles of the green economy and the promotion of "green" technologies in the Republic of Tajikistan". The activities of the Aarhus Centers were clearly presented. In conclusion, representatives of public organizations made proposals for the successful implementation of the principles of the Aarhus Convention.