EU-Central Asia cooperation:

The WG on Environmental Governance

and Climate Change as a mechanism

for its implementation

Massimo Cozzone

Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and SeaGreen Bridge Forum:

Riga, 15-18 April 2015

Structure of the presentation

• The EURECA Programme – 4 components

• The Platform on Environment and Water

• The operational mechanisms

• The WECOOP project

• The recommendations of the WG on EGCC

• Next steps

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Identifies seven thematic areas of cooperation

between the EU and Central Asia with three of

these identified as ‘pillars’ of intensified

policy dialogue and enhanced cooperation

The EU-Central Asia ‘Strategy for a New

Partnership’

Environment is one of the priority of the EU Strategy for CA and of EU-CA cooperation

Implemented through a set of initiatives laid out in the EU Regional Environmental Programme for Central Asia (EURECA), a EU funded programme which consists of 4 components

Italy is leading country for the coordination of the environment and water pillar

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Environment pillar

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The four EURECA components

Component 1: WECOOP: Regional Coordination and Support

for enhanced EU-CA regional cooperation on

Environment and Water.

Component 2: FLERMONECA: Forestry and Biodiversity

Governance, including Environmental

Monitoring.

Component 3: WMBOCA: Water Management and Basin

Organisation in Central Asia.

Component 4: AWARE: Targeted Awareness Raising for

Enhanced EU-CA Partnership

The Platform on Environment and Water

• Adopted at the 3rd High Level Meeting between EU

and Central Asia: Rome, 5-6 November 2009

• Main priorities identified:

– environmental governance

– climate change

– water

• Operational mechanisms set up

The operational mechanisms

• Water: make use of the EU Water Initiative

EECCA Working Group, chaired by Romania

• Environmental Governance and Climate

Change: new Working Group (WG on EGCC)

Three meetings:

– Brussels: 26 October 2010

– Almaty: 13-14 September 2012

– Almaty: 11-12 June 2014

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From the ToR approved at the first meeting:

‘to strengthen policy dialogue and cooperation at regional level

and to provide guidance on cooperation activities between the

European Union and Central Asia countries …’

To work in synergy with other donors, international financial

institutions, international organizations, regional bodies and

representatives of civil society

Working Group on Environmental Governance

and Climate Change

Development Objective: to promote and support enhanced regional cooperation on environment and water both between EU and Central Asia and within Central Asia.

Ended in July 2014

EURECA Component 1: the WECOOP project

Regional Coordination and Support for EU-Central

Asia Enhanced Regional Cooperation on Environment

and Water

‘To support the development, effectiveness and

visibility of the Environment and Water

Cooperation Platform aiming at facilitating

enhanced regional cooperation both between the

EU and Central Asia and within Central Asia’.

One of the main priorities of the project is to ensure

continuity and coordination of actions, and to provide

further advancement in the areas that have already

been initiated in beneficiary countries, earlier

projects and other initiatives

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Project Purpose

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WECOOP project elements

• The EU-CA Platform for Cooperation on Environment and

Water: technical and logistical support to the EU-Central

Asia Working Group on Environmental Governance and

Climate Change and the EU-CA High-Level Conferences

• Strengthening of institutional and development capacities

of the regional institutions

• Communication/mapping/networking

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WEBSITE: WWW.WECOOP-PROJECT.ORG

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• Environmental mainstreaming• Building green economies• Engaging with civil society• Pilot projects• Environmental information and data sharing

(SEIS)• Climate change• Improving tools and processes (governance)

The recommendations of the WG on EGCC

Next steps

• 4th meeting of the Working Group

on EGCC: Tashkent, 8-9 July, 2015

• 5th High Level Meeting EU-CA on

Environment and Water (Milan,

EXPO, October 2015)

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• The current policy context: Environment Governance , Water

and Climate Change

• Thematic segment: green economy: pilot projects, climate

change

• Cooperation and synergies with international partners and

NGOs

• Shaping up the EURECA Phase II Programme

4th meeting of the WG on EGCC

Tashkent, 8-10 June, 2015

Thank you for the attention

cozzone.massimo@minambiente.it