Countries in Central Asia sometimes miss opportunities to access resources, as reported today by the Executive Director of the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC), Zafar Mahmudov.
According to him, the center's plans include ensuring access to various international financial institutions and funds.
"For example, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) is one of the largest funds related to climate issues, providing financing in the form of grants and credits. Our task is to improve access to these funds. It's not just about knowing about them. The major challenge is whether there is the potential, human resources willing to work, propose project ideas, and then implement them. Accessing resources is one of the major issues," said Zafar Mahmudov.
He noted that even when opportunities are provided, countries face difficulties in utilizing them.
"Unfortunately, according to our estimates, a lot of funds provided, even in the form of grants, are not received in a timely manner. They do not have a cumulative effect, meaning there is an opportunity to receive a grant if the state manages to prepare all the documents and submit them. But even such opportunities are missed. Our task for the coming years is to significantly increase awareness of the availability and swift receipt of such funds among our national partners - ministries of ecology, agriculture, energy, water resources," added the head of CAREC, highlighting that besides the GCF, there are funds for biodiversity, as well as for losses and damages.
It is worth noting that the Central Asian Climate Change Conference (C4) is coming to a close in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
