Environmental performance reviews united nations

1.5 
Institutional framework 
Although  draft  laws  and  codes  may  originate  from
a  number  of  executive,  legislative  and  judicial
rights  for  administrative  appeals  and  the  procedures
available for this process (chapter 3).
 
Regulations
Some  of  the  laws  discussed  above  provide  details 
on  implementation  procedures  and  measures.  Most 
of  them,  however,  are  normative  laws  that  require 
further  legal  or  administrative  action  for  their
full  execution.  A  major  area  of  legal  activity  in
Uzbekistan over the past several years has been that
of  designing  and  adopting  regulatory  framework
laws governing, among others, nature protection, air,
water, land, forests and waste (annex IV).
 
Draft laws
A  draft  law  on  environmental  security  is  currently 
at  the  early  stages  of  consideration. The  purpose  of
the  law  is  to  identify  and  prevent  the  development 
of  environmental  threats,  rehabilitate  emergency
environmental 
situations 
and 
environmental 
disaster  zones,  and  establish  the  legal  basis  for
protection against hazardous environmental impacts.
Environmental  threats  are  both  direct  and  indirect. 
Among the direct threats are those from the testing of
military  weapons  and  military  operations,  including
their  impact  on  biodiversity  and  the  landscape;
all  impacts  on  hydrometeorological  processes;
the  pollution  of  air,  land,  subsoil,  and  surface  and 
Monument to Temir Amur, Tashkent 

20 
Part I: Policymaking, planning and implementation 
 
 
sources,  including,  among  others,  the  legislature  of
the  Republic  of  Karakalpakstan,  a  ministry,  a  state 
committee,  the  Cabinet  of  Ministers  or  Parliament, 
they  can  be  passed  only  by  Parliament  (adopted
by  the  Legislative  Chamber  and  approved  by
the  Senate).  The  Cabinet  of  Ministers  may  adopt 
resolutions,  which  are  legally  binding,  or  orders,
which  are  essentially  normative  guidelines  and
may  or  may  not  have  legal  power.  The  President
is  primarily  concerned  with  more  administrative 
issues,  for  example,  defining  more  specifically  what
the  Government  may  or  should  do  in  executing  its
mandates.  The  President  may  issue  decrees,  which 
have  legal  power  and  generally  refer  to  rules  and
procedures,  or  orders,  which  are  typically  short, 
single-action directives.
 
State Committee for Nature Protection
The  structure  and  responsibilities  of  the  SCNP 
have  changed  little  since  2001.  Overall,  the  tasks
of  the  Committee  include  the  following:  pursuing
state  policy  on  environmental  security,  nature 
protection,  natural  resources  use  and  reproduction;
the  intersectoral  and  integrated  management  of
nature  protection  activities;  the  establishment  and
coordination  of  activities  to  ensure  favourable 
environmental  conditions  and  rehabilitation  of  the 
environment;  and  nature  protection  inspections  and
audits.  Since  the  creation  of  the  bicameral  system  in 
2004, the SCNP reports directly to the Senate.
Altogether,  there  are  nine  structural  units  in  the
Headquarters  of  the  SCNP  (figure  1.1).  Consistent
with  the  new  Action  Plan,  the  SCNP  intends  to 
strengthen  its  information  service  and  establish  a
public  council,  the  rules  for  which  still  need  to  be 
delineated.  The  Department  for  Control  over  the 
Protection and Use of Land and Water Resources, the 
Department  for  Air  Protection,  and  the  Department 
for  Nature  Use  Economics  and  Management  have
inspectorate  responsibilities.  The  Head  and  First 
Deputy  Head  of  the  SCNP  are  the  main  inspectors 
of  the  country.  At  the  central  level,  there  are  15 
inspectors.
At  the  central  level,  there  are  also  a  number  of 
specialized units and institutes (figure 1.2). The State
Specialized  Inspectorate  for  Analytical  Control,  the
Department  for  Air  Protection,  the  Department  for 
Control  over  the  Protection  and  Use  of  Land  and 
Water  Resources  and  the  State  Inspectorate  for  the 
Protection  and  Rational  Use  of  Flora  and  Fauna 
and  Nature  Reserves  are  responsible  for  prevention, 
monitoring  and  detection  and  for  taking  action
to  correct  non-compliance  with  environmental 
requirements  (Chapter  2).  The  most  recent  unit  is
the Eco-Energy Science and Implementation Centre,
which  was  established  in  2005  to  carry  out  both 
research and projects on renewable energy.
There  are  fourteen  subordinate  committees  under 
the  central  Committee:  one  in  each  of  the  twelve 
regions,  one  in  the  Republic  of  Karakalpakstan
and  one  in  Tashkent  City.  The  Head  of  the  SCNP, 
upon  the  agreement  of  local  authorities,  appoints
the  chairpersons.  Under  each  of  these,  there  is 
an  inspectorate,  an  assessment  department,  a 
certification department and an analytical department.
Inspectorates at the regional level have only regional
capacity. The National Fund for Nature Protection is 
also represented at each of the sub-levels.
Further  to  the  2003  Presidential  Decree  on 
Strengthening the Public Administration Authorities,
the  SCNP  produced  a  draft  resolution  that  would 
alter to some degree both its functions and structure.
This is currently before the Cabinet of Ministers and 
should be approved in the near future.
Among  the  functional  changes  is  the  responsibility
to  determine  priorities  for  ensuring  environmental
security  and  to  develop  programmes  and  measures
on  nature  protection  activities. The  resolution  would 
also  strengthen  SCNP  management  responsibilities
for  reserves,  the  hunting  and  fishing  sectors  and
biodiversity  conservation;  it  also  provides  greater
specifications  for  issuing  permits,  undertaking
assessments and reaching agreements with enterprises
that may have an environmental impact. The right of
the  SCNP  to  establish  or  abolish  the  organizational
entities  under  its  jurisdiction  has,  however,  been 
abolished.
From  an  organizational  perspective,  only  minor
changes are envisaged. The SCNP senior management
includes  the  Head  and  the  First  Deputy  Head.  The 
Head of the SNCP is appointed by the President and 
the appointment is approved by the Senate. With the 
changes,  there  would  be  two  Deputy  Chairpersons,
one  of  whom  would  also  head  the  Department  for 
Environment Policy and Environmental Management
(established  based  on  the  Department  for  Nature
Use  Economics  and  Management).  Under  this  new
structure,  staff  numbers  would  not  increase.  On  the 
contrary, staff would be reduced from 32 to 28 in the 

 
Chapter 1: Policy framework for sustainable development and environment protection  
21 
 
Central  Office  and  from  1,962  to  1,909  at  the  sub-
levels.  When  it  was  created  in  1988,  the  SCNP  had 
81 staff members at the central level.
 
National  Commission  for  Sustainable 
Development
Uzbekistan  established  the  National  Commission
for  Sustainable  Development  in  1997  to  coordinate 
the implementation of the NSDS. Following several
amendments in 1999 and 2000, the Commission was 
placed under the authority of the Vice Prime Minister 
and an operational working group, with organizational
and technical support from the Ministry of Economy 
(Amendment No. 101 of 05.03.1999 and Amendment
No. 358 of 19.12 2000).
However, the Commission was abolished in 2005 and 
its policy functions were delegated to the Cabinet of
Ministers,  while  the  implementation  of  the  NSDS 
was  delegated  to  the  Information  and  Analytical
Department  on Agriculture,  Water  Management  and
the Processing of Agricultural Production and Goods
within the Cabinet of Ministers.
 
Other  state  bodies  with  environmental 
responsibilities
Because  of  the  cross-cutting  nature  of  sustainable
development and the environment, virtually all other 
state  bodies  have  some  responsibility  towards  them, 
ranging from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry
of Agriculture and Water Management to the Ministry
for  Emergency  Situations.  The  main  organizations
that  are  required  to  prepare  annual  nature  protection 
plans  and  report  thereon  to  the  SCNP  including  the
following:
Ministry for Emergency Situations;
•
Ministry of Health;
•
Ministry of Agriculture and Water Management;
•
State  Committee  on  Land  Resources,  Geodesy, 
•
Cartography and State Cadastre;
State  Committee  on  Geology  and  Mineral
•
Resources;
Uzbek Hydrometeorological Services;
•
Agency  for  the  Implementation  of  the  Global
•
Environment  Facility  and  Aral  Sea  Basin  
Programme.
Figure 1.1: Headquarters of the State Committee for Nature Protection
Source: State Committee for Nature Protection.
 
Head of the State Committee 
for Nature Protection 
Division of Scientific 
and Technical Progress
and Information 
Department for Control 
over the Protection and 
Use of Land and Water 
Resources 
Department for Air 
Protection 
Central Office 
Human Resources 
Division, Classified 
Information Section 
and Civil Safety 
Division of 
International Relations 
and Programmes 
Division of 
Environmental 
Legislation 
Department for Nature 
Use Economics and 
M
anagement 
Department of 
Accounting, Financing
and Reporting 
First Deputy Head 

22 
Part I: Policymaking, planning and implementation 
 
 
In  addition,  the  Ministry  of  Economy,  the  Ministry 
of  Foreign  Economic  Relations,  Investments  and
Trade  (with  respect  to  imports  and  exports),  the
Ministry  of  Justice,  the  Ministry  of  Foreign Affairs
(with  respect  to  international  commitments),  the
State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources
and  the  State  Committee  on  Land  Resources, 
Geodesy,  Cartography  and  State  Cadastre  all  have
responsibilities  that  are  relevant  to  the  work  of 
the  SCNP.  Should  the  draft  law  on  environmental 
 
Territorial Office
s (14) 
Territorial Office
s (14) 
 
State Specialized
Inspectorate for Analytical 
Control 
Department of 
Environmental Information 
and Forecasting 
Atmospheric Research and 
D
esign Technological
Institute  
Vodgeo Tashkent Research
Institute (water and geology) 
Eco-
Energy Science and 
Implementation Centre  
Department of Construction  
State Scientific Production 
Board on the Ecology of
Water Resources 
Management 
Committees for Nature 
Protection of the Republic of 
Karakalpakstan, 
the regions 
and Tashkent City 
(14) 
State Inspectorate for the 
Protection and Rational Use 
of Flora and Fauna and 
Nature Reserves  
Department for State 
Ecological Expertise 
Territorial Office
s (14) 
 
State Board for 
Environmental Certification, 
Standardization and Norms  
National Fund for Nature 
Protection 
Hisar State Nature Reserve 
Bukhara
Specialized Jeyran 
Gazelle Nursery (Jeyran 
Ecology Centre) 
STATE COMMITTEE FOR NATURE 
PROTECTION 
 
Figure 1.2: Overall structure of the State Committee for Nature Protection
Source: State Committee for Nature Protection.

 
Chapter 1: Policy framework for sustainable development and environment protection  
23 
 
security be enacted, it is foreseeable that the Ministry 
of Defence will also be involved.
 
Coordination
Coordination    takes  many  forms:  horizontal
coordination  through,  for  example,  the  preparation
or  monitoring  of  legislation  or  policy  documents;
vertical coordination through, for example, reporting
and annual or special meetings.
 
Horizontal coordination
Any  state  actor  may  initiate  legislation;  however,
once  it  has  been  agreed  upon  within  a  ministry  or
state committee, it is circulated among all ministries
and state committees for comments and suggestions.
The  draft  legislation  is  then  redrafted  on  the  basis
of  these  comments.  For  more  challenging  issues,
an  ad  hoc  interdepartmental  working  group  may  be
established to deal with the legislation.
All  ministers  must  sign  off  the  final  draft,  with  the
final signature being given by the Minister of Justice.
This is intended to ensure that the draft is consistent 
with other legislation. This same process holds for the
preparation of state strategies. Once all ministers have
agreed,  the  draft  is  sent  to  the  Cabinet  of  Ministers
for further consideration, and from there either to the 
Office  of  the  President,  if  it  requires  a  presidential
decision, or directly to the Legislative Chamber and
the Senate.
Standing  inter-agency  committees  may  also  be
established  to  coordinate  concerns  of  a  continuing
nature,  such  as  applications  for  Global  Environment 
Facility  (GEF)  funds  or  Clean  Development
Mechanism  (CDM)  projects.  These  include,  for
example,  the  Interdepartmental  Commission  on 
GEF  Funds,  the  CDM  Interdepartmental  Council 
(chapter 9) and the Working Group on Pesticides and
Fertilizers.
With  respect  to  the  environment,  most  relevant 
ministries  and  agencies  are  required  to  prepare
annual  nature  protection  action  plans  on  the  basis 
of  the  PANP,  and  report  thereon  quarterly  to  the 
SCNP.  The  SCNP  aggregates  this  information  and
presents it to the Cabinet of Ministers and the Senate 
on both a quarterly and annual basis. As the body to 
which the SCNP reports, the Senate also coordinates 
implementation; it reviews the quarterly reports and,
if necessary, arranges field trips to different locations
to check on implementation, particularly in situations 
of  poor  environmental  conditions.  The  Senate 
assesses  the  situation  and,  as  necessary,  develops  a 
set of additional measures and plans.
The  SCNP  has  only  two  means  of  enforcement: 
through its State Inspectorate, which intervenes only
if  an  enterprise  or  other  entity  is  in  conflict  with
the  law;  or  through  the  Senate,  which  appears  to
intervene  only  in  acute  and  extreme  circumstances. 
Neither the State Inspectorate nor the Senate has any 
means  of  forcing  another  state  body,  particularly  an
influential ministry, to act in a certain manner.
 
Vertical coordination
The  regional  committees  are  required  to  report
quarterly  to  the  SCNP  on  their  activities,  including
the  implementation  of  their  regional  action  plans.
Regional departments also report to the corresponding
state entity, such as the State Board for Environmental 
Certification, Standardization and Norms or the State
Inspectorate  for  the  Protection  and  Rational  Use  of 
Flora and Fauna and Nature Reserves.
The  SCNP  holds  annual  meetings  in  Tashkent  with
all  of  the  regional  committees,  and  it  may  convene
similar  meetings  of  special  interest,  as  needed.  In
recent  years,  the  voice  of  the  regional  committees
has  been  strengthened  in  identifying  priorities  and
preparing the PANP through a bottom-up process.
1.6 
Conclusions and recommendations
The 
National 
Commission 
for 
Sustainable 
Development  was  abolished  in  2005,  and  its  policy 
functions were delegated to the Cabinet of Ministers.
When  the  Commission  was  previously  under  the 
Vice  Prime  Minister,  there  was  also  an  operational 
working  group,  with  organizational  and  technical
support  from  the  Ministry  of  Economy.  However, 
no  such  secretariat  structure  exists  now.  There  is  a 
department within the Cabinet of Ministers to which 
the  functions  have  been  delegated,  but  this  is  not
set  up  to  carry  out  the  day-to-day  technical  work  of 
a secretariat that is given the task of overseeing the
implementation of the 1997 NSDS. At the same time, 
the SCNP has routine coordination functions for most 
of the policies and plans related to the NSDS.
Recommendation 1.1:
The  Cabinet  of  Ministers  should  consider  
re-establishing  the  National  Commission  for 
Sustainable Development and designate the Ministry 
of Economy as its secretariat. 

24 
Part I: Policymaking, planning and implementation 
 
 
The  1997  NSDS  is  intended  to  function  as  an 
overarching  framework  for  all  other  strategic  and
legal  documents  in  Uzbekistan.  In  the  12  years
since  its  adoption,  it  has  not  been  reviewed  or 
revised; neither does it contain a set of indicators to
measure  progress  towards  implementation.  Some
countries  have  carried  out  peer  reviews  of  their 
own  national  strategies  on  sustainable  development.
This  has  proven  to  be  an  extremely  useful  tool  for 
governments  in  revising  and  refining  their  national
strategies on sustainable development and furthering
their implementation.
Recommendation 1.2:
The  Cabinet  of  Ministers,  with  the  involvement  of 
relevant ministries and agencies, should:
(a) 
Carry out a peer review of the 1997 National 
Sustainable  Development  Strategy  and  amend  it 
with  indicators  of,  and  procedures  for,  monitoring 
implementation; 
(b) 
Review  and  renew  the  key  documents  that 
constitute  the  policy  and  legal  framework  in  order 
to  maintain  their  accordance  with  the  National 
Sustainable Development Strategy.
The  National  Environmental  Action  Plan  was 
adopted  in  1998  and  has  not  undergone  revision.
Much  has  changed  in  Uzbekistan  since  then:  the
economic  environment  is  quite  different;  the  legal
framework  has  moved  forward;  and  some  of  the
original  objectives  and  targets  for  environmental
protection  have  been  accomplished.  Recent  major 
policy  documents,  such  as  the  2007  Privatization
Programme  for  2007–2010  and  the  2007  Welfare
Improvement  Strategy  for  2008–2010,  need  to  be
reflected in new environmental policy documents that
would,  among  other  things,  clearly  show  how  these
strategies are linked to environmental protection.
Recommendation 1.3:
The  State  Committee  for  Nature  Protection,  in 
cooperation  with  relevant  ministries  and  agencies, 
should  prepare  a  comprehensive  national 
environmental  action  plan  taking  into  account  the 
current social, economic and environmental situation 
and  establishing  new  objectives  and  targets  on  this 
basis  with  concrete  funding  possibilities  and  the 
designation of relevant institutions.
The  first  EPR  of  Uzbekistan  (2001)  recognized  the
effort  made  by  Parliament  in  establishing  a  good
legal  framework  for  environmental  protection.  At
the  same  time,  it  noted  some  of  the  shortcomings
resulting  from  reliance  on  largely  normative  laws,
including the need to ensure the timely enactment of
government regulations.
Since  2001,  Uzbekistan  has  been  developing  new
and  amended  environment-related  laws.  Although
the  regulatory  framework  is  also  being  developed,
it  is  not  unusual  for  the  regulations  required  for
implementation  to  lag  behind  the  enactment  of  the
law. An environmental code would help to consolidate 
environmental  legislation.  It  could  be  developed  in
such  a  way  as  to  ensure  that:  human  health  and  the 
environment  are  protected  against  damage  caused
by  pollutants  or  other  impacts;  valuable  natural  and
cultural  environments  are  protected  and  preserved;
biological diversity is preserved; land, water and the
physical  environment  in  general  are  used  so  as  to
secure  sound  long-term  management  in  ecological,
social,  cultural  and  economic  terms;  reuse  and
recycling are promoted; the management of materials,
raw materials and energy take into account the need
to establish and maintain natural cycles.
Recommendation 1.4:
The  State  Committee  for  Nature  Protection  and 
relevant  ministries  and  agencies  should  consider 
preparing  a  draft  environmental  code  that  will 
establish the overriding principles of the law and set 
the full regulatory framework for implementation.
During  the  preparatory  phase  of  the  2007  Welfare
Improvement Strategy for 2008–2010, there were two
interim documents: the Living Standards Improvement
Strategy for the Population of Uzbekistan 2004–2006
and up to 2010 and the Welfare Improvement Strategy
for  2005–2010:  Interim  Poverty  Reduction  Strategy
Paper. Both of these documents were drafted with the 
broad participation of both the Government and civil 
society  of  Uzbekistan  and  contained  a  full  section
that dealt with environment protection as a necessary 
element  for  improving  the  quality  of  life.  However,
the finalization of the Welfare Improvement Strategy
appears  not  to  have  involved  full  participation, 
and  environmental  issues  were  given  much  less
emphasis.  The  Government  has  adopted  the  Welfare 
Improvement Strategy, which is considered to be one
of the primary references for donors and the country’s
main development strategy.
Recommendation 1.5:
The  Ministry  of  Economy  together  with  the  State 
Committee  on  Nature  Protection  should  amend  the 
Welfare  Improvement  Strategy  to  reflect  adequately, 
among others, the National Sustainable Development 
Strategy and all relevant key environmental concerns.

 
 
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Chapter  2
COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS