OSCE supports Central Asian Leadership Programme for environmental leaders

AKIPRESS.COM - The OSCE-supported annual Central Asian Leadership Programme began on 14 September 2020 in Almaty. The five-day online youth leadership programme was co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan in partnership with the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), the European Union, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank.
Some 45 young environmental leaders and decision-makers from the government, academic and civil society organizations of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participated in the event. Discussions focused on understanding trends to avert climate change and to address environmental challenges. This year the programme was organized as an input to the "Year of Volunteers in Kazakhstan" and covered topics such as integrated water resource management, role of communities in addressing environmental challenges, regional co-operation and disaster risk reduction in the context of sustainable development and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Central Asian Leadership Programme is in its eleventh consecutive year. It is part of the Office's long-standing efforts to strengthen the network of young environmental leaders in the Central Asian region and beyond and to promote regional dialogue and co-operation in environmental security and sustainable development.