A meeting of the Coordinating Committee on the project "Global Biodiversity Program: Support for Early Action", organized by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Program in Uzbekistan, and the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change, was held in Tashkent.

The project aims to accelerate the readiness and early action for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversity Conservation by providing financial and technical support to countries so that they can begin to harmonize their national biodiversity conservation programs, strategies, and action plans.

"The first national strategy and action program on biodiversity conservation in Uzbekistan was adopted in 1998, and the second in 2019. The tasks in this program were defined based on the objectives for 2010–2020. In the third program in 2022, new objectives were defined. Accordingly, we intend to revise our strategy and enrich it with new goals and objectives aimed at preserving biodiversity until 2030," said Khalilulla Sherimbetov, Head of the Natural Areas Department of the Ministry of Ecology.

The meeting approved the Regulations on the Coordinating Committee, its composition, the project report on the work done, and the project action plan for 2024.

"The project was launched in Uzbekistan in April last year. Its objectives are to critically review existing national goals to ensure that they are consistent with the global framework. Also, within the framework of the project, we plan to review and analyze the existing monitoring system, biodiversity policy, and the relationship between various conventions to make recommendations on strengthening the protection and conservation of biodiversity," said Sergey Zagrebin, head of the "Global Biodiversity Program: Support for Early Action project".

An important result of the meeting of the Coordinating Committee was the approval of the "Roadmap for the preparation and coordination of new target indicators for the National Strategy and Action Plan for the Conservation of Biological Diversity". It is planned to prepare the targets by 2024 and submit them to the Convention Secretariat, as outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversity (GBF).

For reference: On December 19, 2022, 190 countries reached an agreement on the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversity (GBF). The program provides a framework for global action on biodiversity, complementing the Paris Climate Agreement and paving the way for a climate-neutral, nature-positive, and sustainable world by 2050. It defines actions worldwide by 2030 to preserve and protect nature and its essential services for people.

To support countries in implementing the goals and objectives of the Biodiversity Framework, the Global Environment Facility has allocated funds for a global project that is being implemented jointly with UNDP and UNEP in 138 countries around the world.