On 3-4 March 2020, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan the first consultative meeting of sustainable consumption and production projects, that will have been implemented in Central Asia over the next 3-4 years, was hosted. One of the seven projects dedicated to developing sustainable tourism in Kyrgyzstan is implemented by the AUCA Tian Shan Policy Center (TSPC) in collaboration with three partner organizations – UNISON Group (Kyrgyzstan), Technopolis Group (Belgium), and Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production – СSCP (Germany).
The meeting was arranged by the EU SWITCH-Asia Sustainable Consumption and Production Funding Program supported by the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) and European Union Delegations in countries of Central Asia.
The activity was attended by about 60 participants from 4 countries of Central Asia – Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan – including politicians, experts, and representatives of civil society and international organizations.
The participants presented their projects in Central Asia as supported by the EU SWITCH-Asia Programme on sustainable consumption and production grants. The Project aims to promote energy and resource efficiency technologies in the tourism sector of Kyrgyzstan, and thus, is called PERETO.
It expects to be implemented during 4 years – from 2020 to 2024. During its implementation period, the project expects to select several pilot hotels/guest houses/hostels from various regions of the country that will benefit from the introduction of energy and resource efficiency technologies; hold training workshops and advisory sessions for the HoReCa sector Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); develop an online platform and training modules including informational brochures to support representatives of the tourism sector; draft environmental certification schemes; develop and test new green financial instruments that will be adapted to needs of the HoReCa sector and enable this sector to acquire new technologies, etc.
In addition to the immediate support to the country’s tourism SMEs, the PERETO Project expects to cooperate with business associations, state bodies, financial institutions, suppliers of technologies and services in energy saving, universities, local communities, and tourists.
The Project expects that by its completion in 2024 at least 20% of the tourism sector SMEs will have introduced some form of energy efficiency technologies that collectively will have created an auspicious environment for the development and adoption of appropriate national policies. The PERETO Project is distinct in its use of technologies that allow using natural resources more efficiently and rationally (reducing the consumption of water, electrical energy, plastic, and generating less waste, using more environmentally friendly materials, etc.), while saving ecosystems and decreasing financial costs.
Such actions may prospectively enable countries of Central Asia move toward the development of green economy (circular economy) and more sustainable growth and mitigate climate change consequences on the planet.