The document discusses integrating environmental considerations into local development planning in Tajikistan and Crimea. It describes how poverty-environment issues are being integrated into District Development Programs in Tajikistan through a process that involves reviewing the current situation, setting objectives, screening for environmental impacts, and developing poverty-environment indicators. Capacity building efforts include training materials and sessions to develop awareness and skills in mainstreaming the poverty-environment nexus into the planning process. The results include poverty-environment integration in district plans and criteria being applied to development projects. Strategic environmental assessment is also being applied to development strategies to upstream environmental factors into decision making.

1. Integrating environment in local
development planning:
Tajikistan and AR Crimea
Henrieta Martonakova
UNDP Regional Centre for Europe and the CIS
Inclusive Sustainable Local Development
ECIS Community of Practice Meeting
Bratislava, 19-20 October 2011
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Poverty and Environment Presentation

2. Tajikistan:
Integrating poverty – environment (PE) nexus in
District Development Programmes
(DDPs; 2011-2015)
Poverty and Environment Presentation

3. Poverty-environment issues in Tajikistan
Land degradation Unreliable energy supply Disaster risks
97 % of agricultural lands 1 million people The country suffers on
(only 7% of the territory of experience electricity average nearly 500
RT) affected by soil cuts in winter with no disasters per year, which
erosion, salinization, poor heating alternative but cause widespread
irrigation, and deforestation firewood, dung and coal damage to communities
Access to water, and social infrastructure
sanitation, irrigation, 4.8% of gross domestic
Food security and income health services, income product
for 70% of population generating activities
Climate Change
Sectors affected: water management, irrigated agriculture
(consuming 94% of water), and energy (98% of the national
energy is produced by the hydropower plants); floods and
droughts.
Poverty and Environment Presentation

4. Context for PE mainstreaming
• UNDP and UNEP Poverty and Environment Initiative (PEI)
• On-going process of local planning improvement and
institutionalization (14 pilot districts and 65 jamoats)
• Leadership of the Ministry of Economy and Trade
• Under structure of cross-practice Communities Programme /
integrated with Rural Growth Programme (RGP)
• Previous district and jamoat plans do not address environment
• High awareness and interest of local authorities and other
stakeholders
Poverty and Environment Presentation

5. Institutions and groups involved into Development
Planning Process
Working Group– consisted of Ministry of Economic Development and
sub-groups for
RGP and PEI
consultants Trade
1. Economic sector
Committee on Environment
2. Social sector Protection RT
3. Infrastructure Sector
4. Environment Sector
Statistics Agency RT
Structure of the Environment
Initiative Group (EIG) chaired WG on Sughd Region Level
by Environment Committee
(4 sub-sectors)
of the District
- Government authorities from the
departments on land, water,
communal services, agriculture
WG on District Level
- Industrial companies (4 sub-sectors)
- Heads of Farms WG on Djamoat Level
- Non-profit organizations (4 sub-sectors)
- Women organizations
- Businesses
Poverty and Environment Presentation

6. Analytical steps of planning and integrating PE aspect
Review of current situation
Entry Point 1-Review of Current Situation
District/Jamoat vision
Entry Point 2- Objective setting and
Sectoral Analysis Environmental Overview
Provision of resources for development Entry Point 3- Screening and Environmental
program implementation Impact Assessment
Entry Point 4- Poverty- Environment
Monitoring and evaluation system
Indicators
DDP elaboration Integrating PE nexus
Poverty and Environment Presentation

7. Capacity development and consultation
Poverty Environmental
Mainstreaming Training
Handbook for District
Development Plans
Elaboration
+
TRAINING
Se m inar
POVERTY – ENVIRONMENT
MAINSTREAMING IN TAJIKISTAN
Poverty and Environment Presentation

8. Results…… (work in progress)
DDP Planning Process: DDP Implementation Awareness, Capacity
Development and
Consultation
PE fully integrated to RGP PE indicators submitted to and
support to planning tested by the State Statistic Training materials
Agency Series of training for planers at
PE in DDP methodology
Environmental sustainability all levels
PE mainstreaming at early
criteria applied to 60 DDPs’ Learning by doing / practical
planning stage
projects submitted to the Trust experience of planners
PE mainstreaming fully Fund (DDPs financial
integrated to planning mechanism) Around 100 people per district
involved via consultations and
Local environment authorities 7 PE demonstration projects public hearings
actively involved designed and to be funded
Video
Initiation of integrating PE in PE criteria for micro-lending
oblast strategy developed – to be piloted by 2 Institute for Civil Servants
Micro Loan Funds (by Training to include training
7 DDPs fully integrate PE
agreement) guide to curriculum
7 DDPs partially integrate PE
Poverty and Environment Presentation

9. Sustainability and scaling-up (potential)
• DDP methodology, with PE integration guidance, to be
approved by the MEDT and used nation-wide;
• PE indicators integrated in the State Statistic Agency
database for M&E of DDPs
• Training on PE mainstreaming to be included in the Institute
for Civil Servants Training curricula
• PE integrated to the Sugh ‘oblast’ development strategy
Poverty and Environment Presentation

10. SEA of the Bakhchisaraysky District
Development Strategy (2010-2017)
Estimated trends in environment status:
o Increased volume of solid domestic waste
o Increased air pollution from stationary
sources;
o Decreased rivers’ water quality due to
agriculture and household waste discharge;
o Continuous destruction of the coast- SDW landfill in the town of Bakhchisaray
protecting line
Key sectors: waste management, tourism,
water management, agriculture;
Damaged coast-protecting structures near the
village of Beregovoy
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Poverty and Environment Presentation

11. What is SEA?
Policy
Strategic
Plan Environmental
Assessment
Programme
Environmental Impact
Projects Assessment
o Up-streaming environmental considerations into the decision-
making hierarchy
o Responsibility of developer / planning authority
Source: OECD. 2006. Applying Strategic Environmental Assessment: Good practice Guidance for Development Co-operation.
Poverty and Environment Presentation

12. SEA Context
o Ukraine – signatory to the UNECE SEA Protocol
o The very first SEA application in Crimea!
o On-going process of local strategic planning improvement
o Leadership and support of the Crimea Ministry of Economy
o Interest and active involvement of district authorities
o Capacity development element
o Conducted by the WG on Water and Environment and local
expert group
o Duration: May – December 2009; Budget: 46,000 USD
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Poverty and Environment Presentation

13. Capacity Development and Public Participation
SEA scoping in working groups, Head of the Bakhchisaraysky DSA I.Umerov
SEA training, Bakhchisaray, 24-25 presenting the District Development Strategy and
June, 2009 SEA recommendations at public hearings in front
of the local council members and the general
public, Bakhchisaray, 25 November, 2009
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Poverty and Environment Presentation

14. Results
Over 600 people aware of and involved in the strategic planning process,
including SEA, via public hearings and expert meetings;
42 specialists trained in SEA and 54 specialists obtained practical experience
in SEA application;
SEA fully integrated in planning process;
80% of SEA recommendations reflected in the final Sustainable Development
Strategy for Bakhchisaraysky District
Environment integrated in the strategies of 3 other districts
National conference on Crimea strategic planning calls for applying SEA to
become automatically part of local planning;
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Poverty and Environment Presentation

15. Conclusions
• Openness to complexity necessary at both country and UNDP
level
• Clear justification and articulation of goals
• Integration with planning process – at its early stage
• Iterative and customized to the context
• Political will and interest needed (‘champions’)
• Multidisciplinary consultations
• Participatory
• Focus on environment constrains and opportunities
• Transparent
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Poverty and Environment Presentation

16. Materials to share
PEI Tajikistan:
- district planning methodology + PE mainstreaming guide;
- PE training materials (handbook and ppt)
- set of PE indicators
- Environmental screening criteria
- Questionnaire on environmental situation in the region
- Demonstration projects
SEA in Crimea
- Bakhchisaraysky District Development Strategy
- SEA Report
• Video: English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSF3beGCQTA
Russian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL_cDQPlF1A
Poverty and Environment Presentation

17. THANK YOU! 
For more information:
henrieta.martonakova@undp.org
http://www.unpei.org
http://www.unece.org/env/sea/eecca_capacity.html
Poverty and Environment Presentation