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• There is a need for the government agencies in Kyrgyzstan to develop goals that incorporate key environmental benchmarks and indicators to monitor the impacts of environmental laws, policies and practices on a consistent basis. Establishing such a framework would provide the government with tools to better assess current problems, identify critical needs for the future, and undertake reforms targeted at improving environmental and agricultural sustainability.
• Improving collaboration among environmental agencies, NGOs, and universities would strengthen the impact of current projects and facilitate a more coordinated strategy among various sectors not working in tandem in the environment, development, and energy fields.
• The failure of international agencies and the government to harmonize information on successful pilot projects, respond to them and build on their lessons through future programmatic development tends to weakens the prospect for Kyrgyz sustainability and makes inefficient use of resources. International donors and KR officials should better analyze pilot programs and harmonize lessons learned for incorporation into future programs.
• Conflicts exist between national policies and the practical needs of local communities struggling to address land and water management issues. National policies, for example, should better support the efforts of pasture committees and collective land management to ensure fairer and more sustainable natural resource use. There should be a fuller assessment of such conflicts and remedies built into the law, and more monitoring at the field level to identify needed reforms that promote sustainable land management. The assessment of economic impacts at the local level is needed as well as mechanisms to hold officials accountable for fair implementation of natural resources allocation and management policies.
• The public media is underutilized by agencies, institutions, and other groups seeking to improve outreach and awareness-raising on implementation of environment and development programs, and increased efforts to involve the media to spread ideas and inform the public is warranted.
• Due to the changing politics and lack of priority focus on climate change issues, KR officials have not yet taken advantage of opportunities for significant funding from global climate fund sources that can be channeled to agricultural development and adaptation for local Kyrgyz communities鈥攔ecognizing that neighboring Kazakhstan and Tajikistan obtained USD$100 million and $50 million respectively in such funding already.
• Establishing more centralized planning and facilitation of climate related programs via an independent Climate Institute could be considered as a means to facilitate the concerted involvement of the science, academic, NGO, and the expert community to assist KR agencies in their planning around climate issues. Successful models can be found in other countries.
• There is also a tremendous need for additional education and training in KR, to support the development of university programs to improve training on environment and sustainable development among future leaders in industry, and for environmental laboratories that can facilitate training at KR universities. Many students must go abroad to receive training and many do not return, leaving a gap in scientific and engineering expertise needed to help Kyrgyzstan develop and prosper.
• Education and training programs should assist agricultural communities to receive training through extension programs, training centers, and pilot conservation programs.
• Continued exploration of transboundary natural resource management is warranted as climate change impacts are likely to enhance tensions between neighboring countries in Central Asia on access to growing scarcities in land and water resources.

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Proceedings and Conference Report

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