Although the theme of Green Growth is new to the Kyrgyz Republic, the country has become one of the first countries in Central Asia to test the OECD green growth indicators under the support of the UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative.

How are we using the natural resources for the economic development? The government of the Kyrgyz Republic put this important question in its agenda in light of the recent initiatives towards sustainable development in the country. The country has made initial steps towards green growth with the adoption of the Green Growth Indicators as part of the wider set of sustainable development indicators. On February 19, 2015 the government of the Kyrgyz Republic issued a decree to adopt a matrix of indicators to measure the progress towards sustainable development.

This is the result of the work of the Ministry of Economy and National Statistics Committee under the support of the UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) and in collaboration with the OECD during 2012-2014. The national experts conducted a detailed analysis of national and sector statistics in line with the OECD five blocks of green growth indicators, including Carbon and Energy Efficiency, Natural assets, Environmental Quality of life, Economic Opportunities and Policy Responses and Socio-Economic Context and Characteristics of Growth.

The analysis concluded that ‘while not the entire set of OECD green growth indicators can be applied in the Kyrgyz Republic, the country is able to measure more than half of these indicators’.

The next steps will include the monitoring of green growth indicators annually. The Ministry of Economy will lead the monitoring and produce a report annually on the progress of achieving the target indicators. The first results of measuring the progress is to come by April 2016. UNDP-UNEP PEI will continue supporting the Ministry of Economy, National Statistics Committee and other key partners in their initiatives towards green growth.

For more information: nara.luvsan@unep.org