Inception workshop and training on the development of the National State of the Environment Report (NSoER) in Turkmenistan

The Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, in collaboration with UNECE and UNEP, will be developing a National State of the Environment Report (NSoER) and aims to strengthen national capacities for its regular production, based on international guidelines and good practices.

To initiate the process for developing a NSoER, UNECE and UNEP together with the Ministry have successfully organized an introductory workshop on 26 March 2024 with the objective of proposing international methodologies and approaches for the development of NSoERs. As an outcome of this workshop, participants have agreed on the preliminary structure of the NSoER of Turkmenistan and suggested the organization of a follow-up workshop on 25 April 2024 in Ashgabat to discuss key foci, types of development challenges, data sources and concrete steps and timelines for the development of the NSoER.   

Beyond providing data on the environment, the new edition of the NSoER for Turkmenistan aims to improve public accessibility of environmental data and raise awareness about the state of the environment in the country. By making the data on the environment available, the NSoER will also foster public participation in environmental decision-making and set up the practice of regular reporting on the status of the environment in the future.  

The new NSoER aims to:  

•    encourage public and experts’ participation and contributions

•    provide high-quality assessment of the state of and impact trends for the environment and  

•    instigate environmental decision-making by demonstrating the contributions of current policy efforts, gaps and potential solutions to address environmental challenges and related impacts on human well-being.  

It is expected as well that once finalized, the new NSoER and information therein will be useful references to inform national planning and investment processes promoted by the Government and by development partners (including the UN System).