By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

From March 24 to 29, members of the delegation of the Ministry of Ecology are on a working visit to the Republic of Korea with the aim of expanding cooperation in the areas of improving environmental assessment and environmental impact assessment systems, as well as strategic environmental assessment and achieving carbon neutrality, the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Seoul said.

As part of the visit, on March 24, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the State Environmental Expertise Center and the Korea Environment Institute.

This memorandum provides for:
• Enhancing the environmental impact assessment system;
• Increasing public participation and actively involving society in environmental decision-making processes;
• Expanding cooperation through joint projects in the field of strategic environmental assessment;
• Developing mechanisms to align national legislation with international standards;
• Implementing pilot projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint;
• Organizing training seminars to improve the qualifications of specialists;
• Strengthening cooperation within the framework of the KOICA-supported project
“Enhancing the Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment System in Uzbekistan through Technological Advancements and the Implementation of Advanced Monitoring Technologies.”

It is expected that expanding cooperation with the Republic of Korea will lead to the following outcomes:
Establishment of effective mechanisms for environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment;

Ensuring public access to environmental information and creating a solid legal framework for public hearings;
Development of a unified integrated digital system for real-time environmental monitoring;
Harmonization of national environmental protection legislation with international standards;
Improvement of specialists’ qualifications in the field;
Studying Korea’s experience in reducing the carbon footprint and gathering essential data to implement an effective system in Uzbekistan.