A meeting of the Board of Governors of the CAREC took place in Almaty

On 23 December 2025 the 62nd meeting of the Board of Governors (BoG) of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) took place in Almaty. The meeting, held at the CARECeco headquarters, brought together all 13 members of the Board, as well as the Executive Director, Batyr Mammedov (elected in May of this year), and Secretary Ayrailym Shulgauova. The session was also attended by Oleg Pechenyuk, Chairman of the CAREC Public Advisory Council (PAC).

The Chairman of the Board, Sino Tohir Tohirzoda, opened the meeting with welcoming remarks, after which a quorum was established and the agenda was approved. Key items for consideration included:

• A progress report on instructions issued by the Executive Director following the 60th and 61st BoG meetings;
• Approval of the “CAREC Development Strategy for 2026-2030”;
• Technical and financial reports on CAREC’s activities for 2025;
• Preparations for the upcoming Central Asian Conference on Climate Change (CACCC-2026);
• Reporting presentations from the directors of CAREC country branches;
• The appointment of a BoG representative to oversee the selection of an auditing firm for CAREC’s financial audit;
• Discussions regarding the terms of office for several Board members and other miscellaneous business.

Executive Director Batyr Mamedov presented the finalized “CAREC Development Strategy for 2026-2030”. The document is built around five key priorities, notably the fourth priority: “Strengthening Partnerships with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to achieve Sustainable Development Goals and environmental security.” The Board members unanimously approved and adopted the strategic document.

The reports delivered by the CAREC team demonstrated a clear growth dynamic, both in terms of economic and financial performance and the expansion of partnership cooperation. The country directors particularly emphasized the increasing interaction between CAREC branches and government bodies, non-profit organizations, and business structures. Discussions highlighted the progress of ongoing initiatives and the prospects for new environmental projects being co-developed with strategic government agencies and international donor organizations.

Berkeli Atayev, Director of the ‘Tebigy Kuwwat’ Public Association Enterprise and a member of the Board of Governors representing the civil sector, noted that the CAREC branch in Turkmenistan has significantly expanded its cooperation with CSOs over the past two years. He highlighted successful initiatives such as facilitating civil sector participation in national and regional forums, the Central Asian Leadership Programme for Young Environmentalists (CALP), and supporting young NGO representatives in pursuing Master’s degrees at the Kazakh-German University (DKU).

“Cooperation with the civil sector is a vital component of CAREC, as our organizational and legal structure aligns with that of a civil society organization. Consequently, this area has always received, and will continue to receive, significant attention. While the current the Concept of interaction between CAREC and civil society organizations in Central Asia 2020-2025 is nearing its conclusion, the new CAREC Strategy for 2026-2030 provides detailed frameworks for continued engagement with Central Asian CSOs,” – Mr. Atayev added. He also expressed a desire to see Board members more deeply involved in CAREC’s operations and representing the Centre at national, regional, and international levels.

Berkeli Atayev.