VZCZCXRO5757
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK
RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNEH RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHPW
RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTA #1694/01 2710913
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 280913Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6422
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 1983
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1352
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2051
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 1003
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFAAA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1538
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC 1414
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/CDR USTRANSCOM SCOTT AFB IL
RUEHAST/USOFFICE ALMATY 1895

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 001694 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, OES/PCI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ECON SENV SOCI KDEM KZ
SUBJECT:  KAZAKHSTAN:  REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER FOR CENTRAL 
ASIA 
 
ASTANA 00001694  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: The Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia 
(CAREC), founded in 1998 by the five countries of Central Asia, the 
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the European 
Commission (EC), has a mandate to promote regional dialogue and 
cooperation across a wide range of environmental and developmental 
areas.  CAREC's largest portfolio is water, and its goal is to 
attempt to facilitate a Central Asian regional agreement on water 
management, "in the most neutral way possible."  CAREC is critical 
of large-scale hydro projects, considering them "politically-driven" 
and not economically feasible.  CAREC plans to work in Afghanistan 
to promote sustainable development and environmental awareness, 
working through its Tajik branch office.  Although U.S. Government 
funding for CAREC ended in 2005, Chevron continues to be a strong 
donor and partner, and CAREC hopes to see renewed U.S. support for 
its regional activities.  END SUMMARY. 
 
REGIONAL SCOPE AND REACH 
 
¶2.  CAREC was established during the Fourth Pan-European Conference 
in 1998 in Aarhus, Denmark, by all five Central Asian countries, the 
United Nations Development Programme, and the European Commission. 
CAREC established its current headquarters in Almaty in 2001, and 
has offices in all five member countries.  Director Talabek Makeyev 
said CAREC seeks to address Central Asia's environmental problems 
through regional cooperation and dialogue in eight areas: 
environmental management and policy, civil society, sustainable 
development, water, climate change, sustainable energy, information 
sharing, and capacity building.  Possibly the greatest challenge 
CAREC faces, he said, is to establish regional cooperation on water 
resource management and ensure sustainability of water basin 
ecosystems. 
 
LARGE-SCALE WATER PROJECTS NOT ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE 
 
¶3.  Makeyev said water is CAREC's largest portfolio, with more than 
one million Euros spent on various water projects since 2003.  This 
includes a potable water supply project for the city of Almaty, 
which USAID funded 2003-05.  Norway funded the project 2005-09, and 
Germany will support future phases.  Makayev stressed that this 
water project relies on co-funding by the local and oblast 
(regional) governments, and by the local water committee 
administration. 
 
¶4.  CAREC is also cooperating with the European Union (EU) to help 
local regions harmonize water standards with the EU, develop a water 
quality data exchange project in the Almaty District, and ensure 
access to trans-boundary water supplies in border communities. 
CAREC plans to host a regional conference in Almaty on water issues 
on October 6 as part of its overall strategy to enhance regional 
dialogue. 
 
¶5.  Makeyev acknowledged that water management is an extremely 
sensitive political issue in Central Asia, and said that if the 
countries in the region are not able to reach agreement, it will 
have troubling, long-lasting implications.  According to Makeyev, 
CAREC's goal is to integrate the Central Asian countries into a 
regional agreement, "in the most neutral way possible."  He said 
CAREC is working on some "neutral and trans-boundary projects," 
including community-to-community, trans-boundary watershed 
management projects that can lay the groundwork for a more 
long-term, regional solution. 
 
¶6.  Makeyev said that although water is the most accessible 
renewable energy source in Central Asia, the cost of hydropower is 
still much greater than coal, so the decision to use water rather 
than coal to generate electricity is more about politics than 
economics.  In general, large-scale dams are not profitable, he 
said.  However, communities need alternatives to coal in order to 
reduce the impact on the environment.  As a result, CAREC is 
exploring ways to provide incentives for communities that incur 
costs when they abandon coal.  He cited the example of Kazakhstan's 
and Kyrgyzstan's cooperation on the construction and operation of 
dams.  Makeyev was critical of Kazakhstan's decision to invest in 
 
ASTANA 00001694  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
the maintenance and operation of a number of Kyrgyz dams and 
reservoirs in the Chu and Talas river basins that supply water to 
both countries.  He insisted that this is neither economically 
viable nor environmentally sustainable, calling it a "political 
solution" to the problem of access to trans-boundary water. 
 
CAREC'S OFFICE A SHOWCASE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY 
 
¶7.  Makeyev said CAREC's own headquarters building in Almaty is a 
centerpiece of its energy efficiency project.  CAREC plans to 
renovate the building, originally a kindergarten typical of office 
buildings throughout Central Asia, and promote it as a showcase of 
energy efficiency.  CAREC wants to demonstrate, in the most 
cost-efficient way, how to change current energy usage, eliminate 
waste, and improve energy efficiency. 
 
AARHUS AN IMPORTANT PART OF CAREC'S WORK 
 
¶8.  For Makeyev and CAREC, the four basic pillars of environmental 
sustainability are mobilizing resources and people, building 
capacity, raising awareness, and supporting pilot projects.  CAREC 
works with local organizations and the Ministries of Education and 
Environmental Protection to prepare secondary school and university 
courses on sustainable development.  CAREC, with support from the 
European Commission, plans to carry out an environmental awareness 
campaign in Central Asia in 2010, to emphasize the role of civil 
society and educate citizens about their rights and responsibilities 
under the Aarhus Convention.  (NOTE:  The United Nations Economic 
Commission for Europe Convention on Access to Information, Public 
Participation in Decision-making, and Access to Justice in 
Environmental Matters, usually known as the Aarhus Convention, was 
signed on June 25, 1998, in the Danish city of Aarhus.  The Aarhus 
Convention grants the public rights regarding access to information, 
public participation, and access to justice in governmental 
decision-making processes on matters concerning the local, national, 
and trans-boundary environment.  END NOTE.) 
 
CAREC MOVING INTO AFGHANISTAN TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 
 
¶9.  Makeyev said that CAREC is now working in Afghanistan to promote 
sustainable development and increase environmental awareness. 
Through its Tajik branch office, he said that CAREC has easy access 
to Afghan culture and society, and can work closely with local 
governments and NGOs to foster civil society development. 
 
U.S. GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FADED, BUT CHEVRON A STRONG PARTNER 
 
¶10.  Makeyev thanked the United States government for its past 
support of CAREC, but said that most of that support ended in 2005. 
He expressed hope that, with a new administration, the United States 
would again consider helping CAREC carry out its mission.  He said 
that Chevron has been a strong partner of CAREC, willing to fund 
education programs to teach youth about sustainable development. 
Makeyev urged the United States to send an expert to work in CAREC 
alongside a German expert resident in Almaty. 
 
¶11.  COMMENT:  CAREC is one of the few environmental organizations 
in Central Asia with a regional mandate.  Even though it has strong 
UNDP and EU support, CAREC is nevertheless eager to work with the 
United States and sees a renewed opportunity with the new 
administration.  The Department of Energy is also looking for 
reliable partners to help implement renewable energy and energy 
efficiency projects, and this appears to be a natural fit.  As the 
United States seeks to engage local entities in Kazakhstan and 
elsewhere in Central Asia, CAREC certainly deserves our attention. 
END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND