Circular STEP

To help accelerate the shift, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, with the support of UNECE, and together with UN Resident Coordinator Office, organized the First National Policy Dialogue on the Circular Economy in Tajikistan - Improving Traceability of Products Along International Value Chains, held in Dushanbe on 6 September 2022. During the event, national stakeholders and international experts discussed strategic priorities and identified policy, regulatory, and institutional challenges affecting the circular economy transition.  

The findings of this discussion will be included in a national gap analysis and will help shape a national action plan for the circular economy transition. This action plan will also include a traceability system of circular garment and footwear value chains. The action plan will include:

• List of actions
• Creation of an effective system of incentives
• Development of traceability standards
• Engagement plans with the business sector and civil society

Serbia, as a UN Member State and an EU candidate country, is committed to the concept of a circular economy. The Road map for Circular Economy in Serbia is the principal document developed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia in 2021 to delineate the steps and timeline for the future circular evolution. The Strategy identifies the agriculture and food sector as one of the priority sectors to intensify the development of the circular economy. Further, Serbia’s national pathway for food systems transformation identifies food loss and waste reduction as key areas to ensure sustainable food systems.

The introduction of circular economy principles in the agri-food industry can help lower resource use and reduce the environmental footprint of the sector. According to UNDP, 770,000 tons of food is lost or wasted annually in Serbia, with 90% of the food waste ending up in landfills, contributing to GHG emissions. At the same time, the poorest households struggle to secure meals. Reducing food loss and waste can help address environmental and nutrition problems, while also being good for the economy. 

Reducing food loss and waste is among the priorities for the work of UNECE, particularly the Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards. In its recent intergovernmental meeting, the UNECE Specialized Section on Standardization of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables established a working group to review possibilities of adapting provisions of standards to further ensure they do not contribute to food loss and waste.

The national policy dialogue is a part of the UNECE project “Accelerating the transition to a circular economy in the UNECE region”. Project outputs and deliverables will be presented and communicated via the UNECE stakeholder engagement platform CIRCULAR STEP to scale up and replicate successful circular practice in the UNECE region.

One of the sessions was dedicated to the circular transition in Kazakhstan. Participants discussed the state of play of circularity, effective UNECE solutions and prospective priority areas to support Kazakhstan’s efforts in this area. In June 2022 the President of the Republic announced that Kazakhstan should seriously consider the prospects of implementing the principles of the circular economy, especially in industry and agriculture. Some of the circular economy principles are already reflected in the National Development Plan of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2025.  Under the coordination of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources, the government has also introduced a new Ecological Code in 2021, established a waste classifier and extended producer responsibility.

The results of the training session provided solid ground for the launch of national activities in Kazakhstan under the UNECE project “Accelerating the transition to a circular economy in the UNECE region”. UNECE invited national stakeholders to join Circular STEP – UNECE multistakeholder knowledge sharing network – to benefit from cross-cutting regional activities and practical tools in trade and economic cooperation for the circular transition.

Participants discussed the linkages between sustainable trade, sustainable water management and food security in the SPECA region. Identifying possible actions for a Roadmap on the application of the SPECA Principles of Sustainable Trade is an essential part of the discussion on next steps.