Uzbekistan Environment Profile 2012

Environmentally compatible growth receives only sporadic consideration and has almost no institutional framework. In the 2008 Environmental Performance Index, Uzbekistan ranks 107th out of 149 countries. Air and water pollution, soil erosion, desertification and the shrinking Aral Sea are the country’s main problems. The government has tried to strengthen the institutional framework aimed at protecting the environment. In 2007, nature reserves constituted 5.5% of the country’s total area. However, given the difficult financial situation, many people plunder and poach plant and animal life in Uzbekistan. Environmental awareness is basically nonexistent in Uzbekistani society. Even parks in major cities have been subject to cases of unauthorized tree-felling for economic gain. Punishments for the violation of environmental legislation are seldom enforced. Civil society is not eager to raise the issue of environmental protection.