New stage of environmental reforms

The Head of State signed a Decree "On Measures to Create a Management System in the Spheres of Ecology and Tourism that Can Operatively Respond to the Requirements of the Population." In accordance with the Decree:

- The Tourism Committee under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change is being transformed into the Tourism Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan;

- The Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change will be removed from the system of the Cabinet of Ministers, and the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change will be created on its basis;

- the position of Advisor to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Ecology - Chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change is introduced;

- In addition to the main tasks of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change, the Ecology Committee is responsible for the implementation of the national projects "Waste-Free Zone," "Clean Air," "Green Space," "Eco-Culture," and "Bio Heritage";

- A "Factory of Ecological Projects" will be created under the Committee for Ecology with the involvement of up to 15 foreign and local experts;

- The State Environmental Control Inspectorate (Ecopolis) of the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change will be created.

Also, the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Measures to Organize the Activities of the National Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Ecology and Climate Change" (https://president.uz/ru/lists/view/8690) was adopted. As defined in it:

- the State Institution "National Center for Environmental Monitoring" is being created on the basis of the State Institution "Specialized Center for Analytical Control in the Field of Environmental Protection" of the State Committee for Ecology;

- By September 1, 2026, a Unified Environmental Online Platform will be launched;

- industrial enterprises classified as Category I and II in terms of environmental impact will be required to install background monitoring stations in their territories and integrate them with the National Center for Environmental Monitoring by March 1, 2026, otherwise, from March 1, 2026, compensation payments will be applied to these enterprises with a fivefold increase;

- From March 1, 2026, all legislative acts and legally binding instructions related to the provision of benefits in the form of exemption from compensation payments for damage to nature are considered invalid, and the provision of benefits in this matter is carried out only by law;

- issuance of permits excluding or without compliance with the requirements of legislation in the field of ecology and environmental protection, including the issuance of a conclusion of the state environmental expertise, the adoption of decisions, orders, protocols and instructions of the Government providing for the felling and transplantation of trees and shrubs, as well as departmental acts and acts of local executive authorities, is strictly prohibited;

- Environmental police officers are granted the right to use physical force, special means (electro-shock devices) and service weapons (rubber bullets, netting), and body cameras are installed on their special clothing;

- to initiate, from April 1, 2026, a public ban on the seizure and allocation for other purposes of land plots of populated areas (cities, settlements and rural settlements) covered with trees that are not part of the forest fund;

Accordingly, by decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Aziz Abdukaharovich Abduhakimov was appointed to the position of Advisor to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Ecology - Chairman of the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change, and in connection with this, he was relieved of his post as Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan.