President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed proposals for implementing 'green city' principles in Samarkand within an ecological sustainability model called 'Green Samarkand'. This project provides for a set of measures aimed at reducing environmental impact, developing modern urban infrastructure, and promoting the climate agenda.
The central element of the initiative is the ecological modernization of the industrial sector. In a specially designated 'green industrial zone', the phased introduction of advanced technologies, zero visible emission systems, and digital solutions for real-time environmental monitoring is planned. Existing industrial zones will be surrounded by protective 'green belts', and eight Category I and II facilities whose impact on the environment poses a potential threat to public health will be relocated outside the city limits.
The project also details the creation of an entirely new district, 'Green City Samarkand', which will cover an area of 300 hectares. Residential, office, public, tourist, service, and infrastructure construction will develop on this area, with all objects being built in strict accordance with international standards for green urban planning.
In the field of waste management, the 'Zero Waste Samarkand' concept will be implemented. This concept includes a sorting and recycling system designed to significantly reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills. A digital photo and video monitoring system will be launched to support this system, intended for geo-tagging and mapping instances of illegal waste dumping.
Within the goals of climate policy, target indicators for reducing carbon emissions for the periods up to 2030 and 2035 will be developed. Furthermore, the authorities will approve the 'Carbon Neutral Samarkand' roadmap, which aims to achieve complete carbon neutrality for the city. To finance these environmental protection and climate measures, the creation of the 'Green Samarkand Climate Financial Fund' is planned, and oversight of projects and data transparency will be ensured through the 'Green Samarkand Dashboard' digital platform.
A separate package of initiatives focuses on tourism development and biodiversity conservation. The plan includes promoting the 'Green Samarkand' brand, introducing the 'Green Hotels Samarkand' rating system, developing the 'Samarkand City Biodiversity Index' methodology, launching the 'Samarkand Urban Biodiversity' pilot project, and starting the volunteer program named 'Save Biodiversity'.
It is expected that the implementation of these extensive measures will transform Samarkand into a major center for ecotourism and sustainable urban development, while simultaneously laying the organizational, financial, and practical foundations for positioning the historic city as the 'capital of green investments and innovation in Central Asia.'
