Center for Natural Resources and Sustainability

Meet Anara Sultangaziyeva, a talented and successful leader of the Green Energy Non-Governmental Foundation. She is a Member of the Board of the largest Environmental Association of Legal Entities “Green Alliance of Kyrgyzstan”, a Member of the Environmental Council of Bishkek and a well-known expert in the field of RES and EE in Kyrgyzstan.

Favorite quote: “Do you have enemies? That’s good. It means you've stood up for something in your life”. Winston Churchill.

but fate brought me back to the field of RES and ecology three times. The first time at the request of my colleague and supervisor in the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic when I founded the first and only “Green Party of Kyrgyzstan” (2004), the second time when I was invited as an invited expert to the Centre for Development of RES and EE in the project of implementation of RES and EE technologies (2016), and finally, the third time when I was offered, I may say, even asked to head the Public Foundation “Green Energy” (2019).

Three years of hard work, success and public recognition made me realize that I had found my place in life and I would like to do this work.

To understand this, I had to take the long and winding road of finding my true calling and the business I love. After two years of hard work and after the Foundation almost closed, I managed to bring it up to the level of similar organizations that have been working successfully for 10 or even 20 years. On top of that, I also managed to take it to an international level. The Foundation remained active even during the COVID 19 epidemic, which allowed to win my first major project under the UNDP GEF.

There was tremendous hard work, enormous perseverance, and most importantly, faith and love for the work to which my life is dedicated today. It took me a while to realize that fate had brought me back to a field where I was needed and where I felt I could serve my community and my country. Most importantly, I enjoy my job and feel happy and very successful. I know that green energy is our future. That makes me to throw my absolute heart and soul into the work I love.

I would like to quote a Chinese wisdom that everything happens for a reason. (Accidents are not accidental).

Challenges

There were and still are many problems and difficulties on almost every road. The biggest problem is that neither the population nor officials have a clear understanding of renewable energy and EE. Promoting green solutions in the energy sector is not easy due to low public awareness and unwillingness of authorities to get involved and do something. It is not easy to change the traditional thinking of government officials and foster an environmental mindset in people. Add to this the low economic level and the high level of corruption. It's not easy to promote environmentally friendly ideas and solutions under these conditions. But we do not give up and achieved some results, although not by leaps and bounds. As they say, the word “impossible” does not exist in our vocabulary!

Moment of inspiration

As part of our work in the Green Alliance of Kyrgyzstan, together with our colleagues, we have achieved exemption under Article 409 of the Tax Code of Kyrgyzstan. In particular, buildings, premises and structures meeting the energy and resource efficiency requirements defined by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic are exempt from property tax in the amount of 50 percent. In addition, in the approval of the List of Specialized Goods and Equipment Intended for Construction of Energy Installations Based on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources, subject to VAT exemption when imported into the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic and much more.

And most importantly, my achievements and success in this area were recognized by the public, my colleagues and state authorities, which I consider my star moment in life. And the most important factor in my success, I believe, is yet to come.

For example, Eleonora Kazakova is the President of the RES Association, Tatyana Vedeneva is the President of the RES and EE Development Centre, Elvira Borombayeva is the President of the Association of Mini Hydro Power Plants, Kundus Kyrbasheva is the President of the Wind and Solar Power Plants Association and the large climate network, Unison Group, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, The Chairwoman of the Network is Nurzat Abdyrasulova, who is also the Chairwoman of the Board of Kyrgyzstan's largest and the only association of its kind in Central Asia, the “Green Alliance of Kyrgyzstan”, which includes more than 60 environmental organizations and companies as well as universities in the capital. Moreover, Kyrgyzstan also has an Association of Women in Energy - whose founder and head is Altynay Abdykerimova.

The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that the number of workplaces in the renewable energy sector will increase from 10.3 million in 2017 to 29 million by 2050. The “global energy transition” is an opportunity to create new workplaces and transform all aspects of energy production and distribution. Job creation is always considered a good indicator of regional growth, but it is worth to remember that there are trends here too. For various reasons, such changes have a gender dimension: they always improve the lives of men (creating new career opportunities, improving material well-being etc.) and do not always have a positive impact on women. This does not mean that the development of renewable energies should be abandoned to improve the situation of women. It does mean that the “engines” of progress must take into account the interests of the female population as well.

Motivational message for young professionals or students in the industry.

The green energy sector is more progressive for women than the so-called dirty energy sector, but there is still a long way to go to ensure that women are equally represented in both sectors. Of the total number of people employed in the renewable energy industry, 32% are women (compared to 22% in the dirty energy sector). Women are more likely to be involved in administrative work than in science, technology and engineering. The gender gap in certain sectors of the economy is often not considered as a problem, and very vain. When an industry artificially “throws out” women, this is not only worsens their position in society, but also hinders the development of the industry itself. Therefore, the presence of women in strategically important sectors of the economy, such as energy and renewable energy, can only accelerate their development. Green energy is our future. In this regard, I would like to address words of encouragement to the young girls and women who are taking their first steps in the energy and renewable energy sector, as Amelia Earhart said: “The hardest thing is to start acting, everything else depends on perseverance”.