U N D P NATIONAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2011 TAJIKISTAN: INSTITUTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT Dushanbe-2012 Dear reader! With the initiative and support of UNDP and in cooperation with government ministries and agencies, civil society, international organizations working in Tajikistan, the analytical report under the title of 'National Human Development Report: Institutions and Development' has been developed, and brought to Your attention. It should be noted that development of human capacity and institutional capacity is considered one of the priority goals of the Government of the country, and this process is thoroughly reflected in the key socio-economic document of the country – the ”National Development Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan for the period of 2015”. Therefore, special attention is paid to the development of human capacity and building and strengthening capacities in all areas of development of society. The current Report covers the issues of the role of institutions in the development process, with particular emphasis on the particular characteristics of this process. With regard to the analysis of development of human capacity in the country, the following topics have been thoroughly analyzed: the role of the state in the achievement of development goals, the legal framework for public administration, assessment of capacity for management of the development process, electronic government, partnership at the national level and etc. With a view to assessing institutional and human capacity, the concept of developing public policy on personnel, human resources management, and efficiency of personnel policy has also been analyzed. In parallel with that, in order to identify the role of self-government in the national development system, its role in the overall public administration system, the legal framework and reform, coordination of the implementation process for reform, partnership at the national level have been reviewed and examined. Furthermore, the institutional capacity of the real sector of the economy was also investigated, and the issues related to the current situation, construction policy in the field of industry, agricultural reform, priority areas for development of institutional capacity, partnership in the real sector of the economy were assessed. The Report also reflects the key areas of the social sector and human development, including social and economic development, the social services system, and regional aspects of social policy. Finally, the situation regarding environmental management related to the current situation, legal support for the development of institutional capacity in activities related to nature conservation, integration of ecological issues into the national development system, environmental education and public awareness, partnership in resolving the issues of nature conservation, financial support, have been thoroughly reviewed and included in the report. With the purpose of providing public access in the process of development and reviewing of the current Report, a group of professional experts and scientists was engaged through an open competitive .process. During the process of elaboration of this report, an editorial and coordination committee was established, and closely collaborated with international consultants from UNDP and public and research organizations of the country. This process led to the draft and final versions of the Report being developed, and forwarded to government ministries and departments of public and international organizations. The 'National Human Development Report: Institutions and Development' contains vital issues and accordingly allows the reader to obtain much detail and useful information on the process of institutional strengthening and human capacity development in the country. Sincerely Yours, Sharif Rahimzoda Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan Dushanbe, May 2012 Dear reader! It gives me great pleasure to introduce the National Human Development Report of the Republic of Tajikistan 'Institutions and Development'. Over the last 20 years the National Human Development Reports have become part of the success of the process, offering a major situational analysis and recommendations, which are taken into account during elaboration of national and sectoral strategic and policy documents for national development, thereby contributing to planned goals. During the preparation and implementation of these documents, government decision-makers at all levels, civil society, business, academia, and members of the public, have been involved in creating a new vision for the future development of the Republic of Tajikistan. In the current report, in addition to the situational analysis of issues connected with the activities of local governing bodies – including in defining their roles in terms of legal aspects of decision-making and in the overall public administration system – the issues of financing of national development play a crucial role. These issues are important because of the need to expand opportunities for strengthening financial constituent of local self-governance bodies towards providing favourable conditions for socio-economic development and enhancement of people's welfare. The complex structure of, and variations between, economies of the region is linked particularly with the region's natural and resource-related features, together with its historical and cultural traditions, which in turn, aims to improve measures of economic policy for an integrated development of the region. Global experience shows that only a rational balance of centralization and decentralization in public administration, as well as adequate financing of tasks assigned to various levels and state functions, has the potential to create favourable conditions for steady regional economic growth and contribute to their social and cultural development. Reform in this field is important, and therefore, should be systemic and comprehensive. The process of rationalization of an existing structure requires elaboration of the mechanisms for financial equalization within the regions, taking actions towards strengthening the capacity of local self-governing bodies, as local governing and self-governing bodies have the main responsibility for making decisions on existing socio-economic tasks, as well as for a long-term economic development of their respective territory and projection of future perspectives for development. The report highlights the calculation of the Regional Human Development Index in Tajikistan. Comparative analysis shows that there is a relative inequality in the rate of development of human capacity in regions of the country, with the most substantive differentiation observed in the income levels of the population. Therefore, the current National Report concludes that Tajikistan requires a comprehensive national programme, targeting the regional level, aimed at reviewing the policies related to income and salaries over the long-term. According to the Global HDR 2011, Tajikistan's rating dropped from 112 to the 127, however, this is largely due to the fact that in 2011 the Global HDR analysis featured 187 countries, while only 169 were analyzed in 2010. Furthermore, the number of countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) rated 'very high', 'high' or 'medium', increased from 125 to 146 (with 16 countries changing their status). The actual HDI figure for Tajikistan rose from 0.604 to 0.607, maintaining the positive trend of growth during the last few years. The role of the 'real' sector remains considerable in the development of the national economy. In this regard, the UNDP played a major role in supporting the agricultural and public administration reforms at regional and local levels, conducted by the government. The ongoing reform processes in Tajikistan indicates increased urgency in and significance of the social reforms. Further advancements towards sustainable development are unlikely without accumulated challenges in the social sphere being addressed. However, many social problems require long-term solutions and cannot be quickly reformed. In order to address these challenges, it is necessary to coordinate many ongoing interventions, together with that of external aid provided by development partners. It is particularly important to increase the efficiency of regulatory activity of the state and the active participation of civil society in the implementation of appropriate policies towards achievement of the millennium development goals (MDGs) of Tajikistan. Development of institutional capacity to improve management of nature conservation is one of the key issues of environmental policy at all levels of administration; global, sub-regional, regional, national and local. Finding solutions to nature conservation issues requires an inter-sectoral approach. In this regard, the main challenge relates to the extent to which the legal mechanisms for environmental issues have been elaborated in the functional activities of various sectors of the economy. Cooperation between civil society, and local and central bodies of the state is also an important precondition for ensuring effective management of nature conservation policy. During the forthcoming United Nations (UN) Conference on sustainable development in June 2012, in Rio-de-Janeiro, some of the key themes to be discussed will be improvement of institutional frameworks towards achievement of sustainable development, and issues related to the