"The economies of the Central Asian countries have seen unprecedented growth over the past two decades and have ambitious goals for the future, including with regard to modernizing industries and enhancing infrastructure to support inclusive economic development and connectivity in the subregion. The governments of these countries recognize that it is imperative for them to ensure that industry- and infrastructure-development projects not only provide short-term economic benefits but also guarantee long-term sustainable growth and the right of future generations to a clean and healthy environment. In this context Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan increasingly acknowledge that environmental impact assessment is an effective mechanism for ensuring that environmental and health considerations are incorporatied in to development projects at an early stage"--Page 3.