Presidential Decree No. UP-81 “On measures to transform the field of ecology and environmental protection and organize the activities of the authorized state body”.

The President, considering the new tasks and functions assigned by this Decree, orders to rename the Ministry of Natural Resources into the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change. This Presidential Decree introduces from July 1, 2023 in the Republic of Uzbekistan the system of "Public environmental control" and determines the rights and obligations of controllers as follows: (a) identification of environmental offenses, execution and inclusion in the Environmental Control Platform of the relevant act; (b) receiving free education and advanced training in order to acquire special knowledge and skills in the implementation of activities; (c) obtaining information on the measures taken in relation to the identified offenses, participation in the processes related to the sentencing of the offender; and (d) receiving remuneration for efficient activities in the manner and in the amount established by law. Public environmental controllers are required to ensure transparency, counteract corruption, as well as objectively prepare reliable data in the process of identifying and reporting offences. Inspectorate of state environmental control without the status of a separate legal entity shall be set up within the structure of the Ministry of state environmental control. Inspection in its activities is subordinated to and accountable to the Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change – Chief state environmental inspector. Treatment of municipal solid waste in the country shall be carried out through a new procedure and mechanisms based on the principles of "zero waste" (Zero waste). In doing so, special attention shall be paid to: (a) separate collection and disposal of waste depending on the types of household waste; (b) processing (recycling) or incineration at the maximum level of newly generated waste without sending it to landfills, introducing it into the sphere of circular economy practice; (c) ensuring the phased complete processing and incineration of waste at all operating landfills; (d) directing excess heat or electricity generated as a result of waste incineration to meet the needs of the population and production on existing energy and communication networks as payment, including using the "green tariff"; and (e) introduction of a system for allocating "green subsidies" from the State budget in order to increase the efficiency of this system.