Presidential decree ends government loopholes on tree cutting

Starting March 1, 2026, all legal acts and binding instructions granting exemptions from compensation payments for environmental damage will be invalid, and such exemptions will only be possible through formal legislation. This was outlined in a decree signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on November 19, concerning the organization of the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change.

The decree strictly prohibits the issuance of any documents that allow violations or exemptions from environmental and ecological laws. This includes government resolutions, orders, directives, and written instructions, as well as agency or local authority documents, related to state environmental expertise, cutting, or relocation of trees and shrubs.

Eco-police officers will be authorized to use physical force, special tools such as electroshock devices, and service weapons including rubber bullets and nets. Body cameras will be installed on their uniforms.

Until relevant legislative amendments are made, the procedures for using physical force, special tools, and service weapons by eco-police will follow the rules established under Uzbekistan’s Law on Internal Affairs Agencies.

This follows an incident in late October in Tashkent’s Yakkasaray district, where 174 trees and shrubs were illegally cut along the streets of Nukus and Bobur, causing environmental damage valued at 1.46 billion soums.

At the time, Rasul Kusherboev, advisor to the Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change, reported that the trees had been cut overnight by the city’s landscaping department under instructions from Tashkent’s first deputy mayor, Bakhtiyor Rahmonov, to replace existing trees with new ones.

Despite the large-scale illegal cutting, no action was initially taken against Rahmonov. On November 8, however, a criminal case was opened under Article 198, Part 2 of the Criminal Code, covering unlawful felling of forests, trees, or other plants causing significant damage, targeting officials from the landscaping department.

Rasul Kusherboev commented, “The interesting thing is that Bakhtiyor Rahmonov, who gave the tree-cutting order, remains untouched. Instead, the responsibility falls on the landscaping staff who carried out the task. This is true irresponsibility.”