On the 4th of June, the opening ceremony and the plenary session of the International scientific and practical conference «Priority area of the sustainable development Goals: ecology and climate change issues», dedicated to the year «Independent neutral Turkmenistan - homeland of purposeful winged horses», the 35th anniversary of Independence and World environment day of Turkmenistan, took place at the Turkmen state university named after Magtymguly.
The international forum is attended by 130 professors, teachers, scientists, research associates, postgraduate students, master's students, and doctoral students from 60 universities and research institutes in 25 countries, including Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, the USA, China, Iran, Türkiye, Korea, Germany, the Great Britain, Italy, Romania, Denmark, Iraq, India, Pakistan, and Mongolia.
Turkmenistan is represented at the forum by 217 participants from 26 higher education institutions and research institutes.
The international conference is being held online in Turkmen, Russian, and English.
During the event, foreign and Turkmen experts noted in their speeches that independent, permanently neutral Turkmenistan, as an active supporter of strengthening international peace and trust, purposefully and effectively implements state environmental policies aimed at ensuring environmental sustainability and security at the regional and global levels.
It was noted that, within the framework of international environmental cooperation, Turkmenistan, as an active participant in regional and global conventions in the field of environmental protection, consistently fulfills its obligations aimed at preserving and rationally using water and land resources, increasing biodiversity, and improving environmental education and culture among young people in the current context of climate change.
One of the regional initiatives put forward by Turkmenistan is the Resolution «On Cooperation between the United Nations and the International Fund for Saving the Aral sea», aimed at improving the environmental and socio-economic situation in the Aral sea region and developing international cooperation to prevent the negative impact of the Aral sea problems on the region.
It was emphasised that, in order to achieve environmental safety in Turkmenistan, environmental legislation is constantly being modernised, and work is underway to bring it into compliance with the environmental standards of international conventions and agreements in the field of ecology and environmental protection.
Among the laws adopted in our country for the first time, the speakers named the laws «On radiation safety», «On the protection of the ozone layer», «On chemical safety», «On fisheries and the protection of aquatic biological resources», «On Waste», «On protected areas», «On plant protection», «On the collection, preservation, and effective use of genetic resources of cultivated plants», and «On environmental audit».
Today, 5th of June, the international conference continues its work in four thematic sections: The role of achievements of modern education and science in ensuring environmental safety; Modern problems of adaptation to climate change and protection of water resources; Innovative methods of rational use of natural resources; Modern methods of studying biodiversity and their practical significance.
The Forum is held to conduct an in-depth analysis of contemporary environmental challenges related to climate change and anthropogenic impact, existing approaches to environmental education, the creation of new curricula and courses, the development of interactive tools and platforms for learning, and the strengthening of international cooperation in the field of environmental research and education.
Following the conference, it is planned to publish an electronic collection of abstracts.
