The International Conference on Environmental Cooperation of Turkmenistan with the International Organisations: Achievements and Successes was held in Ashgabat. The large-scale forum was to evaluate the progress the Turkmen had made implementing the national environment policy in recent years and map out the prospects for furthering cooperation in this field.
The impressive representation at the forum organized by the Ministry of Nature Protection of Turkmenistan illustrated the keen interest of the world community in our country that puts forward constructive initiatives on environmental security and environmental protection. More than 150 participants gathered together in the conference hall of the President Hotel in Ashgabat. Among them were the representatives of the Mejlis, Turkmen nature conservation agencies, ministries and departments, state concerns and corporations, scientists and specialists of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan and higher educational institutions. Among the foreign guests were experts of the UN and its agencies, including UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNECE and other major international organisations such as GEF, WHO, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, OSCE, USAID, GIZ, the Zukkov Foundation, Europa House in Turkmenistan, ecologists, specialists and experts of the research centres from Germany, the United States, Russia, Italy, China, Turkey, Uzbekistan and other countries.
In his welcome address to participants of the international environmental conference President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov underlined the importance of protecting the environment and efficiently using natural resources towards sustainable economic development and environmental wellbeing.
“Taking an active part in UN conventions, programmes and projects for ecological safety and environmental protection, Turkmenistan sees enhancing the productivity of this generous land that God granted to us as the ultimate goal of the national environmental policy,” said the Turkmen leader.
Addressing the forum UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Turkmenistan Lenni Montiel emphasized that most active and large-scale cooperation between Turkmenistan and the UN for 17 years of partnership was observed in the sphere of environmental protection and energy efficiency. Over 30 various programmes and projects sponsored by such international structures as the UN Development Programme, the UN Environment Programme and the Ecological Environment Facility have been completed and are being implemented in this period.
Underlining an outstanding contribution of the Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to promoting the ideas of global environmental security, Lenni Montiel underscored the keen interest of the international organisations in the Turkmen leader’s initiative to establish the Interregional Centre on Climate Change under the aegis of the UN in Ashgabat. The country has accumulated the profound positive experience in addressing challenges of climate change and taking effective measures to protect water, land and forest resources, combat desertification, conserve biodiversity and ensure energy efficiency.
In their reports forum participants presented the overview of the programmes and projects implemented in Turkmenistan in close collaboration with UNECE, UNEP, EU and other international structures to meet the requirements of the fundamental UN environmental conventions our country had ratified.
The national strategies for protecting restoring rich biological and genetic resources and preserving the unique ecosystems in the Karakum Desert, the marine environment of the Caspian Sea, the ranges of the Kopetdag Mountains, coastal zones of the Amu Darya River created over many centuries have been elaborated and are effectively being implemented in our country. Conservancy areas play a critical role in protecting and increasing a number of animal and plants species in these ecosystems. National experts with the support of UNESCO international consultants have prepared a package of documents for the nomination of six nature reserves of Turkmenistan for the inclusion into the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Preliminary list. Among them is the Badhyz Reserve with the natural plantations of pistachio trees grow which is the only one of its kind in the world.
The Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea is of particular significance for our country given the ongoing ambitious project of the Avaza national tourism zone, a world-class resort in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian seaside.
Climate change and industrial pollution have become new global challenges to sustainable development and environmental security. The approaches to addressing them are put on the agenda of bi- and multi-lateral meetings and talks on environmental issues which take place in our country. In this regard emphasis should be put on fruitful cooperation with the environmental agencies of the Federal Republic of Germany. In close collaboration with the Zukkov Foundation and the German Society for International Cooperation the large-scale projects of the creation of the national parks Archabil and Sumbar are being implemented in the country.
In close cooperation with German specialists the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects are being developed in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop and use renewable energy sources.
It is difficult to overestimate the scale and significance of the man-made Altyn Asyr Turkmen Lake under construction in the heart of the Karakum Desert. This ambitious ecological project aimed at the environment improvement and efficient use of water and land resources vividly illustrates the state concern for health of the nation and environment and offers a solution to the global problem of water shortage.
Another successful ambitious environmental project is the large-scale tree planting programme. Its main goal is to turn the Turkmen land into a blossoming garden. New parks and vast green areas are created at the foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains, in the vicinities of big towns and settlements. These manmade forests have millions of ‘green inhabitants’.
The film “Reviving Turkmen Nature” was demonstrated to conference participants.
The impressive representation at the forum organized by the Ministry of Nature Protection of Turkmenistan illustrated the keen interest of the world community in our country that puts forward constructive initiatives on environmental security and environmental protection. More than 150 participants gathered together in the conference hall of the President Hotel in Ashgabat. Among them were the representatives of the Mejlis, Turkmen nature conservation agencies, ministries and departments, state concerns and corporations, scientists and specialists of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan and higher educational institutions. Among the foreign guests were experts of the UN and its agencies, including UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNECE and other major international organisations such as GEF, WHO, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, OSCE, USAID, GIZ, the Zukkov Foundation, Europa House in Turkmenistan, ecologists, specialists and experts of the research centres from Germany, the United States, Russia, Italy, China, Turkey, Uzbekistan and other countries.
In his welcome address to participants of the international environmental conference President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov underlined the importance of protecting the environment and efficiently using natural resources towards sustainable economic development and environmental wellbeing.
“Taking an active part in UN conventions, programmes and projects for ecological safety and environmental protection, Turkmenistan sees enhancing the productivity of this generous land that God granted to us as the ultimate goal of the national environmental policy,” said the Turkmen leader.
Addressing the forum UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Turkmenistan Lenni Montiel emphasized that most active and large-scale cooperation between Turkmenistan and the UN for 17 years of partnership was observed in the sphere of environmental protection and energy efficiency. Over 30 various programmes and projects sponsored by such international structures as the UN Development Programme, the UN Environment Programme and the Ecological Environment Facility have been completed and are being implemented in this period.
Underlining an outstanding contribution of the Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to promoting the ideas of global environmental security, Lenni Montiel underscored the keen interest of the international organisations in the Turkmen leader’s initiative to establish the Interregional Centre on Climate Change under the aegis of the UN in Ashgabat. The country has accumulated the profound positive experience in addressing challenges of climate change and taking effective measures to protect water, land and forest resources, combat desertification, conserve biodiversity and ensure energy efficiency.
In their reports forum participants presented the overview of the programmes and projects implemented in Turkmenistan in close collaboration with UNECE, UNEP, EU and other international structures to meet the requirements of the fundamental UN environmental conventions our country had ratified.
The national strategies for protecting restoring rich biological and genetic resources and preserving the unique ecosystems in the Karakum Desert, the marine environment of the Caspian Sea, the ranges of the Kopetdag Mountains, coastal zones of the Amu Darya River created over many centuries have been elaborated and are effectively being implemented in our country. Conservancy areas play a critical role in protecting and increasing a number of animal and plants species in these ecosystems. National experts with the support of UNESCO international consultants have prepared a package of documents for the nomination of six nature reserves of Turkmenistan for the inclusion into the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Preliminary list. Among them is the Badhyz Reserve with the natural plantations of pistachio trees grow which is the only one of its kind in the world.
The Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea is of particular significance for our country given the ongoing ambitious project of the Avaza national tourism zone, a world-class resort in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian seaside.
Climate change and industrial pollution have become new global challenges to sustainable development and environmental security. The approaches to addressing them are put on the agenda of bi- and multi-lateral meetings and talks on environmental issues which take place in our country. In this regard emphasis should be put on fruitful cooperation with the environmental agencies of the Federal Republic of Germany. In close collaboration with the Zukkov Foundation and the German Society for International Cooperation the large-scale projects of the creation of the national parks Archabil and Sumbar are being implemented in the country.
In close cooperation with German specialists the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects are being developed in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop and use renewable energy sources.
It is difficult to overestimate the scale and significance of the man-made Altyn Asyr Turkmen Lake under construction in the heart of the Karakum Desert. This ambitious ecological project aimed at the environment improvement and efficient use of water and land resources vividly illustrates the state concern for health of the nation and environment and offers a solution to the global problem of water shortage.
Another successful ambitious environmental project is the large-scale tree planting programme. Its main goal is to turn the Turkmen land into a blossoming garden. New parks and vast green areas are created at the foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains, in the vicinities of big towns and settlements. These manmade forests have millions of ‘green inhabitants’.
The film “Reviving Turkmen Nature” was demonstrated to conference participants.
