As part of the FAO/GEF project Integrated natural resource management in drought- and salinity-prone agricultural landscapes of Central Asia and Turkey (CACILM-2), the construction of two tree nurseries in the Kopetdag State Reserve has been completed: one in the Kopetdag mountains and the other in the oasis zone adjacent to the Garagum desert at the «Gawers» site. The project, implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, purchased all the necessary equipment and inventory for tree nurseries.
Among the main tasks of the nursery in the Kopetdag mountains is the expansion of agroforestry areas, including increasing the area of nut, berry and fruit orchards - pistachio, almond, hawthorn, blackberry, cherry. In addition, the nursery will supply planting material for juniper, plane tree, dagdan, thuja and other crops for the restoration of forest plantations on the degraded slopes of the Central Kopetdag and the territory of the Bakja picket, 50 kilometers from «Gokdepe».
The nursery in the oasis zone will be engaged in growing seedlings of fruit, deciduous and ornamental trees, as well as desert shrubs and semi-shrubs for the development of focal gardening, the formation of forest belts around irrigated fields, landscaping of populated areas, as well as the expansion of desert forest areas in the Central Garagum.
The expansion of forest areas in mountainous conditions will significantly reduce the impact of water erosion processes, especially dangerous mudflows. In desert conditions, expanding the planting of desert plants helps to increase the productivity of pastures, and, accordingly, the well-being of farmers. In addition, nurseries will serve as good platforms for training representatives of local communities within the framework of Farmer Field Schools, and the successful experience gained in growing fruit trees and adapted mountain and desert vegetation can be widely disseminated in Turkmenistan.
«In close cooperation with the Government of Turkmenistan, we strive to introduce in the country the best experience accumulated in the world in reforestation in desert and semi-desert zones», said Mahmud Shaumarov, Regional Coordinator of CACILM-2. «All this contributes to a stable increase in the production of berries, fruits and nuts, as well as increasing the incomes of local tenants, gardeners and farmers and improving the microclimatic and environmental conditions for local communities».
