Forestry and environmental specialists, together with lawyers and international experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), prepared a draft of the updated Forest Code of Turkmenistan, which was presented to the participants of the meeting in Ashgabat.

The meeting was attended by the FAO and GEF mission that arrived in Ashgabat, consisting of Ekrem Yazici, Technical Director of the Integrated Natural Resources Management in Drought- and Salinity-Prone Landscapes of Agricultural Production in Central Asia and Türkiye (CACILM-2) Project, and Mahmud Shaumarov, Regional Project Coordinator.

The two-day meeting discussed the most important aspects of careful and sustainable management of forest resources, improving the legal framework for forest restoration. The updated document is designed not only to meet today's requirements, but also to take into account the problems of climate change on the planet and emerging environmental challenges. All comments and suggestions received during the discussions at the meeting will be taken into account in the process of finalizing the Code before the draft law is submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers and then sent for consideration to the deputies of the Mejlis, the highest legislative body of Turkmenistan.

«Our task is to discuss further steps in the process of finalizing this most important document», Mahmud Shaumarov noted in his speech at the meeting.

In addition to participating in the meeting, the FAO/GEF mission members met with the leadership and key personnel of the Ministry of Environment of Turkmenistan, the main national partner of the CACILM-2 project.