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The specialized equipment has been installed in Ashgabat to assess and control the quality of atmospheric air, which will significantly improve the monitoring of the overall environmental condition of the capital.

The equipment was purchased as part of the joint project with UNDP “Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan: Integrated Green Urban Development in Ashgabat and Awaza” for the Environmental Monitoring Service and regional laboratories of the Nature Protection Departments of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection.

Population growth, the emergence of several new developed residential areas, large-scale projects of public and housing construction, the expansion of appropriate infrastructure, high economic growth rates and growing urbanization are often accompanied by the burden on the environment, which is expressed in the form of surge in resource consumption, wastes, air pollution from greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, timely data on the state of the environment can help to take appropriate preventive measures in order to minimize the negative impact on human health.

Modern instruments installed in the main city of Turkmenistan, which will determine the concentrations of pollutants contained in the emissions of industrial enterprises and other sources of air pollution will serve this purpose.

According to UNDP/GEF project manager Batyr Ballyev, in order to promote sustainable practices, develop and create green cities, it is very important to make decisions based on research and collected data and analysis using specialized equipment.

-That is why one of the objectives of our project is to improve the practice of assessing the state of environment of the city of Ashgabat by various indicators and building the capacity of the relevant departments in processing the data received and reporting on them, - the expert explained.

The employees of the Environmental Control Service underwent a 3-day training, obtained theoretical and practical skills of working with new equipment and its maintaining. Following the practical lessons, participants of the workshop deliberated on further development and possible improvement of the existing environmental monitoring system.

The steps taken to modernize the monitoring network will contribute to achieving the main goal of the above-mentioned project - to reduce harmful emissions by optimizing environmental control over the activities of industrial facilities in cities and suburbs.

As part of implementation of project activities, the procurement of specialized equipment for assessing and monitoring the state of water resources is underway.

Elvira KADYROVA