FAO promotes the Central Asian Desert Sustainability Initiative
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is actively promoting special Initiative for the preservation and stainable use of the cold Asian deserts in Central Asia (Central Asian Desert Initiative - CADI).
This project, designed for the period 2017-2019, covers three target countries - Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The International Climate Initiative (IKI), which supports eco-projects in transition countries, will invest US $ 1.36 million in CADI.
The area of cold deserts and semi-deserts occupies about 79% of territory in Turkmenistan, in Uzbekistan - 85%, in Kazakhstan - 58%. Central Asia accounts for 95% of the areas of temperate deserts.
The cold winter deserts of these three countries - Karakum, Kyzylkum and Muyunkum - are the home for various endemic species and provide the local population with vital material and non-material benefits, i.e. ecosystem services.
Ecosystem services and products provided by cold winter deserts include biomass production, sand consolidation, supply of fuelwood, as well as underground and above-ground carbon storage and storage and buffer function in the annual carbon cycle.
Today, these unique biomes are under the risk of degradation due to negative pasturing practices and irrational gathering of saxaul used as firewood.
The introducing the measures to preserve biodiversity and natural resources into the methods of land management is an extremely important condition.
With the purpose of providing technical support to three Central Asian countries in solving this issue, FAO and the Michael Succow Foundation of Germany, with the coordinating role of the University of Greifswald, developed the CADI Initiative. The program is also supported by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety of Germany.
The practical part of the initiative includes four working projects aimed at:
- 1) disseminating data-based knowledge on ecosystem services, biodiversity, the state of land use in temperate deserts;
- 2) maintaining sustainable land management;
- 3) establishment of protected areas in desert ecosystems;
- 4) development of a common vision for sustainable management and protection of temperate deserts, interaction between the target countries of the project at the national and international levels.
According to Yuriko Shoji, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Central Asia, FAO plans to work out the establishment of a governing body for the implementation of this Initiative, prepare a joint work program and hold an international forum on the conservation and sustainable use of drylands.
As a start of the project, in early November it is expected to hold a familiarization seminar in Uzbekistan with the participation of representatives of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
The partner in realizing the CADI project in Turkmenistan is the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna under the State Committee for Environmental Protection and Land Resources.
The Institute has a rich experience in realization of environmental international projects. In particular, these are reforestation measures and joint project on the sustainable use of natural resources implemented in cooperation with the German Society for the International Community GIZ, UNDP and the Global Environment Facility.
