Environmental experts to help Turkmen farmers to adapt to climate change
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and national partners held a meeting on the planning of actions on adaptation to climate change, says press release of UNDP mission in Ashgabat. The gathering, attended by the representatives of the National Committee for Hydrometeorology, the State Committee for Environmental Protection and Land Resources, the Ministry of Finance and Economics, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, as well as 10 farmers from the four farmers associations of the Lebap and Dashoguz provines, discussed the needs of farmers, livestock breeders and the potential for cooperation with relevant government agencies. “It is vital to ensure sustainable use of water and land as climate change together with misuse of the natural resources lead to depletion of available land for pastures and agriculture”, commented noted Nazar Korpeev, National expert of UNDP project. In opinion of specialist, it is necessary to set up a coordination mechanism among the national agencies stipulating funding for climate change mitigation measures and to ensure introduction of the best practices. Participants of the meeting paid special attention to the training program on adaptation to climate transformations, which is planned to be realized under the UNDP project “Supporting climate resilient livelihoods in agricultural communities in drought-prone areas of Turkmenistan”. As part of the event, the farmers visited the project site in Geokdepe, managed under the project “Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for Sustainable Water Management in Turkmenistan”. The guests acquainted with the innovative laser equipment for land leveling and creating a proper slope for the purpose of balanced irrigation of the fields. In turn, the adequate watering increases the yield level by 20% and helps to prevent soil salinization. Demonstration of the new equipment was carried out by local farmers with the participation of invited experts from Uzbekistan. The equipment was procured by UNDP after its successful testing in the framework of a project financed by the Adaptation Fund in 2012-2016. The above UNDP projects for the period 2015-2021 are funded by the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
