On the second day of his visit to Turkmenistan, Batyr Mamedov the Executive Director of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) held a working meeting with Charygeldy Babaniyazov, the Minister of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, Nury Zhumashov, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, and Mergen Yusupov, Deputy Head of the International Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan. Mergen Kepbanov, Director of the CAREC Project Office in Turkmenistan, also participated in the meeting.
Batyr Mamedov briefed the Ministry's representatives on the priorities and plans of CAREC, including new initiatives and projects. He noted the One Health project, implemented with the support of the World Bank, and the RESILAND CA+ project, in which Turkmenistan is also involved. He stressed the importance of further steps on RESILAND CA+ and said that on June 24, a meeting was held with Bayrammurad Durdyyev, a member of the Regional Advisory Committee of the World Bank's RESILAND CA+ program from Turkmenistan, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, and documents are expected to be signed by the Government of Turkmenistan.
A wide range of environmental issues were discussed at the meeting, and special attention was paid to issues of biodiversity, rational use of water resources, waste management, as well as the preparation of a roadmap and the development of a national waste management strategy.
Turkmenistan's Minister of Environmental Protection Charygeldy Babaniyazov stressed the need to increase attention to the issues of rational use of water resources in the region and proposed to develop a pilot project to create deciduous tree nurseries in addition to conifers. In addition, he expressed support for the launch of the GEF-8 project "Stimulating nature-positive transformation of Turkmenistan's agricultural sector in order to increase resilience to climate change", aimed at sustainable development and environmental protection. In his speech, he also shared information about medicinal plants native to Turkmenistan, paying special attention to valuable species such as ferula.
Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan Nury Zhumashov spoke about the progress of the RESILAND Tajikistan project and plans for RESILAND Turkmenistan, including assistance to the Institute of Deserts and the purchase of laboratory equipment.
Mergen Kepbanov, Director of the CAREC Project Office in Turkmenistan, informed about international initiatives, including the Montevideo program implemented by UNEP, which can provide regulatory support to the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan in developing a forest cadastre and an ecological atlas, as well as other legal documents in the field of environmental protection. He recommended appointing a national coordinating person from the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan to participate in the program and raise funds for new projects.
During the meeting, Turkmenistan's participation in the Fifteenth Central Asian Leadership Program (CALP), which is held annually with the support of the OSCE and GIZ, was also discussed. Batyr Mamedov invited the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan to send two specialists to participate in this program.
In addition, Deputy Minister Nury Zhumashov noted the successful experience of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of forestry and suggested considering opportunities for cooperation and the possibility of developing reference books and methodological materials in the field of forestry, taking into account the successful experience of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
At the end of the meeting, Batyr Mamedov informed about the upcoming participation of CAREC in the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-30), which will be held in Belém, Brazil, and the holding of a special side event on behalf of CAREC within the framework of the conference.
The working meeting was held in a constructive atmosphere and became an important step in strengthening partnership relations between the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan and CAREC.
Additional information:
Mergen Kepbanov, Director of the CAREC Project Office in Turkmenistan, turkmenistan@carececo.org