Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 7
By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend
A meeting of the council of the joint project of the Turkmen State Committee for Environmental Protection and Land Resources and UNDP (United Nations Development Program) was held in Ashgabat, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported Feb. 6.
The main point of the event was the issue of supporting the economic livelihoods of agricultural communities in Turkmenistan’s arid regions. A report on the work carried out in this field was presented at the meeting.
In particular, the vulnerability of agricultural regions in terms of climate change was analyzed. The mineralization of groundwater was controlled.
Among the priorities of the work is cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the German Society for International Cooperation.
The seminars on the analysis of climatic factors affecting crop production, scientifically based irrigation, restoration of fertility of degraded lands, desalination of soil through desalination of irrigation water are planned to be held. The work will be carried out to improve national legislation covering the use of water and land resources.
The project work was launched in the country’s north-eastern districts to improve the efficiency of water use and agricultural production.
Moreover, 80 percent of the country’s territory accounts for deserts.
Turkmenistan was one of the first countries which ratified the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in 1996.
