Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the government of Uzbekistan, has launched an ambitious project aimed at reducing land degradation and improving the management of natural resources.

The initiative, titled "Sustainable Management of Forests and Pastures in Dryland Ecosystems of Uzbekistan" (GCP/UZB/020/GFF), will play a key role in achieving sustainable land and forest management (SLM/SFM) goals and fulfilling the country’s commitments to land degradation neutrality (LDN).

With a budget of $3.8 million allocated by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project seeks to address critical environmental challenges facing Uzbekistan. A strategic meeting was held in Tashkent to discuss key initiatives and accelerate the project’s implementation.

The meeting brought together representatives from the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Forestry Agency, FAO experts, and international specialists.

The project focuses on Bukhara and Navoi regions, where pasture degradation has reached a critical level. In Jondor and Nurota districts, pasture productivity has declined by 42% since the beginning of the century. Plans include restoring 13,000 hectares of degraded land and implementing climate-resilient practices across an additional 225,000 hectares.

“This project marks an important milestone in our cooperation with Uzbekistan,” said Sherzod Umarov, Deputy Representative of FAO in Uzbekistan.

“Over 20 million hectares of land require restoration, and this initiative will not only benefit the environment but also ensure a sustainable future for rural communities.”

The project is based on a three-pronged LDN strategy:

Preventing degradation by optimizing national programs;

Reducing losses through sustainable farming practices;

Restoring ecosystems to mitigate existing damage.

Senior Technical Advisor Nariman Nishanov emphasized: “A comprehensive approach and a strong focus on supporting local populations, including gender-sensitive strategies, will ensure long-term impact.”

The project aims to:

Develop a land degradation neutrality (LDN) monitoring system;

Enhance climate resilience in affected regions;

Implement sustainable land and forest management practices;

Support local communities through training and financial assistance.

The project’s implementation is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by 6.1 million tons, improve the livelihoods of local farmers, and expand value chains in dairy production, beekeeping, and medicinal plant cultivation.

During the meeting, a report titled “Sand and Dust Storms in Uzbekistan: Atmospheric Modeling for Understanding and Mitigation” was presented. Prepared by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the study analyzes the causes of dust storms and proposes nature-based solutions to mitigate their impact.

The report is based on data from the advanced RAMS/ICLAMS modeling system, which helps understand interactions between dust sources, vegetation, and regional climatic conditions.

The FAO-Uzbekistan project promises to be a significant step toward environmental stability and the sustainable development of the country’s rural areas.