A New Approach to Combating Desertification in Turkmenistan: From Monitoring to Scientific Intervention

The concept of updating Turkmenistan’s National Action Program to Combat Desertification was presented in Ashgabat with the participation of specialists from various ministries, scientific institutions, and partner projects supported by UNDP, according to Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper. Originally adopted in 1997 under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the existing document was advisory in nature. The renewed Program will emphasize practical implementation, particularly remote land monitoring. As highlighted by keynote speaker Mukhammet Durikov, Director of the Scientific Information Center of ICARDA and National Coordinator for the UN Convention on Desertification in Turkmenistan, the country possesses vast pasturelands. Landscapes of the Karakum Desert, foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains, and the Caspian lowlands have already been studied and characterized.