Central Asian countries and Russia present three joint reports on sustainable land use at COP17 in Mongolia

A session of the Interregional Group Central Asia–Russia was held at the Russian Pavilion during the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ulaanbaatar. Participants discussed sustainable land management, exchanged practical experience and presented the results of their joint work. The discussion was moderated by German Kust, Chair of the UNCCD Interregional Group Central Asia–Russia.

The session addressed three topics: the role of COP17 as a launchpad for strengthening cooperation between the three Rio Conventions (on climate change, biodiversity and combating desertification, which were signed at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. – Ed.); the region's main challenges related to land degradation and innovation; and an assessment of the Interregional Group's work and prospects for its further development.

In an exclusive interview with TV BRICS, Nadezhda Dementieva, Regional Coordinator of the Secretariat of UNCCD for relations with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, spoke about the main outcomes of the cooperation. She recalled that the group was established in 2019 to work together towards achieving the objectives of the Convention and its 2018–2030 Strategic Framework.

“This is not simply an exchange of views but an exchange of scientific data and sustainable land-use practices that exist in all the countries. It should be acknowledged that development in all the Central Asian countries and Russia is proceeding at a very high level,” the coordinator noted.

According to her, the main outcome of the work at COP17 was the preparation of three publications produced by teams of authors from all participating countries. She specified that the works presented included a thematic regional assessment of Central Asia as part of the flagship Global Land Outlook report.

We have had regional assessments of other regions, but this is the first time for Central Asia. [...] We also presented two more publications. The first focuses on achieving land degradation neutrality in Central Asia. This is a scientific paper that corresponds to the Convention's objective – SDG 15.3, indicator 15.3.1. The second focuses on carbon farming, which is attracting increasing interest not only among the Central Asian countries but around the world

Nadezhda Dementieva

Regional Coordinator of the Secretariat of UNCCD for relations with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Adviser to the Chairman of the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Alisher Salomov, emphasised the cross-border nature of environmental challenges in a conversation with TV BRICS.

First and foremost, I would like to highlight the importance of this Central Asia–Russia initiative, because environmental problems know no borders, and only a shared understanding of these problems and the search for joint solutions can deliver positive results

Alisher Salomov

Adviser to the Chairman of the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Alisher Salomov stressed that land degradation and dust storms are a common problem for the entire region. “In this regard, together with our international partners, we are establishing monitoring and early warning centres for environmental threats, which will certainly provide positive momentum in addressing these challenges,” Salomov said.

Murat Temirzhanov, Chairman of the Committee for Land Resources Management of Kazakhstan, shared specific technological experience from his country. He gave a detailed account of how the monitoring system operates in Kazakhstan.

We have already digitised 100 per cent of our land. We are now launching an information system based on platform solutions, where data is layered: one layer covers soil quality, another agrochemistry, and a third vegetation cover, such as the carrying capacity of pastures. There is also integration with other databases. This is already operational, but we have gone further – we are now integrating artificial intelligence into the system. [...] I think this is an excellent solution, and we are ready to offer it to our colleagues in the Interregional Group

Murat Temirzhanov

Chairman of the Committee for Land Resources Management of Kazakhstan

Other speakers from the participating countries included Andrey Razin, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation; Bahodur Sheralizoda, Chairman of the Committee for Environmental Protection of Tajikistan; Azamat Sharshenbekov, an expert at the Administration of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic; and Berdi Berdyev, Head of a Department at the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan.