Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- FAO Representation in Uzbekistan carries out large-scale work to create forest plantations in the Syrdarya region as part of the FAO project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) "Sustainable Forest Management in Mountain and Valley Areas of Uzbekistan". This will create new job opportunities and provide the local population with additional income sources. More than 30 thousand seedlings of maple, ash, poplar, mulberry, elm and other trees were planted on a 20 hectares territory of the Syrdarya forestry by the FAO Representation in Uzbekistan. Furthermore, 10 thousand seedlings were distributed among the local population to create green spaces in their personal plots.

FAO Representation in Uzbekistan established demonstrational plots for forest plantations in the Gulistan district, forest shelter belts in the Boyavut district, as well as a nursery for ornamental and forest plantations in the Shirin district of Syrdarya region for the purpose of conducting workshops on planting and soil preparation, - as noted by Olimjon Kakhkharov, the technical coordinator of the FAO project.

One of the mentioned workshops was organized for the local population in Gulistan with the participation of FAO experts, the representatives of the State Forestry Committee and of the Tashkent State Agrarian University. The aim was to engage the participants with the new agricultural technology used for the creation of walnut, fuel and wood plantations, giving them the opportunity to apply it on practical examples. The participants elaborated on matters related to youth and women employment, as well as the provision of forest land for long-term lease as the means of improving the socio-economic conditions of the local population.

The FAO/GEF project "Sustainable Forest Management in Mountain and Valley Areas of Uzbekistan" is aimed at increasing the sustainability and conservation of forest biodiversity, broadly involving local residents in forest management processes, improving the well-being of the population, and assisting in the implementation of advanced concepts into the forest fund. The project is being implemented in 4 territories, each representing a different type of forest ecosystems that exist in Uzbekistan - the Syrdarya, Dehkanabad, Kitab and Papal state forestries. The project demonstration areas are located in both mountainous and valley regions of the forest fund.