Tashkent Hosts Meeting on Aral Sea Ecosystem Restoration
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Seventh Steering Committee meeting of the Aral Sea Wetlands project took place at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in Tashkent to review second-quarter results for 2026 and outline future measures for conserving the Aral Sea Basin's ecosystems.
The joint initiative is implemented by the UNDP, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The project focuses on the conservation and sustainable management of lakes, wetlands, and riparian corridors within the Aral Sea Basin, alongside the restoration of degraded ecosystems.
The meeting was co-chaired by Alisher Salomov, Adviser to the Chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, and Anas Fayyad Qarman, Acting UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan. Participants evaluated project outcomes for the reporting period, addressing biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, and environmental governance.
During the second quarter of 2026, the project conducted 17 educational seminars and training sessions for water and land resource management specialists. The council also highlighted a three-day media expedition held in July 2026, where media representatives visited natural sites and ecosystems in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River, leading to subsequent media coverage on regional environmental issues and conservation needs.
Furthermore, council members discussed the project's Micro-Grants Programme, designed to support local initiatives focused on conserving natural resources. The agenda also included the launch of a new UNDP innovation competition titled "Innovative Solutions for the Restoration of Degraded and Saline Lands in the Lower Reaches of the Amu Darya River," aimed at identifying practical methods for land restoration.
The committee additionally examined legal and institutional measures for environmental governance, institutional capacity building, environmental legislation compliance, and third-quarter budget priorities for 2026.
