Uzbekistan and Mongolia Form Aral-Gobi Eco Partnership

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan and Mongolia have agreed to jointly develop a new environmental initiative aimed at restoring degraded lands and mitigating sand and dust storms across Central Asia and the Gobi region.

The decision was reached during a meeting between Aziz Abdukhakimov, advisor to the President of Uzbekistan on environmental issues and chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, and Ts. Sandag-Ochir, Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Mongolia. The official initiative, titled the "Aral–Gobi Partnership for the Restoration of Arid Land Ecosystems and Reduction of Sand and Dust Storms," marks a shift toward joint project preparation and international climate financing.

The agreement focuses on establishing pilot areas in both nations, assessing priority directions, and formulating specific project proposals to restore degraded lands and pastures. The comprehensive approach includes sustainable land management, rational water use, pasture restoration, soil degradation prevention, and agricultural adaptation to climate change.

To fund these large-scale efforts, the two countries intend to jointly prepare proposals to secure international financial resources from institutions such as the Adaptation Fund, the Global Environment Facility, the Green Climate Fund, and the World Bank. Central to this strategy is the proposed Central Asia and Mongolia Land Project Preparation Facility (CA+M Land PPF), designed to transform early-stage concepts into investment-ready environmental projects.

The initiative leverages shared environmental challenges between the Aral Sea region and the Gobi Desert, which both suffer from land degradation, desertification, and severe dust storms. Mongolia’s current presidency of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification provides an additional international platform to promote the joint agenda.

Beyond immediate land restoration, the partnership aims to expand into scientific, technological, and economic cooperation, incorporating remote land monitoring, digital mapping of degraded areas, and nature-based solutions. Officials view the Aral–Gobi framework as a foundation for a broader regional mechanism that could eventually involve other Central Asian nations in systemic, joint climate adaptation strategies.