On July 18, 2019, the International Innovation Center for the Aral Sea under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan organized a round table in the meeting hall of the State Committee of the Republic of Karakalpakstan on Ecology and Environmental protection, on the theme “Discussion of the possibilities of developing a project proposal for participating in the IUCN SOS competition for preserving gazelles in the Aral Sea region and the creation of a working group”.

     The event was attended by representatives of the Karakalpak branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the State Committee of Ecology, Karakalpak State University, the Society of Hunters and Fishermen of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, State Committee on Forestry of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, representatives of Kungrad and Kazakhdarya State Forest Hunting Farm, the State Sanctuary “Saygachy”, the management and specialists of the International Innovation Center for the Aral Sea basin.

      The goitered or black-tailed gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) is a desert dweller, representative of the gazelle family in Uzbekistan. In the XIX century several hundred thousand gazelles inhabited Uzbekistan. But in the second half of the last century, the number of gazelle was drastically reduced to several thousand individuals, as a result of which the gazelle was listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan. Poaching and the influence of predators are the main reasons for the reduction in the number of gazelles. They are currently in need of preservation and protection.

     During the event, the participants discussed the importance of the project, questions, exchanged views on the theme of the “Round Table” and identified objectives for achieving the goals.