Cooperation between Uzbekistan and FAO on adaptation to climate change and improving soil fertility celebrated in the capital of Italy

Monday, 24 june 2024

The 12th Plenary Assembly of the Global Soil Cooperation was held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome with the participation of foreign delegations, representatives of international organizations and soil scientists. Within the framework of this conference, the Embassy of our country together with the FAO representative office in Tashkent organized a special event on the topic “National programs for sustainable management of soil and forest resources in Uzbekistan”. At the event, the Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the FAO, Ambassador Abat Fayzullaev informed the participants that special attention is paid to improving the condition of agricultural lands and increasing soil fertility, in particular, issues of their rational and efficient use, they are brought to the level of state policy. It was noted that the negative consequences of climate change are especially acute in Central Asia due to the Aral tragedy. The increase in air temperature in the region is twice the world average. The number of extremely hot days has doubled, the area of glaciers has sharply decreased. It was noted that our country suffers most from soil salinization, drought and land degradation occurring in the region. Masses of salt, dust and sand rising into the air from the dried-up bottom of the Aral Sea increasingly pollute the atmosphere. The participants were greatly interested in the information about the planting of salt-resistant plants on 2 million hectares of the dried-up Aral Sea bed over the past 6 years, at the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan, and the ongoing planting of one billion seedlings throughout the country as part of the National Green Space Program. It was emphasized that at the UN Climate Change Conference (SOP28), held in Dubai last December, initiatives were put forward to transform the Aral Sea region from an environmental disaster zone into a “region of innovation, technology and new opportunities” and to create an international exhibition hub for climate technologies. FAO projects and future plans in cooperation with Uzbekistan received due recognition from the participants. The Global Soil Partnership at FAO was established on December 5, 2012, the main goal of which is to promote the improvement and regulation of soil resources in the world and the conservation of biological diversity.