CENTRAL ASIA – Today, on February 15, a meeting of members of the Ramsar Regional Initiative for Central Asia (RRI-CA) was held online. The participants discussed a competition for new and innovative ideas to address Ramsar/Potentially Ramsar Sites issues and create local partnerships to promote sustainable use of Ramsar Sites in Central Asia.
As noted by the project manager of RRI-CA Ludmila Kiktenko, the goal of the competition is to identify ideas for collaborative projects, implementation of which will help solve the problems of Ramsar/potentially Ramsar sites and use their resources wisely. The competition will enable to compile a portfolio of projects, which can be used as a material for grant applications to international and local organizations.
During the meeting, RRI-CA members presented the draft concept of the contest and a preliminary strategy for disseminating information about the contest in five Central Asian countries.
“Wetlands are critical ecosystems that support biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, create fresh water availability, provide environmental services, including food production, recreation and tourism and human well-being. This contest will allow us to gather innovative ideas for the conservation and wise use of our wetlands. I think this is very important for Central Asian countries, especially in the context of climate change,” – said Eldar Rustamov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, The National institute of deserts, flora and fauna, Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan.
As a result of the meeting, participants approved the concept, format and strategy for disseminating information about the contest.
CAREC implements the “Ramsar Regional Initiative for Central Asia” project in the partnership with the Ramsar Convention Secretariat under the financial support of German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).