#DroughtRiskManagement #UNCCD #CAREC #DroughtandSDS #Central Asia
On 24 September, CAREC Country Office team in Tajikistan held a working meeting with the UNCCD National Coordinator in the Republic of Tajikistan and project experts working on drought and sand and dust storms. During the meeting participants discussed current results and further steps in implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) funded project "Regional approaches to combating sand and dust storms and drought".
The meeting participants were Mavlod Abdukadyr, Deputy Chairman of the Environmental Protection Committee under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, who is also the National Coordinator of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in the Republic of Tajikistan, Vaisidin Saidov, Director of CAREC Country Office in the Republic of Tajikistan, Murojon Ergashev, National Drought Expert of the Project, and Mirzo Saidov, Leading National Expert on sand and dust storms of the Project.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Mavlodod thanked the participants and CAREC for the work done within the framework of the Project in such an important for the country field. He also noted that the issues of climate change and adaptation to it, the socio-economic links between ecology and national health are of special attention of the Government. He noted that the Project " Regional approaches to combating sand and dust storms and drought" helps in understanding the land degradation processes and contributes to solving the common problems.
Mr Saidov congratulated Mr Mavlodod Abdukadyr on his recent appointment as UNCCD National Focal Point and wished him productive and fruitful work. He also spoke about the first six months of the Project's implementation - from January to June this year - in all five Central Asian countries, and separately highlighted the activities and achievements of the experts in Tajikistan. The experts who were present complemented the reported data and outlined the tasks for the next 6 months.
The parties positively noted the Project implementation process and agreed to continue cooperation and work within the framework of the Project "Regional approaches to combating sand and dust storms and drought".
Information:
In January 2020 in all five countries of Central Asia with the financial support of the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) the project "Regional approaches in combating sand and dust storms and drought" was launched. The project is implemented by the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC), which works in close cooperation with designated national institutions and UNCCD National Focal Points in each of five countries.
Central Asian countries are highly exposed to drought and sand and dust storms (SDS). This problem is especially relevant for areas outside the highlands, where semi-arid and arid climate prevails.
To assist member countries in improving their preparedness and resilience to drought and SDS, the UNCCD Secretariat, in collaboration with a number of partners, has developed mechanisms to promote policies to combat these hazards. The Secretariat has supported countries in developing national plans, methodologies and tools for dealing with these natural events. In particular, a set of drought management measures has been developed, an SDS compendium and a global SDS sources base-map have been compiled.
You can learn more about the Project and its activities here:
− http://carececo.org/main/activity/projects/droughtSDS/