On December 5th, an International Conference on Sustainable Preservation and Management of Protected Areas (PAs) was held in Tashkent, dedicated to discussing issues of development of PAs within funded projects.

The event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Environment, Water Resources, and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,the Department of Protected Areas, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Program (UNDP) in Uzbekistan, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the JICA Representation in Uzbekistan,international and domestic experts and specialists in the field, as well as media representatives.

During the conference, Zokir Rakhimov, the Director of the Department of Protected Areas of the Ministry of Ecology delivered a presentation on "Progress of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the field of protection of environmental areas, implemented projects and current challenges.” 

"In Uzbekistan, protected areas cover 14% of the total area of the country. Today, the Government of the country is actively working on their expansion, strengthening of material and technical base, and development of scientific potential. Along with this, the aim of the conference is to attract international financial institutions to this field, develop ecotourism, as well as strengthen the scientific potential through the creation of laboratories for the study of the genetics of wildlife," said Z. Rakhimov.

Murod Hasanov, a specialist in international cooperation development at the Department, presented the "Roadmap and projects of specially protected natural areas in Uzbekistan."

Furthermore, Akmal Ismatov, the project manager of "Conservation and Sustainable Management of Lakes, Wetlands, and Coastal Corridors as a Basis for Sustainable and Neutral Approach to Landscape Degradation in the Aral Sea Basin, Supporting Sustainable Livelihoods," discussed the goals and objectives of the organization. 

In addition, during the session, international experts shared success stories. Among them were Julian Felten, a representative of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Uzbekistan, Coca-Cola Company manager for government relations, communications and sustainable development in the Central Asian region Nazy Aripdjanova, the Project Manager of UNDP-GEF "Global Biodiversity Program - Early Action Support (GBF-EAS) Sergey Zagrebin," a researcher at the Institute of Zoology Oybek Amirov and others. 

"In my presentation, I analyzed projects related to the development of the protected area system and biodiversity conservation. Among the most significant project results over 20 years: the national legislative framework has been strengthened, support has been provided in drafting the Law on Protected Areas, new concepts have been introduced into legislation, etc. Various regulatory acts in the field of PA establishment have also been prepared, visitation regimes recommended, and support for PA development has been provided," said S. Zagrebin.

The Head Specialist of the Department of Protected Natural Areas, Sabir Berdiev, noted that the number of National Parks is planned to increase in the coming years.

"Over the past two years, 8 National Nature Parks, 2 reserves, and 1 state nature reserve have been established. The Resolution 'On the Approval of the Strategy for the Conservation of Biological Diversity in the Republic of Uzbekistan for the Period 2019-2028' aims to increase the area of protected natural areas to 12% of the total territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan by 2028. However, this figure has already reached 14% today.

In the coming years, it is planned to create 5 National Nature Parks in the Fergana and Namangan regions, as well as 1 in the Surkhandarya region. We strive to increase the area of nature conservation areas to 17% across the entire country," said S. Berdiev.

The conference featured sessions such as "Converging Crises: Paradigms and Policies," "Path to Sustainability: Overview of Best Practices in Managing Protected Areas in the Region and Their Financing," "Flora and Fauna: Strategies and Actions for Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity," "Sustainable Tourism: Ensuring Ecologically Safe and Profitable Tourism in the Region," "Communities and Nature: Strengthening the Role of Local Communities in protected natural areas Management and Conservation," and others.