Oleg KugaevThe 10th and last CADI Newsletter is available!
The CADI project ends this July. In the 6 years of CADI, we have implemented a huge package of measures for the conservation and sustainable use of the cold winter deserts in our main target countries Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
Among the many outcomes of the project are the establishment of new protected areas, the nomination of the Cold Winter Deserts of Turan as a World Heritage Site, the establishment of Farmer Field Schools to strengthen the capacities of farmers for a sustainable use of deserts, the support of young scientists within the CADI Fellowship programme, or the generation of many new baseline data and knowledge about the vulnerable and endangered ecosystem of cold winter deserts.
We would like to thank all partners, supporters and friends of the project for your engagement, interest and incredible efforts over the past six years in implementing this important project, even in such difficult times as during the pandemic. A special thanks to the International Climate Initiative (IKI) for their support over many years.
The current newsletter is also available for download in our media library, where you can subscribe to CADI Newsletter.
On 28 January 2022, the States Parties Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan submitted their documents for the nomination of the Cold Winter Deserts of Turan as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.
The Nature Information and Visitor Center “The Nature of Karakum” was officially opened on June 1, 2022 on the occasion of the International Day of the Environment (June 5). The new information center is located in the research and experimental center Chalysh of the state nature reserve “Bereketli Garagum”.
The information and visitor center was created under the project Central Asian Desert Initiative (CADI). The opening ceremony was attended by about representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, the Environmental Protection Service, the State Nature Reserve “Bereketli Garagum”, the Secretariat of the National Commission for UNESCO in Turkmenistan, the WWF, the Nature Protection Society of Turkmenistan, as well as teachers of local schools and media representatives.
The center is constructed in the form of a Turkmen yurt and equipped with solar panels. The main purpose of the center is to provide environmental education and inform the public about the ecosystem of the cold winter Turan Desert with a focus on the Karakum Desert. For this purpose, a photo exhibition was organized and information materials on flora and fauna were prepared.
In January 2022, the states of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan submitted the transnational World Heritage nomination of the cold winter deserts of Turan to UNESCO. The CADI offered scientific and organizational support for the UNESCO nomination process. The center provides information about the nomination and could become a World Heritage Visitor Centrein case of its recognition.
Article in Online-Journal “Turkmenistan – Golden Age” (2 June 2022)
The current management of Bereketli Garagum Nature Reserve was evaluated as part of a workshop in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan). The assessment will serve as a basis for developing appropriate measures to improve the functioning of the protected area within the CADI project. It was the first assessment of the 2013 established desert reserve.
Participants of the seminar used the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT) method. Nigel Dudley, one of the developers of the METT method, moderated the workshop
Representatives from the government and different nature reserves as well as scientists took part in the event.
IPBES workshop dedicated to the upcoming International Day of Biodiversity took place on May 16th in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan). The event was organized by CADI in order to support international cooperation for nature conservation in Central Asia.
Within the seminar, the goals, mechanisms and current results of the platform were presented as well as the benefits offered by the IPBES membership. Turkmenistan currently is one of the Observer States of the 132-country’s body.
The final discussion made it clear that Turkmenistan’s possible membership of the IPBES platform will allow experts from relevant government agencies, academic institutions, and NGOs to significantly increase their access to up-to-date regional scientific results on biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as the influence on the international agenda. The decision to join the IPBES platform should be made by the respective government.
Decision-makers from the governmental agencies, as well as representatives of scientific, non-governmental and International Organizations from Turkmenistan, took part at the event.
Article in online journal “Solotoi vek” (Russian)
On the 7th of January, 2019, after more than two years of preparation, CADI got an official registration from the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan. Registration is a prerequisite for project implementation in the country.
The registration is based on the CADI project agreement between the State Committee of Turkmenistan for Environmental Protection and Land Resources and the Michael Succow Foundation. The agreement represents the latest step in the long-standing, fruitful cooperation between the two partners on a range of projects on nature conservation and resource management in Turkmenistan under a Memorandum of Understanding.
CADI intends to implement a broad work package that aims to preserve the biodiversity and ecosystem services of cold winter deserts in Turkmenistan. One of the main tasks is to prepare a nomination document for the inscription of the protected areas Repetek and Bereketli Garagum into the list of World Natural Heritage sites. In addition, within CADI scientific-technical justifications for the establishment, extension or IUCN status adjustment of a protected area in Turkmenistan will be prepared.
National partner for the implementation of CADI in Turkmenistan is the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna (NIDFF).
