Member of the Board of Governors of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) Boriy Alikhanov and representatives of the CAREC Country Office for Uzbekistan participated in a round table conference on the 15th anniversary of the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan.
The Senate Committee of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the development of Aral Sea region and ecology hosted the event and gathered together members of the Senate, deputies of the legislative chamber, employees of relevant ministries and departments, representatives of the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan, international organizations, non-governmental non-profit organizations working in the field of ecology and medicine, the media, as well as activists of the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan.
During the event, presentations of the book-album “Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan - 15 Years on the Path of Environmental Stability” and a collection of scientific articles, reports and publications by Bory Alikhanov were held.
The Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan, established on 2 August 2008, carries out large-scale work in environmental protection and improving public health. At the same time, the Movement pays special attention to mitigating the negative impact of the Aral Sea tragedy on public health and the environment.
Many experts note that the scale of the environmental disaster of the Aral Sea region goes far beyond the borders of the countries of Central Asia. The drying up of the Aral Sea is one of the most acute environmental disasters of the present. Today, only 10% of the Aral Sea area has survived. To address this problem, in 2021, the UN General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution declaring the Aral Sea region a “zone of environmental innovations and technologies”.
CAREC also contributes to solving the problems of the Aral Sea region and actively cooperates with development partners in the Aral Sea basin, implementing projects at the regional and national levels. Today, one of the CAREC's large-scale regional projects is the “Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for the Aral Sea Basin” (CAMP4ASB), implemented with the financial support of the World Bank. The range of activities of this Project includes promoting the sustainability of the agricultural sector in the light of climate change: land management, investment in agriculture, and strengthening the capacity of rural communities.
In 2022, the regional project “Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for the Aral Sea Basin” received additional funding until May 2024 from the Green Climate Fund and was renamed the “Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for the Aral Sea Basin Additional Funding (CAMP4ASB AF)”. CAREC implements the Project jointly with EC IFAS with the financial support of the World Bank and the Green Climate Fund.