On October 10, 2024, the Project manager of the UNESCO Regional Office in Almaty, Nana Baramidze, met with the director of the project office of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) in Turkmenistan Mergen Kepbanov at the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna of Turkmenistan. The meeting was also attended by Director of National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna of Turkmenistan Pirli Kepbanov and the national project coordinator of the GEF-UNESCO in Turkmenistan Diana Charyeva.
The meeting took place after a two-day national seminar dedicated to strengthening the resilience of Central Asian countries to promote regional cooperation in the field of assessment of nival-glacial systems and the development of integrated methods for sustainable development and adaptation to climate change and was devoted to discussing the possibilities and participation of CAREC in the Cryosphere Project in Central Asia. The main attention was paid to strengthening the resilience of the Central Asian countries, the participation of experts and increasing human resources in the field of cryosphere, which is a new direction for Turkmenistan.
The project provides for the creation of a platform that will allow all Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — to share knowledge and experience in monitoring the cryosphere and the impact of melting glaciers on water availability. This platform will serve to provide a scientific basis for climate change adaptation measures and strategies.
Nana Baramidze, Project Manager of the UNESCO Regional Office in Almaty, and Mergen Kepbanov, Director of the CAREC Project Office in Turkmenistan, expressed confidence that joint efforts will lead to significant results in the field of sustainable development and adaptation to climate change in the region.
Additional information:
Mergen Kepbanov, Director of the CAREC Project Office in Turkmenistan, turkmenistan@carececo.org