The conference was opened by Aziz Abdukhakimov , Advisor to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Environmental Issues and Chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change; Shakhlo Turdikulova , Vice President of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Rashid Toshev , Representative of the Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Abdushukur Khamzaev, Head of the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan Faction in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis; and Dmitry Gorshkov , Regional Coordinator for Central Asia of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) . During the welcoming speech, Aziz Abdukhakimov introduced Bakhtiyor Pulatov, the newly appointed Rector of Green University.
In his welcoming speech, the Chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change emphasized that Uzbekistan currently faces a range of serious environmental challenges—climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, land salinization, and air pollution—which have a direct impact not only on the environment but also on the economy, society, and public health. It was noted that the purpose of the conference is to discuss the scientific, theoretical, and practical aspects of implementing environmental reforms based on the principles of sustainable development and advanced, environmentally friendly technologies.
The speech focused on the fact that 2025 has been declared the “Year of Environmental Protection and Green Economy” in Uzbekistan, and the transformation of the relevant agency into the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change has become an important step toward taking environmental reforms to a qualitatively new level. The “Uzbekistan 2030” Strategy sets ambitious goals, including increasing greenery coverage to 30 percent, expanding forests in the Aral Sea region to 2.3 million hectares, creating protective forests on an area of ​​600,000 hectares to combat desertification, droughts, and sandstorms, expanding specially protected natural areas, and increasing the share of green energy to 54 percent. Furthermore, Uzbekistan has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2035 as part of the Paris Agreement.
Emphasizing the importance of international cooperation, Aziz Abdukhakimov noted that environmental and climate issues transcend borders and require joint efforts. In this context, the opening of the IUCN regional office at Green University was seen as a testament to the international community’s high level of trust in Uzbekistan’s role in promoting science-based solutions to environmental problems in Central Asia. Confidence was also expressed that the Central Asian Center for Ecology and Environmental Research, established at the university jointly with the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will become a key platform for regional scientific research.
The conference’s plenary session featured presentations by leading domestic and international experts. The focus was on Uzbekistan’s current environmental and water management challenges, as well as solutions in the context of climate change. A separate presentation addressed the formation of a green economy, the logic of its development, and innovative approaches to implementing green technologies.
The online presentations explored nature-based approaches to ensuring clean water and transitioning to green energy, as well as international experience in implementing nature-positive policies aimed at increasing the climate resilience of aquatic and pasture ecosystems. Participants were presented with scientific assessments of the potential of nature-based solutions for restoring ecosystems in arid regions of Uzbekistan.
The impact of water-saving technologies on water resources and agricultural productivity in arid zones was also discussed, as were climate and natural risk management in cities using modern methods and tools, integrated approaches to land use assessment, and sustainable river basin management strategies. Special attention was paid to international initiatives to accelerate the implementation of innovations in nature-based solutions, as well as an assessment of key sources of air pollution and recommendations for improving air quality monitoring and management systems, using the city of Termez as an example.
Over the course of two days, conference participants will discuss current scientific approaches and practical solutions in the field of nature-based technologies aimed at increasing environmental sustainability and adapting to climate change, with an emphasis on developing international scientific dialogue and strengthening cooperation.
Google machine translated