The state and society have always placed great importance on protecting nature and the environment. In today’s world, with increasing global concern for environmental issues, this work has become even more relevant.
The Regional Conservation Forum for Europe, North, and Central Asia (RCF) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was recently held in Bruges. The Uzbekistan delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change I. Qutbiddinov, also attended the forum.
During the forum, representatives from Uzbekistan had the opportunity to meet with the Director General of IUCN, Grethel Aguilar, as well as the Director of the IUCN Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Boris Erg, and the Director of the Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Oliver Avramovski.
The Director General of IUCN praised Uzbekistan’s active international policy in the field of environmental protection, including hosting global summits and high-level meetings. The 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14), which was held in Samarkand in February of this year, was specifically highlighted and the ecological and tourism potential of Uzbekistan was highly praised.
In addition, there was a focus on the need to further accelerate IUCN’s activities in Uzbekistan and Central Asia, improve the effectiveness of grant projects, expand the collection of projects, and attract additional grant funds from the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund in order to expedite the opening of the IUCN Representative Office in Tashkent.
As a result of the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed for cooperation in environmental protection, as well as a Grant Agreement for $1.1 million for the implementation of the project “Land Use and Restoration of Degraded Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Uzbekistan” with IUCN.
Mukhayyo Toshqorayeva, UzA