On February 12, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) signed the Letter of Intent during the high-level plenary session, “Nature Knows No Borders: Working Together for Migratory Species and Sustainable Development in Central Asia,” that was held in Samarkand as part of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14). The document was signed by Daniel Gustafson, Special Representative of the FAO Director General, Aziz Abdukhakimov, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan, and Grethel Aguilar, Director General of the IUCN.
By signing the Letter of Intent the parties have committed to continue cooperation and expedite preparation of a Letter of Agreement for joint implementation of the “Food systems, land use and restoration impact program in Uzbekistan”, which is a part of the Global FOLUR Impact Program, FAO reported. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project “Food systems, land use and restoration impact program in Uzbekistan” is aimed at introduction of efficient land management technologies and conservation approaches in wheat-dominated production landscapes, and the creation of environmentally friendly value chains to realize the transition from ecosystem degradation to sustainable management. The project is implemented in Karakalpakstan, Kashkadarya and Khorezm regions of Uzbekistan.
IUCN will conduct an analysis of current land use and management practices, restoration potential and Public Private Producer Partnerships options in the focus areas by applying the IUCN Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM), the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions and the IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas. Based on the assessment, IUCN will develop solutions for landscape restoration and sustainable land management in the target regions.
