A new issue of the quarterly popular science journal Environmental Responsibility and Environmental Protection’, which is published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, focuses on international cooperation.
Co-authored by specialists of the agri-environmental authority Jumadurdy Saparmuradov and Berdy Berdyev, an opening article draws attention of the general reader to our country’s adherence to environmental conventions, pointing out that Turkmenistan boasts 9 nature reserves, 16 wildlife sanctuaries, and unique natural landmarks.
Special efforts are being made to study, identify and describe plant and animal species in the conservation areas.Repetek Biosphere State Reserve is the country’s oldest protected area, where research activities began over 100 years ago.
Bereketli Garagum Nature Reserve, the newest wildlife preserve, was established in 2013.
An article by National Teheran Convention Liaison Officer Gozel Oradurdyeva addresses the Caspian Sea-related issues and provides a timeline of the Caspian Summits attended by the leaders of the littoral Caspian states.
Initiated by Turkmenistan, the First Caspian Summit, which was held in Ashgabat in 2002, laid the groundwork for new forms of interstate cooperation.The Kazakh city of Aktau hosted the Fifth Caspian Summit in 2018.
Adopted at the latest summit, the Communiqué contains the proposal put forward by the President of Turkmenistan on running the Caspian Economic Forum.The Aktau Summit also culminated in the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea.
Different types of documents have been signed in the Caspian Summits’ 17-year-history, including those initiated by the Turkmen leader.Among them are the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Resources of the Caspian Sea and the Agreement on Cooperation in Emergency Prevention and Response in the Caspian Sea.
Our country actively contributed to working out the other Agreements having organized a number of meetings in Ashgabat.
The article also states that alongside with considerable discussion of the Convention’s provisions, the region’s environmental agencies were working in close collaboration for two decades in the field of ecology. This culminated in the 2003 Tehran Convention. Turkmenistan was the first among the coastal nations bordering the Caspian Sea to ratify the document.
The Convention was the first regional agreement reflecting a comprehensive approach to tacking environmental issues in the Caspian Sea.A series of additional protocols have been adopted by now: the Protocol Concerning Regional Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in Combating Oil Pollution Incidents; the Protocol on the Protection of the Caspian Sea against Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities; the Protocol on Biodiversity Conservation.
The Mejlis of Turkmenistan has ratified the two last-mentioned protocols.Another Protocol on Environmental Monitoring, Assessment and Data Sharing is currently under development.
As highlighted in the article, the Environmental Monitoring Program, implemented under the Convention, aims to harmonize regional water and sea-floor sediment quality standards.An action plan to combat marine litter is now in active preparation.
Experts from the littoral nations have prepared the Second State of the Environment Report for the Caspian Sea for publication.A Caspian Sea Plan concerning regional cooperation in combatting pollution is well under discussion.
In his article Gurbanyaz Khommadov, a specialist at Türkmensuwylymtaslama Design Institute of the State Committee of Water Management, talks about desert plants’ ability to acquire extra moisture from the collector-drainage system of the Altyn Asyr Turkmen Lake.
The author explains that soil moisture provided by autumn and spring rains is sufficient only for desert ephemerals to survive, but perennial plants soak up condensed moisture caused by the extensive range of daytime and nighttime temperatures.
The scientist recognizes the beneficial impacts of the Turkmen Lake on the entire ecosystem and points out growing bird populations on its shores and an increasing number of fish species in the collector-drainage system. The vegetation in the areas adjacent to the canals has become denser with saxaul trees growing vigorously.
An article written by Director of the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna (NIDFF) Muhammet Durikov contains information about the new artificial island in the Turkmenbashi Bay.Specialists of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection and scientists of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan are working together to explore the new ecosystem.
Over a span of two years only, plants have colonized 70 percent of the man-made island.
The following plants have been registered on the island: Atriplex Moneta Bunge, Climacoptera, barnyard grass, Halostachys Caspica, glassworts (Salsola).Fauna diversity is increasing as well, the author writes, - in addition to different insects and invertebrates, the island is now home to nonvenomous water snakes, as well as to birds.
Scientists have counted 80 bird species on the island and in near-shore waters.No human intervention has allowed the island to provide a habitat for swans, coots, flamingoes, white-tailed eagles, mash harriers, ducks, seagulls, sandpipers, herons, and passerines.
The place is a nesting ground for white and black-headed wagtails and Kentish plovers, and a feeding ground for common swallows and black swifts during seasonal migrations.
The issue also features an article on rare Lepidoptera (butterflies) that are proposed for inclusion in a new edition of the Red Data Book of Turkmenistan. Biologists are now collecting and systematizing material for the fourth Annotated List of Rare and Endangered Animals and Plants of Turkmenistan.