Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

The collapse of the Aral sea ecosystem and its far reaching consequences serve as the focal point for the efforts of Turkmenistan’s water, land and environmental authorities [ ] 225 Plan to establish a protected areas network based on past successes Turkmenistan joined the Convention for Biological Diversity in 1996 and, since then, a number of successful initiatives have been undertaken. For instance, the project: “Preservation and sustainable management of bio- diversity of global importance at the Khazar Nature reserve on the Caspi- an shore” that ran from 2006 to 2010. A concerted effort on behalf of several governmental bodies, pursuing edu- cational, organizational and financial levers, with a special emphasis on adaptive planning and project man- agement, had achieved prevention of biodiversity loss in the Caspian shore ecosystem. The project established a baseline of what is achievable as well as paving the way for future projects in similar environments, geographi- cally, socially and logistically. The National afforestation project ran from 2000 to 2013 and achieved marked successes in the areas of Ko- petdag mountains, where 60 million new trees have been planted over an area of 100,000ha, thus achieving soil stabilization in this vast area, stalling desertification on the approaches to the mountains and re-establishing fragile forest ecosystems in the region that had been critically threatened in the last decades of the previous centu- ry. This has led to the enlargement of the natural range of markhor (Capra falconeri) and is expected to result in stabilization of the local population. In 2013, the creation of Golden Age lake centred around Karashor depression in the middle of Garagum desert had achieved unprecedented success in the desalinization of local soils, the stabilization of desertifica- tion in the vast area around it, and the establishment of a regionally important nesting site for local and migratory bird species, such as the black-winged stilt (Himantopus him- antopus) and white-tailed lapwing (Vanellus leucurus), which, while not threatened globally, were brought to the brink of extinction due to decline in the area of Aral sea Turkmenistan’s plan is to establish a protected areas network and increase coverage to over 30 per cent in the long term. Legislation has also been introduced for protecting national parks and biosphere reserves, which includes provisions for adjoining territories, development approaches and restrictions on activities in these areas. Management plans have been developed for reserves in Repetek, Amudarya and Syunt-Hasardag. Fifty key international ornitholog- ical territories have been identified and described in Turkmenistan, covering all natural ecosystems in the country, as well as occupying 7 per cent of its territory. Poppies, Nisa Turkmenistan T urkmenistan is a landlocked country located in arid Central Asia, extending over 488,000 km 2 , and home to 5.7 million people. There is sandy Garagum desert, stretching north-south and east-west; and low mountains along the border with Iran. Hilly steppe towards the Caspian Sea in the west and north-west dominates the landscape, covering an area in excess of 350,000 km 2 and represents the country’s main ecosystem. The Kazakh steppe and low salt-pan flats situated on the shores of the Caspian sea and surrounding the bay of Garabogazköl are diminishing in size due to rapid desertification. The Kopetdag and Koytendag mountain ecosystems at the extreme south-west and south-east receive more rainfall that the rest of the country. Bruno Vanbesien on flickr