President Mirziyoyev unveils $50 million grant plan to address desertification and enhance greening efforts

POLITICS 16:54 / 22.10.2024 876

Starting this year, 2,000 hectares of land adjacent to roads, rivers, and canals have been leased to 10,000 residents and entrepreneurs for greening efforts. Under the "My Garden" project, 49 billion UZS have been allocated from the budget, resulting in the creation of 215 new parks in local communities.

During the meeting, the need to increase the number of saplings suited to Uzbekistan's climate was emphasized. The president stated that through effective collaboration with the Academy of Sciences, environmental services, agricultural organizations, quarantine research institutions, universities, and laboratories specializing in “in vitro cultivation”, the income from seed and sapling production could be increased by two to three times.

Plans are underway to establish four gardens with drought-resistant and salt-tolerant halophytes in the Nukus, Arnasay, Karakul, and Mubarek districts by 2025. Additionally, drones will be used to sow drought-resistant seeds on 250,000 hectares of desert land across Karakalpakstan, as well as the Bukhara, Jizzakh, Navoi, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, and Khorezm regions.

In the spring, 1,500 tons of seeds will be harvested annually from healthy mother plantations in forest management areas. Drawing on South Korea's experience, a production line for 2 million drought-resistant saplings adapted to local climate conditions will be established using a closed-root system and in vitro techniques.

The Forestry Agency has been tasked with organizing fairs in all neighborhoods and supplying 30 million saplings. In the fall, local administrations and ministries plan to plant 40 million saplings.

The Veterinary and Livestock Development Committee has been instructed to prepare a three-year program aimed at reversing desertification. A grant of $50 million is expected to be secured for these efforts by 2025.

In collaboration with the "Uzbekcosmos" agency, a platform for monitoring the ecological situation in the deserts will be developed. The Forestry Agency will also address issues of land degradation, and the "Yul Kukalam" organizations within local administrations will transition into the agency's system.

Furthermore, the president criticized the drainage system in Tashkent, pointing out that "recent heavy rains revealed the actual situation." He stressed the importance of collecting rainwater in reservoirs for tree irrigation.

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