Fight against land degradation and drought in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is revising its National Action Program to Combat Desertification (NAPCD) to establish national targets for land degradation neutrality (LDN) and identify effective measures to combat drought. As part of this initiative, three Russian experts were engaged by UNDP Turkmenistan to support the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan. Their task was to mainstream the LDN methodology and principles into national plans and programmes, as well as implement the LDN assessment methodology and the Trends.Earth GIS module for LDN evaluations in the Lebap and Dashoguz velayats of Turkmenistan.

The experts conducted an in-depth analysis of national policies, laws, and regulations, and provided recommendations for improving the methods of obtaining data for monitoring LDN indicators. The experts’ analysis identified “hot spots” of land degradation in the Turkmen sector of the Aral Sea.

The innovative modelling tool proposed by the experts will help identify key indicators and regional LDN targets for sustainable land management in agriculture, pasture management, and forestry. Proposed measures will help to mitigate the impact of desertification and climate change, enhancing the resilience of ecosystems.

The work was implemented with the financial support of the Russian Federation within the framework of the project "Knowledge Management and Capacity Development in the UNDP-Russia Partnership".