Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to jointly protect migratory animals

Deputies of the Kazakh Majilis ratified an agreement between the Governments of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on cooperation in environmental protection and ecology, Kazinform News Agency reports.

The agreement is aimed at updating the old agreement as of 1997 and expanding cooperation in environmental protection and ecology. One of the new directions for cooperation between the two states is the protection of ecosystems from degradation and adaptation to climate change.

Currently, the Kazakh-Uzbek joint working group for environmental protection and water quality in the Syrdariya River basin is the operating cooperation mechanism. The group debates the state ecological control, monitoring of the ecological state of the transboundary Syrdariya River, etc.

Under the agreement, the sides will share experience in carbon emissions reduction, carbon storage, and methane abatement. Another direction is joint efforts to improve the ecological situation in the Aral Sea basin. As earlier reported, the President of Kazakhstan set a task to plant saxaul seedlings on 1.1 million hectares of the Aral Sea’s dried bottom from 2021 to 2025, with 276,200 hectares to be planted this year. As of today, 19.4 million saxaul seedlings have been planted on an area of 65,000 hectares. 

Besides, the two nations pledge to jointly protect migratory animals, including saigas, Persian gazelles, and wild sheep in the Kazakh-Uzbek border areas.

In addition, the two countries plan to launch joint educational programs, and research programs and to set up a new Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan joint environmental protection commission. It will convene at least once every year in rotation in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.