Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 27
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, in partnership with Germany’s Michael-Succow-Foundation (MSF), is implementing a project for the preservation and sustainable use of the deserts of Turkmenistan, Trend reports referring to the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper.
As part of the project, a seminar was held in Ashgabat devoted to the study of methods for tracking the effectiveness of managing specially protected natural territories. More than 80 percent of the territory of Turkmenistan is occupied by the Karakum Desert, a territory with unique biodiversity.
A new state natural reserve called Bereketli Garagum was created here in 2013 on a territory of 87,000 hectares, the article says.
In 2015, two specially protected natural areas (Koytendag and Badhyz) were submitted to UNESCO for obtaining the status of World Natural Heritage sites. It is assumed that the Karakum desert will also become nominated.