Ashgabat, 27 February 2023: Within the framework of the project “Development of the National Adaptation Planning Process in Turkmenistan” implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the financial support of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, a second working meeting was held between representatives of the Government, the private sector and civil society on adaptation to climate change with the focus on water use in agriculture.
The meeting was attended by relevant specialists of the Mejlis, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, the State Committee of Water Management of Turkmenistan, the State Scientific-Research Project Institute “Turkmensuvylymtaslama”, the Turkmen Agricultural University named after Niyazov, the Turkmen Engineering and Technology University named after Oguzkhan, the Women’s Union of Turkmenistan, the public organization “Tebigy Kuvvat” and the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan.
During the working meeting, special attention was paid to the discussion of water use planning during the work on the cultivation of agricultural crops. In particular, irrigation regulations for agricultural crops on farms, control of water consumption on agricultural plots through the use of water measuring devices for irrigation channels of farms, as well as the use of modern equipment for measuring the level of water mineralization were presented.
Also, during the discussion of these topics, gaps were identified, such as the need to develop a system of incentives that encourage the Government to stimulate the integration of water-saving practices, to review and revise irrigation regulations developed in the 80s of the last century, taking into account climate change, the availability of new irrigation technologies and methods (drip, sprinkling), as well as to improve laboratories for reliable analysis of the mineral composition of water.
Participants of the working meeting highly evaluated the relevance of the agenda of the event, expressed interest in further participation in such meetings and proposed several topics for the agenda of the next meeting. As a result of the working meeting, there was a general agreement that the difficulties caused by climate change can be eliminated by joint efforts of the Government, the private sector, and scientific institutions. ///UNDP Turkmenistan, 3 March 2023