Representatives of emergency services from across Central Asia recently embarked on a learning journey to Germany, gaining firsthand insights into the country’s advanced approach to climate risk management, “Neutral Turkmenistan” newspaper reports.
This tour, organized by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) under the “Climate Risk Management in Central Asia” project, offered knowledge exchange venue for heads of state services of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, whose profile is related to water use, responding to natural disasters, natural and anthropogenic emergencies, solving climate problems, as well as representatives of the Amudarya and Syrdarya Basin Water Management Associations (structural divisions of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea).
The delegation visited key institutions relevant to their fields. This included the German Disaster Risk Reduction Committee, where they exchanged valuable knowledge with experts from the European Center for Medium-term weather forecasts.
The group headed to Bonn, visiting the municipality and engaging with leading organizations like UN agencies, the Organization for the Use of Space Information for Emergency Prevention and Response.
To gain practical insights, the group also visited the Ar valley, where a devastating flood struck in 2021. This firsthand observation allowed them to witness the local administration’s response and recovery efforts, providing lessons for future preparedness.
Turkmenistan’s project representative, Amangul Ovezberdiyeva, highlighted the tour’s objective: to learn from modern technologies employed in cross-border hydrometeorological disaster information systems. These systems include climate forecasting, weather modelling, and early warning mechanisms. Importantly, the participants also explored the potential for adapting these European technologies to the specific climatic and weather conditions of the Central Asian region.///nCa, 15 December 2023 (photo credit – Center for Emergency Situations and Disaster Risk Reduction, Kazakhstan)