Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 26 November 2024 – Within the framework of the UNDP/GEF project “Conservation and sustainable management of land resources and high nature value ecosystems in the Aral Sea basin for multiple benefits,” implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, a workshop on the practical application of the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) concept was held in Ashgabat.
The event aimed to build the capacity of local specialists and facilitate knowledge exchange on achieving land degradation neutrality for sustainable land resource management.
During the workshop, participants were introduced to the revised National Action Programme to Combat Desertification (NAPCD) in Turkmenistan and the Roadmap for incorporating the LDN concept into national programmatic documents, development plans, and strategies.
International and local UNDP experts familiarized participants with methods for jointly applying the LDN concept to address sectoral territorial development challenges, providing examples from various countries and regions. They also presented approaches for determining the “LDN baseline,” along with key and supplementary indicators for achieving LDN in the Aral Sea region.
“The findings from the Aral Sea project, which focuses on using the new Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) methodology to assess land degradation in Turkmenistan, are both timely and pertinent,” remarked Mr. German Kust, international expert of the project. “These scientific approaches are crucial for the development of the National Action Plan to Combat Desertification, including key indicators and regional targets for managing natural resources such as agriculture, pasture management, and forestry. We are confident that our collaboration with the UNDP project will further refine the application of the LDN methodology and contribute to the development of modern, effective models for sustainable land management across various sectors of the economy.”///nCa, 27 November 2024 (in cooperation with UNDP Turkmenistan)