A roundtable on “Land degradation and climate change” was held within the framework of COP29

Within the framework of the 29th Session of the Conference of parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), a roundtable was held on the topic "Land degradation and climate change: losses, losses and opportunities for strengthening cooperation between the countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus and arid climate regions".

Minister of Agriculture Majnun Mammadov, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan Aziz Abduhakimov, heads of relevant bodies of both countries, representatives of international organizations and experts attended the event held in the "Blue zone".

Opening the event, the Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and climate change of Uzbekistan Aziz Abduhakimov said that Central Asia and the Caucasus region, as well as the whole world, are faced with the problems of rapid climate change and land degradation. The increasing frequency and intensity of droughts, desertification and other extreme climatic phenomena increase threats to agriculture, water resources and biodiversity. Against the backdrop of modern challenges, it has become necessary to strengthen cooperation between countries of the world at the regional and global levels in order to minimize the effects of climate change and ensure sustainable development.

Minister of Agriculture Majnun Mammadov noted that the degradation of about 40% of the world's land resources poses a threat to the ecosystem, food security and water resources as a global crisis. In recent decades, unsustainable agricultural practices, deforestation, urban expansion and the growing effects of climate change around the world have accelerated the process of land degradation. According to the United Nations Convention on the Fight against Desertification (UNCCD), it is estimated that 12 million hectares are lost each year as a result of degradation. Minister brought to the attention the need for cooperation in the fields of digital transformation of agriculture, technology transfer in this area, sharing of best practices in order to achieve sustainable development against the backdrop of modern challenges. He added that the use of modern technologies in order to reduce the negative effects of climate change on the agrarian sector, to use existing land and water resources more efficiently, is expanding, and the development of climate-friendly agricultural systems is supported. State support is provided to farmers in the form of concessions and loans in activities related to the introduction of modern irrigation systems, the prevention of soil degradation and increasing soil fertility.

Speaking at the event, Antonella Bassani, vice-president of the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia, representatives of Kazakhstan, Belarus and other countries, identified the main risks and threats to agriculture and water resources, the current situation with land degradation and climate change, the rational use of land and water resources against the background of modern challenges, the application of resource-saving approaches,, they touched upon the issues of regional cooperation in the development of adaptive strategies that take into account local climatic and economic conditions.

Within the framework of the event, a video about the measures taken to eliminate the ecological disaster in the region of the Aral Sea and fight against land degradation was demonstrated.