The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) signed the Letter of Intent during the high-level plenary session, “Nature Knows No Borders: Working Together for Migratory Species and Sustainable Development in Central Asia”, that was held in Samarkand as part of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14).

The document was signed by Daniel Gustafson, Special Representative of the FAO Director General, Aziz Abdukhakimov, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Grethel Aguilar, Director General of the IUCN.

By signing the Letter of Intent, parties are committed to continuing cooperation and expediting the preparation of a Letter of Agreement for joint implementation of the “Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Program in Uzbekistan”, which is a part of the Global FOLUR Impact Program. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project “Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Program in Uzbekistan” is aimed at the introduction of efficient land management technologies and conservation approaches in wheat-dominated production landscapes and the creation of environmentally friendly value chains to realize the transition from ecosystem degradation to sustainable management. The project is implemented in Karakalpakstan, Kashkadarya, and Khorezm regions of Uzbekistan.

To deliver the project outcome, IUCN will conduct an analysis of current land use and management practices, restoration potential, and Public Private Producer Partnerships options in the focus areas by applying the IUCN Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM), the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions and the IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas. Based on the assessment, IUCN will develop solutions for landscape restoration and sustainable land management in the target regions, which will be piloted, documented, and showcased in Year 2 of the project.

UzA