The project for “Development of Innovative Climate Resilient Technologies for Monitoring and Controlling of Water Use Efficiency and Impact of Salinization on Crop Productivity and Livelihood in Aral Sea region” has been selected as a new research project 2020 for SATREPS.

The project for “Development of Innovative Climate Resilient Technologies for Monitoring and Controlling of Water Use Efficiency and Impact of Salinization on Crop Productivity and Livelihood in Aral Sea region”, developed by the Kyoto University and the International Innovation Center for the Aral Sea Basin under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan has been selected as a new research project 2020 for SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development). Uzbekistan was first selected to participate in this technical assistance program.

The project is one of 12 selected among 145 applications from around the world, and will be the first project within the framework of SATREPS not only in Uzbekistan, but also in Central Asia.

In addition, leading research institutions of both countries will cooperate in solving academic problems related to the use of water resources and soil salinization in the Aral Sea region, which Uzbekistan attaches great importance to. In this sense, research in this direction will be epoch-making and is expected to bring great results.

The project, including the financial component, will be implemented jointly with Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The total amount of the project has not yet been determined, but it is planned to allocate 95 million yen per year for development of each task. The project will be implemented within 3-5 years.

SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development) is a science and technology diplomacy initiative that promotes international joint research between Japan and developing countries using advanced Japanese science and technology. The SATREPS program is a collaboration between JICA, JST and AMED.

SATREPS aims to acquire new knowledge useful in addressing global issues in such areas as the environment and energy, bioresources, disaster prevention and mitigation, and infectious disease control. Such knowledge can be utilized for the benefit of society, including for the capacity-building of researchers and research institutes in developing countries based on local needs.