KRIHS

Country report

State Committee on Forestry Uzbekistan National Centre of Geodesy and Cartography Uzbekistan General information on Uzbekistan Total area 448,000 km2 Total Gold Uranium 33 million Nukus Copper TashkentZinc Gas/oil population Andijan Economically Urgench 14,6 million Navoi Active Pop. Jizak Bukhara 74 people Samarkand Ferghana Density per km2 Karshi Termez Languages Uzbek, Russian, English spoken Urbanization(%) 50,6 Natural Over 1800 GDP(thousand dollar) 66 800 000 resources mineral reserves GDP Growth Rate(%) 5,4 Central Government Budget 7 560 000 Road Length 42 000 km (thousand dollar) Central Government Liabilities 17 300 000 Railroad (thousand dollar) 6 950 km Length Index of Industrial Product (%) 30 Urban development and indicate rate of urbanization, city population, urban density.

Historical and natural conditions in different regions of the country have led to the development of different ki nds of settlements. These can be described as follows: I. Old developed areas, represents intensive urban dev elopment and high-density settlements, widely rang ing in size for example cities Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Ferghana, but with a relatively uniform distribution of population. II. Ancient irrigation areas such as Khorezm and Karak alpakstan, with a network of small rural settlements concentrated in favorable climatic zones and servin g as communication nodes III. Newly irrigated land of the central part of the Fergh ana Valley, Karshi, Jizzakh and Mirzachul steppe, with sporadic rural and urban settlem ents Mountain areas with small rural settlements in river valleys From 2012 to the present, the number of cities (119 units) has not changed, 10.1 million people live in them. The main city network of the country is small cities (68.1% of the total number of cities), which account for 20.5% of the total urban population.

Urbanization remains quite low in Khorezm (33.3%) and Surkhandarya (35.5%), Bukhara (37.4%) and Samarkand (37.4%) regions.

The number of urban settlements where 6.4 million people live (38.7%) for the period under review increased from 1065 to 1071 units. To familiarize and compare our work and work performed by To familiarize with of methods colleagues from participating on for monitoring land resources the creation and management of using space data and other geophysical information systems; methods of remote sensing; formation of their legal base and establishment of state policy and Definition of action plans to control in this area. solve the problem using experience and applied methods. Expectation form the programme

To enhance the knowledge and skills on the use of ge ospatial technology and data for drought monitoring To learn foreign experiences on the use and early warning, strengthen partnerships and netwo of geographic information technologies rk with colleagues from participating countries. to prevent natural disasters, droughts and assess their impact. State Committee on Forestry of the Republic of Uzbekistan benefiting from the Technical Cooperation with Korean Forestry Service on Sustainable Management of Forest and Afforestation Measures.

The National Center for One of the joint works was State Cadasters, Geodesy 2013-2017, as part of the and Cartography is working investment project, the with the Korean company LХ creation of the National (Korea Land and Geospatial Geographic Information Informatix Corporation) and Systems. In the future, the SIIS (Satrec Initiative Satellite second phase of this Imagining Service) to create project is being developed. a spatial data infrastructure. Major Drought Issues in Uzbekistan The main causes of desertification and droughts in the Republic of Uzbekistan

One of the main sources of desertification and drought in our republic is draining of the Aral Sea and its impact on the environment.

Soil erosion and soil salinization resulted in land degradation.

Wind erosion causing to the lost of the most productive layer of the soil (80 tones per hectare per season). Almost 50% of agricultural lands are affected by wind erosion at different levels.

Soil salinization

Climate change

Anthropogenic impacts on the environment increases the desertification process. Global problem

One of the factors of desertification and drought is the desiccation of the Aral Sea and its negative impact on the environment. Drained bottom of the Aral Sea Cemetery of ships area 4.7 million hectares Vulnerability to droughts

• Uzbekistan is located in arid and semi-arid areas vulnerable to frequent droughts (Gupta et al. 2009) and high inter-annual flow river variability (Dukhovny et al. 2008). • The needs for irrigation water are growing rapidly, increasing the disbalance between the availability of water and growing water demands (Cai et al. 2003). Drought impacts in Uzbekistan

• Over the last decade, Uzbekistan faced several occurrences of extreme hydrological droughts, with crop yield losses of 50% to 75% in the worst affected areas (FAO 2017). • During the drought in 2000-2001, cereals production declined by 10%, cotton production by 17% and rice production by 60%, resulting in about 130 million USD of losses (World Bank 2006). • The biggest losses occurred in the downstream areas in Uzbekistan, where about 600,000 people were in need of food aid to the value of 19 million USD (World Bank 2006, FAO 2017). Strong Wind and Dust Storms

• 80% of the area affected by strong winds and dust storms especially in Karakalpakstan, Khorezm, Bukhara, Navoi, Surkhandarya and Kashkadaraya Strong wing frequently observed in Surkhandarya Region 19 times per year, with wind speed 5-7 meter per second

• Affecting agricultural sector (productivity losses 5-10%) • Causing damages livestock • Health Issue Targeted Actions and Measures

At present there are 5 million degraded in 2019 8000 ha will be planted with land in the foothills, our target is to pistachios trees and with in 6-7 year cover these areas with pistachios trees degraded lands will be rehabilitated and turned to the Targeted Actions and Measures

Afforestation works were carried out in 500,000 At present, the dried Aral Sea beds make hectares in 2019 up 5.5 ha out of which over 3 million ha in Uzbekistan. Land works was carried out in 1.26 million hectares, 1.5 thousand tons of seeds were prepared for the work in the period 2020-2021 Targeted Actions and Measures

Tree planting in agricultural lands will improve the meliorative condition of lands and the yield of agricultural crops In spring of 2019 2495 ha was planted and in the Autum it will be continued 1000 ha. In 2020 work planned carried out in 3000 ha. Saksaul forest plantations on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea Wind speed Decrease Targeted Actions and Measures (м/sec) sand movement • Afforestation fixes movement of (%) sands, slows down desertification processes, wind Area covered 12,7 0,0 by forest speeds, stops dust particles in the (Saksaul) air. 1 year 10,1 20,5 th • Saksaul in the 7 year will stops 2 year 8,3 34,6 winds, Saksaulus takes 1135 kg of 3 year 5,7 55,1 carbon dioxide and discharges 835 kg of oxygen per year. 4 year 3,3 74,0 • It will serve to improve the air 5 year 2,6 79,5 quality and prevent environment 6 year 1,1 91,3 from the pollution. 7 year 0 100,0

Organizational Structure & Strategies The State Committee on Forestry of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Department on Combating Desert ification and Drought, number personnel 4, responsibilities include: • implementation of measures to prevent desertification, reforestation and protective afforestation in Uzbekistan; • fulfillment of the international obligations of the Republic of Uzbekistan to combat desertification an d drought; • ensuring effective interaction with international and regional organizations on combating desertificat ion and drought; • coordination of the work of ministries, departments and executive authorities in the regions involve d in the development and implementation of programs and projects to combat desertification and drought in the Republic of Uzbekistan; implementation of the tasks of the national authorized body of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the framework of the implementation of the requirements of the UNCCD. Authorities responsible for the implementation of disaster management including drought.

Uzbekistan recognizes its vulnerability to natural disasters and has taken important steps t o manage disaster risks. In 1996, the Ministry of Emergency Situations was established to protect the population and coordinate efforts in disaster risk management. The National Drought Monitoring Center, which aims to serve as a coordinating and advis ory body for drought preparedness, monitoring, prevention and mitigation of the negative effects of drought. The Center in Uzbekistan uses the scientific base accumulated in the c ountry to study the problem of drought, helps to inform stakeholders about various aspec ts of drought and its prevention. There are databases on meteorology, hydrology, aerology, glaciers, snow covers, air pollution, and hydrochemistry. The data are forwarded on a regular basis to authorities’ representatives and managers of large agricultural enterprises in the form of 10-days bulletins, seasonal agro-meteorological studies, and also various forecasts of agricultural crops yields. Uzbekistan is now responsible for creating a subregional drought early warning system for Central Asia. The government’s priorities include: Increasing climate resilience through the efficient use of water, land, and energy resources; Drought Early Warning Systems (DEWS), with measures for reducing the drought consequences and a strategy for fast reaction, are still at a design and development stage. This is being developed with the Ministry of Extraordinary Situations, Uzhydromet, MAWR, and other institutions.