WATER-SAVING TECHNOLOGIES AND COMBATING LAND DEGRADATION IN CENTRAL ASIA DISCUSSED DURING THE ECUMENE GLOBAL FORUM
Moscow hosted the fourth ECUMENE Global Forum on 16-18 September, 2024. 140 speakers from 30 countries participated in this event. The topics discussed included science and education, urban development, sustainability of financial systems, technology, biodiversity, desertification, inclusiveness and climate change.
Director of SIC ICWC Dinara Ziganshina spoke at two Forum sessions on technologies and desertification.
The session “Technological Neutrality” moderated by Ekaterina Salugina-Sorokovaya, first vice-president of “Gazprombank”, was addressed by Sergey Mochalnikov, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Xiangyu Meng, Deputy Director of the Institute of Sustainable Development and Low Carbon Policy, Tsinghua Innovation Centre in Donggua (China), Shashi Nath Mishra, Senior Vice-president, IRCLASS Systems and Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Global Head, IRQS, Dinara Ziganshina, Director, Scientific-Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination in Central Asia (SIC ICWC), and Andrey Slepnev, member of the Board (minister) for Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
Dinara Ziganshina made a presentation on water-saving technologies adopted in the Central Asian countries to improve water management in the context of climate change. It was noted that technologies are adopted successfully when there are appropriate legal regulation, economic incentives and advisory support.
Olga Andreeva, program coordinator of Science, Technology and Innovation Unit, UN Convention to Combat Desertification, Sergey Vasilyev, coordinator for Russia's participation in UNCCD, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia, Dr. Natalia Frolova, Head of the Land Hydrology Department, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Dinara Ziganshina, Director, Scientific-Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination in Central Asia (SIC ICWC), all spoke at the session on the UN Desertification Convention. The moderator of the discussion was German Kust, head of N.F.Glazovsky Scientific Coordination Center for combating desertification and drought, Institute of Geography, RAS.
The panel members discussed the practical measures and cooperation mechanisms on degradation of land, including desertification- and drought-prone land, the reduction of biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems, the decrease in the productivity of arable, pasture and forest land, and the increase of dust and sand storms. The importance of interlinking land and water management was underlined, particularly in the arid zone, including Central Asia. Speakers highlighted the significant contribution and rich experience of the Central Asian countries in combating desertification and land degradation. Dinara Ziganshina reported on the implementation of national and regional programs in this direction. In particular, she noted that since 2017 large-scale afforestation efforts have been made on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea covering a total area of 1,800 thousand ha in Uzbekistan and 800 thousand ha in Kazakhstan.
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