The international scientific conference on the ‘Environmental Impacts of the Desiccation of the Aral Sea’ took place at Tashkent’s Green University on April 22nd.
The event showcased 19 speakers from various countries including Uzbekistan, the USA, UK, and Germany. Among the distinguished speakers were Dr. Zinoviy Novitskiy, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences; Professor Jay Turner, Vice Dean for Education at Washington University in St. Louis; and Annie Liddell, International Relations Manager of Green University.
Opening speeches were delivered by Dr. Jusipbek Kazbekov, Deputy Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change, and Dr. Jasur Salikhov, Rector of the Central Asian University of Environmental and Climate Change Studies (Green University).
Talks at the event encompassed various topics related to the Aral Sea, with a significant focus on ongoing research and initiatives geared towards mitigating the crisis's effects and aiding the local community in adaptation.
Speaking exclusively with Daryo, Dr. Salikhov clarified, “The purpose of today’s event is to raise awareness of the issue related to the Aral Sea problem, developing not just the topic itself but to develop a set of solutions in a present-day framework of what activities are being done on the Aral Sea bed. For example, activities related to afforestation or other activities which will bring a commercial purpose that will alleviate the life of communities there.”
Dr. Novitskiy, who gave a presentation on the ‘Green Future of the Aral Sea’, ended his talk on a positive note: “The Aral Sea is a huge problem but together with you we can solve this issue and our children will know about this problem only from our stories. That's why we are holding these types of conferences.”
Professor Jay Turner shared research currently being conducted by Washington University in St. Louis, focusing on field measurements and data analysis to support air quality planning and management focused on science-based decision making.
Annie Liddell, Co-Founder of Project Amu Darya, shared a presentation and video on the anthropological understanding of the issues of the Amu Darya river, focused on capturing the memories and lived experiences of locals who witnessed the sea's drying firsthand.
The conference took place just one week after Aral Sea Tourism Week, which was held between Nukus and Muynak. The event included a conference, an art exhibition, and a 2km race organised by prorun.uz
A report in the same week showed that dust levels in the region have increased by 7% over the past 30 years, affecting the air quality in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
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