Eldor Tulyakov,
Executive Director of the Development Strategy Center

As expected, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s speech at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly has enjoyed recognition not only of the Uzbek nation, but also of the world community for specific proposals and initiatives to address large-scale and pressing issues. In turn, for the first time in history, the speech of the head of state at the highest UN level in the Uzbek language filled up the nation with the pride.

In his speech, Shavkat Mirziyoyev again drew attention of the world community to the complicated ecological situation in the Aral Sea region, including the Aral Sea problems.

Indeed, at present, the Aral Sea disaster ranks among the largest global environmental disasters, the ecological, socio-economic and humanitarian consequences of which directly threaten the sustainable development of the region, health, gene pool and the future of people living in it, and also has a negative impact to the global ecosystem. The Aral Sea crisis zone directly covers the territories of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and indirectly - Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Experts point out to a new 5.5 million hectare salt desert that ​​ has appeared on the exposed bottom of the Aral Sea. Dust storms rage on this territory for more than 90 days a year, annually carrying over 100 million tons of dust and harmful salts into the atmosphere for many thousands of kilometers.

In these conditions, the most important task today is to reduce the negative impact of the Aral Sea crisis on the environment and livelihoods of people living in the Aral Sea region, as well as to mitigate and prevent further deterioration of climatic impacts.

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his speech at the 72nd   session of the UN General Assembly drew special attention to the environmental disaster of the Aral Sea. Overcoming the consequences of its drying out requires active consolidation of international efforts. Consequently, speaking at the summit of the heads of the founding states of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea on August 24, 2018 in Turkmenbashi, the head of Uzbekistan proposed to declare the Aral Sea region as a zone of environmental innovations and technologies.

The initiative is aimed at building synergies and creating an enabling environment for channeling foreign investment in the development and implementation of environmentally friendly technologies; holistic implementation of the principles of "green" economy, environmentally friendly, energy and water saving technologies; preventing further desertification and ecological migration; development of ecotourism and other actions.
 

In his speech at the 75^th session of the UN General Assembly, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev again drew the attention to the catastrophic consequences of the drying up of the Aral Sea. Because now the Aral Sea region has truly turned into the hotbed of the ecological disaster. To improve the current situation, Uzbekistan is making painstaking efforts to create two million hectares of new plantations and gardens, and to lay a soil layer.

Uzbekistan initiated the establishment of the United Nations Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for the Aral Sea region. The fund is the basic platform for the international community to provide practical assistance to the population living in the complicated ecological zone.

The head of Uzbekistan proposed adopting a special resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on declaring the Aral Sea region a zone of environmental innovations and technologies, as well as marking the date of approval of this important document as the International Day of Protection and Restoration of Ecological Systems.

The idea of ​​adopting a special UN resolution was supported at the international high-level conference ‘Aral Sea Region - a Zone of Environmental Innovations and Technologies’ on October 25, 2019 in Nukus under the auspices of the UN. The conference concluded with a presentation of a Special UN General Assembly Resolution on declaring the Aral Sea region as a zone of environmental innovations and technologies, as well as proposals for including the Regional Program on Rational Use of Water Resources in Central Asia in the projects.

The UN Resolution will ensure that key risk factors can be addressed by stimulating investment and focusing on cross-cutting issues such as climate change, environmental degradation, sustainable urbanization and agriculture, as well as food security, poverty and inequality.

In this context, the Central Asian states will receive ample opportunities to achieve coherence of international, regional and national programs, and stimulate decision-making and innovative measures based on risks, as well as to encourage a better understanding of socio-economic and environmental vulnerability caused by environmental crisis zone of the drying up Aral Sea.

The adoption of the resolution will once again demonstrate Uzbekistan's strengthened leading positions in the joint solution of regional problems, as well as its increasing international authority.

The establishment of the UN International Day of Protection and Restoration of Ecological Systems will allow mobilizing political will and resources to address global challenges, raising public awareness on related problematic issues, and expanding the achievements of mankind.

The implementation of the initiative to establish an International Day is important for our country in the following aspects:

- Ensures an important contribution of Uzbekistan in the fight against environmental problems and climate change on a regional and global scale;

- Allows active attraction of additional resources to tackle environmental problems in Central Asia;

- Demonstrates Uzbekistan's strong will for international cooperation in the protection and restoration of vital ecosystems in order to ensure sustainable growth and stability in the region;

- Further strengthens the positive international image and authority of Uzbekistan in the global arena.

Ultimately, the recognition of these initiatives of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the international level makes a huge contribution to improving the environmental situation in the country, strengthens the image and raises the rating of our country in the world arena.