25 MILLION TREE SAPLINGS WILL BE PLANTED IN TURKMENISTAN IN 2020 IN HONOR OF THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COUNTRY'S NEUTRALITY

In 2020, 25 million saplings of deciduous, fruit trees and grapes will be planted throughout Turkmenistan. This number marks the 25th anniversary of the country's permanent neutrality.

Some of the trees were planted during a nationwide planting campaign held on November 7 with the participation of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. It was also attended by members of the government, heads and representatives of ministries and sectoral departments, including numerous residents of the country. Today, every resident of Turkmenistan planted about 30 seedlings.

According to the Decree of the President of Turkmenistan dated January 31 of this year "On planting trees in Turkmenistan in 2020", 25 million seedlings of deciduous, coniferous, fruit trees and grapes will be planted in Turkmenistan during 2020. This action, in turn, provides for the implementation of a nationwide greening program in the country, primarily from the point of view of the country's environmental well-being and is timed to a significant date, the 25th anniversary of the country's neutrality.

It is important to note that one of the key directions of the foreign policy of neutral Turkmenistan is cooperation with the UN and other authoritative organizations in the field of comprehensive promotion of green diplomacy. Today, Turkmenistan actively cooperates with the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Environment Program, the World Environmental Fund, the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia and many other international and regional structures.

As is known, the policy of Turkmenistan in the field of environmental diplomacy is aimed at ensuring the priority of protecting human life and health, preserving and restoring the environment, combining environmental, economic and social interests of society in order to ensure sustainable development and a favorable environment for full-fledged life.

Taking into account the seriousness of environmental problems that require the involvement of an increasing number of factors, having joined dozens of UN conventions, Turkmenistan responsibly approaches the solution of the tasks of sustainable development facing the world community. The country also put forward a number of proposals on sustainable development, careful use of water and energy resources and ensuring food security, reducing the risks of natural disasters, during the sessions of the UN General Assembly, high-level conferences.

In this context, it should be emphasized that Turkmenistan calls on the world community to pay close attention to the ecological catastrophe of the Aral Sea. The air masses formed in the zone of ecological disaster caused by the drying up of the Aral Sea have an extremely negative impact on nature, climate, and the general life of people living in the Aral Sea region and far beyond it.

During the chairmanship in IFAS on the initiative of Turkmenistan on April 12, 2018 and May 28, 2019, the General Assembly adopted resolutions “On cooperation between the United Nations and the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS)”.

In this aspect, it should be emphasized that during the current 75th session of the General Assembly, Turkmenistan will continue to implement the initiative put forward by the President of Turkmenistan at the Rio + 20 Sustainable Development Summit to create a UN Special Program for the Aral Sea Basin and the country also intends submit for consideration at the regular session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in May 2021 an initial draft of the concept and structure of the future Special Program.

The preservation of biodiversity and ecological balance in the Caspian Sea is also one of the priority tasks of the regional and international ecological interaction of Turkmenistan. Today, the country has developed the Concept of a new Caspian environmental program, the draft of which will be considered in the near future during the next meeting of the parties to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea.