After being in Korea, I moved on to Uzbekistan in Central Asia. Next week the country will host an international conference on the Aral Sea. The state of the Aral Sea is often referred to as one of the planets worst environmental disasters. Once the worlds fourth largest lake, it has shrunk dramatically, to a large extent as a result of the diversion for irrigation of the major rivers which once fed it. I went to the town of Urgench where the conference will be held, and discussed the issues there and in Tashkent. UNDP and four other UN agencies have been working through a joint project supported by the UN Human Security Trust Fund on the livelihoods, health, and environmental responses to the catastrophe. I will post more information below. In the photos below are L-R: students at the Oil and Gas College in Bukhara with a model they have made; nurses in a training course at a family medicine clinic I visited in Tashkent; and demonstration of equipment at the Institute of Civil Defence - Uzbekistan is located in an active earthquake zone, and has stepped up its disaster risk reduction - UNDP is supporting that work. I also launched a new rule of law project with the Supreme Court for which USAID is helping with the funding; and spoke at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent. Busy days! Thanks to UNDP Uzbekistan for all the work on my visit.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 14:58:50 +0000