The United Nations Development Programme has kicked off a project aimed at supporting the resilience of agricultural production and conserving ecosystems in Northern Kazakhstan.
The project is launched by UNDP, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
The project, with budget of $10,587,470, will run until November 2029.
Through this joint project, UNDP and the Ministry of Agriculture will test sustainable land use approaches and practices in four key regions of Northern Kazakhstan: Akmolinsk, Kostanay, North Kazakhstan, and Pavlodar. In 2023, the area of arable land in these regions amounted to about 17 million hectares, which is equivalent to 70 percent of all arable land in the country. This highlights the critical role of target areas in Kazakhstan's agricultural production.
Land degradation is one of the pressing environmental issues that reduces soil productivity, threatens the sustainability of the agricultural sector, deteriorates ecosystem health, and negatively impacts biodiversity, said UNDP's statement.
According to the UN, around 40 percent of the world's land has degraded, affecting three billion people globally. In Kazakhstan, approximately 75 percent of agricultural soils are subject to various forms of degradation, such as desertification, salinization, erosion, and land exhaustion due to prolonged use. The State Institute for Land Surveying of the Ministry of Agriculture reports that the potential fertility of soils has decreased by 17 percent, leading to reduced crop yields.
The Government of Kazakhstan is improving legislation to address these issues. Land degradation issues are included in the Land and Environmental Codes, as well as in the draft law “On Soil Protection,” aimed at the protection and restoration of land. Alongside legislative improvements, the implementation of effective management technologies and long-term land resource development planning is essential.
“In accordance with the concept of developing the agro-industrial complex until 2030, special attention is paid to enhancing labour productivity, yield, updating and providing agricultural machinery and seeds, and increasing the share of processed products in the agro-industrial complex, as well as addressing export issues. At the same time, measures to reduce the area of eroded lands within agricultural holdings are being considered," - said Yermek Kenzhekhanuly, Vice Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The project plans to implement agro-ecological incentives and financial instruments to support sustainable agricultural production and key production-distribution chains, restore pastures, and optimize territorial planning. Scientifically based land use approaches will be developed, incorporating functional zoning tools and landscape planning, considering ecological, economic, and social factors. The project also aims to minimize conflicts among various land users and enhance ecosystem services.
“The project will support the integrity of the Naurzum Nature Reserve’s lake ecosystem, which is a globally significant site for nesting, migratory stopovers, and the fattening of waterfowl,” said Daniyar Turgambayev, Chair of the Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez has hailed a sweeping energy agreement with the United States as an “historic” deal...
Around five years ago, British prosecutors reportedly decided against pursuing war crime charges against Asma al-Assa...
The United States has announced more than $3.6 million in humanitarian assistance for Nepal following devastating floods that have killed at least ...
Iran is setting conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including an end to the war, the lifting of the U.S. blockade and sanctions. At the same time, Washington is stepping up economic pressure on Tehran through what the White House calls “Operation Economic Outcast.”
Mail sorting centres used by Nova Poshta, Ukraine's largest private postal company, were destroyed in Russian strikes overnight, the firm said. Elsewhere, four people were injured after drones struck an apartment building in Sevastopol, Crimea, according to the Moscow-installed governor.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused U.S. government and Israel-aligned actors of manipulating energy markets to promote the war with Iran.
Russian strikes on the Kyiv region overnight killed 37 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. Zelenskyy added that the Ukrainian capital was under "virtually nonstop attack" from drones.
The Israeli-U.S. invasion of Iran, which began on 28 February, entered its seventh month on Friday, as Tehran wrapped up a week of high-level visits the region, with officials from Pakistan, Oman and Qatar helping to negotiate a way out of the current stalemate in the conflict.
Vast flocks of storks passed through Türkiye and the Bosporus this week as part of their annual autumn migration from European breeding grounds toward Africa and the Middle East.
China's coastal areas and southern regions are preparing for days of intense precipitation, with tens of thousands of people evacuated as Typhoon Narra tracks inland and another storm churns toward the country's eastern seaboard.
A wildfire in Croatia driven by strong winds descended on the tourist town of Omis overnight, engulfing houses, forcing about 1,000 people to evacuate to safety and injuring dozens, fire brigade and health officials said on Friday.
Rhossi, a rare Kemp’s ridley sea turtle that washed up near death on a Welsh beach in 2023, has returned to Texas after more than two years of rehabilitation in the UK.
Glacier coverage in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul Basin has shrunk by 33.7 per cent over the past 70–90 years, according to an updated glacier inventory by Kyrgyzhydromet. The agency says the pace of glacier retreat has accelerated sharply in recent years.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment