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.
Saudi Arabia has temporarily shut down its 1,200-kilometre East-West oil pipeline after it was hit by a drone attack, with Riyadh and Baghdad sayin...
Dubai’s property market has spent years climbing. Now, for the first time since 2021, prices are moving in the opposite direction. ...
Uzbekistan plans to introduce a new Heritage Impact Assessment system to shield historic cities and cultural heritage sites from the potential impa...
Overnight Iranian strikes on an air base in Jordan damaged multiple U.S. aircraft and left one without a wing, American media reported. Meanwhile, explosions were heard across parts of southern Iran according to local media reports.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the weekend BRICS summit, amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, joining a host of foreign dignitaries.
Ukrainian forces struck a Russian oil refinery in Siberia and a seaport in Dagestan in the past 24 hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He will meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday to discuss air defences for Ukraine over winter.
A Russian strike on a gas station in Kyiv has killed two people, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement on Telegram. In Russia, online marketplace Ozon has suspended operations in Saratov, southwestern Russia, following a drone strike on a warehouse in the region.
Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks drew the U.S. into Afghanistan, the Taliban is seeking a new relationship with Washington built on diplomacy, investment and trade, despite deep divisions between the former enemies.
August 2026 tied as the hottest month ever recorded globally, pushing average temperatures above the critical 1.5°C threshold as extreme weather swept across several regions, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
Increasingly intense wildfires and heat waves are threatening global efforts to improve air quality and protect public health, the United Nations’ weather agency has warned.
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.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment