Protection of biological diversity - from initiative to result

The world community has realized that it is impossible to solve global environmental problems within one State. Therefore, long-term and systematic work is underway to mitigate the consequences and sign international agreements between the countries. UN documents are considered fundamental in the field of environmental protection. 
The Republic of Uzbekistan is a party to a number of agreements, as well as international conventions in the field of biodiversity protection. These are the Conventions "On Biological Diversity" (1992), "On the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals" (1979), the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use of Saiga Antelope" (2006), the agreement on the protection of Afro-Eurasian migratory Wetland birds (2004) and others.
In the fauna of Uzbekistan there are 710 species of vertebrates (mammals - 107, birds - 460, reptiles - 64, amphibians - 3 and fish - 76) and over 15 thousand species of invertebrates.
The Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan, published in 2019, includes 206 species of representatives of the animal world. Of these, there are 83 invertebrates, 123 vertebrates.
In the plant world of our country there are about 4,400 species of higher wild plants and over two thousand fungi. Of these, 314 are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Today, humanity has not come up with another effective way to preserve rare, endangered species of wild flora and fauna listed in the Red Book and the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as well as ecosystems and landscapes, except for the organization of protected areas.
In 2016, the total area of protected natural areas related to biodiversity was 2.011 million hectares, which is 4.64 percent of the territory of our republic.
Thanks to the attention of the President and the Government of the country to this area, a lot of work has been carried out in recent years: over the past five years, two presidential resolutions and 14 Cabinet resolutions have been adopted.
As of January 1, 2023, the total area of protected areas has been brought to 6,321 million hectares and is 14.08 percent of the country's territory. Over the past year alone, one state reserve, six national nature parks and one state reserve were organized on a total area of 2.571 million hectares.
Today in our republic there are seven state reserves, one landscape reserve, 12 natural parks, one national park, 11 natural monuments, two biosphere reserves, 12 nature reserves, one Bukhara specialized nursery "Jeyran". In these territories there are 102 species (83 percent) of vertebrates listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 280 species of plants (89 percent).
Of the above-mentioned protected areas, 26 have a legal status, are under the jurisdiction of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Ecology and Environmental Protection (now the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan) (16), the State Forestry Committee (now the Forestry Agency under the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan) (8), the State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources (now the Ministry of Mining and Geology of the Republic of Uzbekistan) (1) and Uzbekistan Temir Yullari JSC (1).
However, 10 nature reserves and 11 state natural monuments with a total area of 524.2 thousand hectares do not have legal status.
At the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in December 2022 in Montreal (Canada), the task was set to increase the area of protected natural territories in the countries participating in the convention to 30 percent. In this regard, we face great challenges.
By the Presidential Decree "On measures to implement administrative reforms of the New Uzbekistan" dated December 21, 2022, it was determined to create the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the basis of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Ecology and Environmental Protection. The State Forestry Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Hydrometeorological Service Center under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan are being transferred to the new department as agencies.
Now it is planned to organize a department for protected natural territories in the central office of the Ministry of Natural Resources, which is subordinate to 16 protected territories of the former State Committee of Ecology and 8 of the former State Committee. Thus, it is planned to achieve the following goals:
- creation of a unified management system for effectively operating protected natural areas with the establishment of work on their development and protection, conservation of ecosystem biodiversity;
- organization of an integral system of research work, accounting and supervision of objects of flora and fauna, monitoring of natural complexes;
- centralized involvement in the field of grants, the introduction of information and communication technologies.
The implementation of this work has begun in advance. According to the decree of the President "On measures to improve the system of public administration in the field of protected natural territories" dated March 20, 2019, five state reserves and the Lower Amudarya State Biosphere Reserve were transferred from the jurisdiction of the former State Committee to the former State Ecology Committee. 
Then the material and technical base of most state reserves was morally and physically worn out. Almost all administrative buildings of natural protected areas needed major repairs. The boundaries of the protective (buffer) zones of the Chatkal biosphere, Zaamin, Surkhan, Nuratinsky and Kyzylkum state reserves were not defined, as a result of which natural objects and complexes were not protected from the direct negative impact of human activity. The work on the organization of the protection of protected areas and monitoring of scientific research of natural complexes did not meet the requirements either.
In recent years, as a result of the real measures carried out, the material and technical supply has significantly improved. In particular, the administrative buildings of the Nuratinsky and Surkhan state reserves have been overhauled, six checkpoints and one research base have been built in the latter. Although the Zaamin Nature Reserve was organized in the 70s of the last century, there was neither an administrative building nor cordons for security personnel. In 2020, this reserve received a new administration building and a cordon on the Bakhmal site. Two container houses have been installed as cordons in the Kyzylkum Nature Reserve. 
29 Niva off-road vehicles and two motorcycles, over 20 computers, 10 laptops, 15 tablets were purchased for the monitoring of protected natural areas of the Goskomecology system for 2019-2022. Employees of the reserves are provided with uniforms, 40 specially equipped containers have been allocated for all protected objects to be used as cordons.
In addition, funds from grants from international organizations have been attracted. Within the framework of international projects, work has been carried out on the overhaul of the premises of the Chatkal and Hissar state reserves, the construction of two cordons. In particular, two Niva cars, three containers and over a hundred camera traps were purchased, and visit centers of these reserves were built. 
In order to systematically continue productive work in 2023, radically improve the manageability of protected natural territories, create a system for monitoring biodiversity and increase the efficiency of scientific research, 19.5 billion soums are allocated from the State Budget. This work will be carried out for the first time.
In order to expand the habitat of wild animals, 66 Turkmen kulans will be relocated from the Jeyran Ecocenter (nursery) to the integrated landscape reserve and the Sudochye-Akpetki state Reserve. 20 Bukhara deer will be relocated from the Nizhne-Amudarya State Biosphere Reserve (NAGBR) to the Khorezm National Nature Park and the Ugam-Chatkal State Biosphere Reserve. More than 140 employees of the sphere will improve their skills.
A lot of work has been done to determine the protected areas around the territory of state reserves. For example, by the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers "On measures to establish a protected zone in the Hissar State Reserve" dated February 18, 2020, a protected zone was defined on an area of 13231.3 hectares. On the creation of such protection zones around the Surkhan, Nuratinsky, Kyzylkum and Zaamin state reserves, a government decree "On additional measures to designate protected areas of specially protected natural territories" was adopted on May 5, 2021.
These documents have created an opportunity for the organization of tourism in these protected areas. Two thousand hectares of the territory of the Hissar State Reserve, including the Hazrati Sulton plateau, part of the Suvtushar River (Suvtushar Waterfall), as well as objects such as fossilized dinosaur tracks and Amir Temur Cave, have been transferred from the reserve zone to the Zarautsoy Gorge of the Surkhan State Reserve (395.6 hectares). The object of the millennial arch of the Nuratinsky State Reserve has been placed in a protected (buffer) zone.
Work is underway on the development of ecological tourism in these and other protected areas. For example, modern visitor centers have been organized in the Hissar and Chatkal Biosphere reserves, where you can get information about the history of protected natural areas and biodiversity. In the gazelle nursery, the construction of such a visit center has been completed. In the buffer zone of the NAGBR, in addition, an aviary for Bukhara deer on two hectares is being completed. The road towards the reserve is being updated with a length of two km. A nursery has been built in the Khorezm National Nature Park, where 10 Bukhara deer from NAGBR were brought. It is important to note that nature museums for tourists work in nature reserves.
500 million soums were allocated from extra-budgetary funds of the State Committee of Ecology last year for the development of ecotourism in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the creation of tourist routes. Work has been completed on the construction of ecotouristic infrastructure on the shore of Lake Sudochye (observation decks, trestles, yurts, etc.). Six such routes have been developed in the Khorezm National Nature Park in Yangibazar, Urgench, Khiva, Tuprokkalinsky districts, one in the Saigachiy landscape Reserve, eight in the Bukhara specialized nursery "Jeyran", three in the NAGBR.
Work is also underway in this area at the international level. In 2016, the Chatkal State Biosphere Reserve (Maidantal site) and the protected area of the Ugam-Chatkal State Biosphere Reserve (Bashkyzylsay site) were included in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Register. 
In 2021, the NAGBR was included in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves, and the Kuyimazar and Tudakul reservoirs were included in the list of wetlands of world importance (the UN Ramsar Convention). 
In 2022, a project was launched jointly with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UNDP "Conservation and management of lakes, wetlands and coastal territories as a basis for supporting sustainable life on degraded lands of the Aral Sea reservoir landscape". Within the framework of this project, a number of tasks have been defined for the development of management plans for protected natural territories, assistance in their material and technical support, professional development of employees through familiarization with international best practices.
An analysis of the work carried out in nature protection zones showed that the number of red-listed screw-horned goats, Bukhara mountain sheep, Bukhara deer, gazelles, bearded (lamb hawk), Tianshan brown bears and others is gradually increasing.
Along with the successes achieved in the field, there are also a number of problems waiting to be solved.
1. It is necessary to adopt a new version of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Protected Natural Territories" dated December 3, 2004, taking into account the changes taking place in our republic and at the international level.
The new version of the law requires to introduce the concepts of ecological corridors, expand the rules for reserving land for protected natural areas, clarify the categories of these territories and the concept of interstate protected natural areas, establish a ban on the withdrawal of land from strictly protected natural areas, add new requirements for protected areas of global importance, bring reference standards to a minimum and not only.
In the process of improving this law, a number of subordinate regulations should be introduced, raising their status to the level of the law. When the issues of management, entry-exit, maintenance of the cadastre of protected areas are included in the law, there will be no need for by-laws.
2. Radically improve the management system of protected natural areas with the help of modern digital technologies, strengthen the level of its protection, increase scientific potential.
3. To implement the smart patrol system in order to increase the effectiveness of tracking and monitoring of protected areas using modern technologies.
4. To organize natural nurseries based on modern requirements in order to reproduce rare species of animals. 
5. Development of ecotourism in natural protected areas.
The implementation of all this important work on the establishment of the activities of natural protected areas will primarily serve to ensure the environmental safety of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as reliable protection of natural objects located in our country, complements and biodiversity conservation.  

Khalilullah Sherimbetov.
Head of the Department for Protected Natural Territories of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Honored Irrigator of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, 
Candidate of Technical Sciences.