KHOROG, October 9, 2009, Asia-Plus  - A four-day seminar on sustainable use of natural resources in Central Asia was launched in Khorog, the capital of Gorno Badakhshan on October 8.

The seminar is organized by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) within the framework of the program, Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in Gorno Badakhshan.

The seminar participants include specialists from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as experts from Germany and Jordan.

Richard Bodemeyer, manager of the regional program, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in Central Asia, told Asia-Plus that the rate of soil degradation in Central Asia was very high.  According to him, the high rate of soil degradation in the area has resulted from continuous use of arable lands and overuse of mineral fertilizers.  Agricultural product losses in the region reach 10-15 percent, Mr. Bodemeyer said, noting that one of reasons for that is low awareness of users of natural resources.

“We jointly with land use and environmental protection agencies of the region try to find solution to the problem of sustainable management and use of natural of the region, in particular, water resources and forests,” said Bodemeyer, “For this, we are seeking organizations that would provide technical and financial assistance to the agencies making decisions on use natural resources in the region.”

According to him, they have managed to reach an agreement at the government level that experts in the use of natural resources from Germany will arrive in Tajikistan in the near future to provide assistance with modernization of the country’s law on sustainable use of natural resources in Tajikistan.