Cooperation between Turkmen and Chinese desert scientists

A meeting of leading researchers, heads of three laboratories and one of the departments of the Institute with a delegation of scientists from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, headed by Director Professor Abuduwayli Jilili, was held in the conference hall of the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan.

During the meeting, mutual information was exchanged on the specialised work of scientific centres, and joint research was planned. Presentations with explanations were also organised, which resulted in discussions, consultations and an exchange of opinions on a wide range of issues in the field of desert science, including the development of such territories, combating desertification and fixing shifting sands.

The interaction of the teams of institutes is carried out within the framework of the Cooperation Agreement signed in September last year. And almost immediately, the first familiarisation visit of Chinese scientists to Turkmenistan took place. The document was drawn up for the launch of joint scientific and technical projects aimed at the environmental improvement of regions affected by the Aral Sea, and was formed taking into account the need for continuous improvement and systematic updating of knowledge, methodologies, tools for scientific and technical observations and recording of natural processes, and mutual strengthening of the potential of specialists from the two countries. The agreement is multifaceted and synergistic with the Framework Program for the Transition to a Circular Economy of the participating countries of the «Central Asia-China» format, designed for the period 2026-2030.

China has the Gobi and Takla-makan deserts, where similar measures are being taken to prepare for the subsequent use of sandy plains in construction and agricultural production in Turkmenistan. They are trying to develop sandy landscapes by afforestation (China is striving to reach a point where forests will make up 15 percent of the country’s territory) and irrigation. According to the guests, the accumulated experience of the oldest scientific center in the region – the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna – a recognised flagship of desert science in Central Asia, remains relevant since young specialists from the PRC studied and trained within its walls in the last century. Chinese desert science has strengthened professionally during this time.

Having familiarised themselves with the latest recommendations and scientific topics being developed by the Turkmen Institute, capable of promoting rational nature management in Turkmenistan, Chinese specialists found many useful things to test in China. For their part, the guests shared the specifics of working in their deserts, using the advantages of such ecosystems, exploiting the wealth hidden in them, and spoke about innovations in improving the ecological state of such agrolandscapes and near-desert natural environments. Both sides confirmed the mutual benefit of the discussions.

As part of the visit to our country, the Chinese delegation visited the scientific and experimental field sites of the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna, including the «Karrykul» site located in the Central Karakum Desert, where there are man-made plantings of pistachio acclimatised to the conditions of the Karakum Desert, and inspected areas of dunes with completed phytomelioration measures designed to stop the transfer of aeolian material (both sand filling and wind blowing are equally problematic). Thus, to protect economic facilities among the dunes, a method of vertical digging of reed stems fastened together helps, forming protective strips of cells, into the cells of which seedlings or seeds of desert plants are then planted. This is one of many methods, but it is ecologically safe, even favourable for nature.

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