UNDP helps improve environmental monitoring system in Turkmenistan

December 7, 2021

Ashgabat, 7 December 2021: Within the framework of the joint project of UNDP and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan "Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan: Integrated Green Urban Development in Ashgabat and Avaza”,  a training seminar "Practical use of new laboratory equipment and capacity building of the environmental monitoring and control system”  was held.

The event gathered the specialists of the chemical laboratories of the Environmental Control Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan. During the seminar the UNDP specialists and national representatives discussed the technical aspects of the current environmental monitoring system of Turkmenistan and familiarized participants with the methods of using the new equipment purchased in the framework of the abovementioned joint project, for an effective control of environmental pollution.

The list of obtained equipment includes modern instruments and methods for determining the concentrations of pollutants contained in industrial emissions and other sources of air pollution.

"The equipment was purchased to support the work of specialists of environmental laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan. The use of the latest modern technologies helps provide an effective environmental monitoring to protect the environment," - noted Victoriya Akopova, a UNDP project specialist.

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The project "Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan: Integrated Green Urban Development in Ashgabat and Avaza”, funded by the Global Environmental Fund (GEF) and UNDP, is aimed at promoting the development of sustainable cities and reducing the negative impacts of urban growth in the country, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, impact of increasing energy consumption and household waste, as part of the country’s efforts to achieve the socio-economic development goals. The project provides technical assistance, institutional and policy support, and promotes behavioral change in relation to efficient use of resources and waste management covering Ashgabat and Avaza, as well as creates a basis for replicating the results in other cities in Turkmenistan.