Uzbekistan joins International Union for Conservation of Nature

Uzbekistan has joined the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the State Committee for Ecology and Environmental Protection said.

Uzbekistan has become the first country in Central Asia that joined the Union and the 92nd – in the world.

“We are pleased to celebrate Uzbekistan's accession to IUCN and look forward to expanding cooperation with the State Committee for Ecology and Environmental Protection and other partners in the country on a number of priority initiatives,” said Boris Erg, Director of the IUCN Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “Some of the potential areas of cooperation that we are jointly exploring include environmental policy, expansion and quality assurance of the national network of protected areas, development of Red List indices, integrated land management and ecosystem restoration and others.”

The International Union for Conservation of Nature was established in 1948 at the UNESCO initiative. It now includes 92 countries and 120 organizations.

After joining the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Uzbekistan becomes eligible to apply for grants from Global Environment Facility and Green Climate Fund for ecological projects.