Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 1 October 2025 — A Workshop on Enhancing the Effectiveness of Management of Protected Areas was held in the conference hall of the Hydrometeorological Service of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan (MoEPT). The event was organized in cooperation with the international innovation organization Conservation X Labs. Participants included representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, all state nature reserves, the Environmental Protection Department of Balkan Province, the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna, as well as experts from international projects.
The objective of the workshop was to introduce the new global programme of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) — the Green List initiative, aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of management of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs). Participants were briefed on the principal standards and procedures for the nomination of protected areas and OECMs to the Green List, the IBEX management effectiveness assessment tool, as well as the methodology and criteria for identifying other effective area-based conservation measures.
During the second part of the event, participants exchanged experiences and worked in groups to identify potential OECM sites — areas that do not hold formal protected status but contribute to the long-term conservation of biodiversity through equitable and sustainable governance.
Implementation of the workshop’s outcomes will support the update of Turkmenistan’s national database on protected areas and the identification of new OECMs in alignment with Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) under the Convention on Biological Diversity, to which Turkmenistan has been a Party since 1996. In addition, the project will create further opportunities for reducing the risk of zoonotic diseases by supporting ecosystem conservation, strengthening the capacity of relevant specialists, and enhancing technical support for pilot sites.
The event supports the achievement of:
| Priority Area of REP4SD No 5 dedicated to SDG 15: “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems” |
| 5.2.5 organization of joint activities to control pests and diseases of agricultural plants and forest plantations in the border areas of the Central Asian countries; |
| Priority area No 6 of REP4SD dedicated to SDG 17: “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development” |
| 6.1 Involvement of the region into implementation of global environmental conventions, programmes and initiatives. |