Turkmenistan News 17 October 2026 09:58 (UTC +04:00)
Photo: NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION /JONAS BENDIKSEN
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 17. Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov has stressed the need for stronger regional cooperation to protect biodiversity, preserve transboundary ecosystems and combat land degradation.
This was reflected in a press release published by the press service of the Turkmen government following his participation in the leaders’ summit held within the framework of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in Armenia yesterday.
According to the report, Berdimuhamedov highlighted the links between biodiversity loss, climate change, desertification and land degradation.
“Turkmenistan consistently supports the goals and principles of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. We recognize that biodiversity loss, climate change, desertification and land degradation are interconnected challenges that directly affect countries’ environmental security and sustainable development,” Berdimuhamedov said.
He identified the protection of transboundary ecosystems, animal migration routes and natural resources as priorities for regional cooperation. Particular attention, he said, should be paid to the environmental well-being of the Caspian Sea, the ecosystems of the Aral Sea basin and efforts to combat desertification.
Berdymuhamedov also outlined national measures to improve protected areas, strengthen environmental monitoring and conserve rare plant and animal species. These efforts are guided by Turkmenistan’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for 2026-2035, he noted.
The president called for greater access for developing countries to environmental financing, modern technologies and capacity-building support. He also emphasized the importance of fair benefit-sharing from genetic resources and digital sequence information.
Turkmenistan will continue promoting environmental and climate initiatives at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Berdimuhamedov said. These include the Ashgabat Climate Dialogue, envisaged as a multilateral platform for regular political and expert-level exchanges, and a regional center to combat desertification in Central Asia.
To note, the proposal for the regional center was previously advanced by Turkmenistan at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in 2025.