New IKI project “One Health Central Asia” launched

The Michael Succow Foundation is implementing partner of the new IKI initiative "One Health Central Asia". The project, coordinated by the IUCN, was officially launched at a Side Event at the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Bonn Convention (COP14 CMS) in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) in the presence of government representatives from the partner countries Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The 6-year project is being supported by International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German government to the tune of 11 million euros.

The regional project aims to reduce the risk of zoonoses – diseases that are naturally transmissible from animals to humans – in Central Asia. The risk of zoonoses in Central Asia is exacerbated by the loss of biodiversity and changes in human-animal interactions. As part of the newly launched initiative, the project partners, supported by political partner institutions from all five Central Asian countries, will implement measures to prevent the occurrence and spread of zoonoses. The aim is to consolidate an effective regional network of protected areas, strengthen conservation measures and wildlife management to mitigate disease risks, and promote the latest advances in zoonotic disease research and technology. 

“The effective implementation of the One Health concept requires cooperation at all levels, from the local to the international level. We are enthusiastic about supporting this comprehensive and ambitious initiative, which promises multiple benefits for people, animals and ecosystems in Central Asia,” emphasized Dr. Bettina Hoffmann, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), in her opening remarks at the Side Event.

Coordinated by IUCN, the “One Health Central Asia” initiative gathers international partners, including the Michael Succow Foundation, the Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). National partners in the target countries are CAMP Alatoo in Kyrgyzstan, the Institute of Zoology of Kazakhstan, the Institute of Zoology of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences, and the Tajik Nature Foundation (TNF).

Further information:

IUCN: One Health nature conservation project in Central Asia launched by IUCN and partners - Press release | IUCN

DAZ Asia: IUCN und Partner rufen „One Health Central Asia“ ins Leben - Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (daz.asia)

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Plenary: (from left to right) H.E. Aziz Abdukhakimov, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Dr Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General, H.E. Bakhodur Sheralizoda, Chairman of Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, and Dr Bettina Hoffmann, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), and Dr Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General; Photo credit: Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan Plenary: (from left to right) H.E. Aziz Abdukhakimov, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Dr Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General, H.E. Bakhodur Sheralizoda, Chairman of Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, and Dr Bettina Hoffmann, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), and Dr Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General; Photo credit: Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan Vladimir Kertiyev, Head of Strategic planning and development department, State enterprise Ohotzooprom, Forestry and Wildlife Committee, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan (in the right), and Vitaliy Gromov, Councilor of GD, Institute of Zoology, Republic of Kazakhstan (in the middle), Rustem Nuryyev, Head of Protected Areas, Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan (in the left); Photo credit: Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan Vladimir Kertiyev, Head of Strategic planning and development department, State enterprise Ohotzooprom, Forestry and Wildlife Committee, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan (in the right), and Vitaliy Gromov, Councilor of GD, Institute of Zoology, Republic of Kazakhstan (in the middle), Rustem Nuryyev, Head of Protected Areas, Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan (in the left); Photo credit: Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan