Experts from XIEG Visit Uzbekistan for Halophyte Garden Establishment

From April 4 to 14, a three-member delegation from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (XIEG), led by Prof. TIAN Changyan, visited the Republic of Uzbekistan. At the invitation of the Agency for Afforestation, Expansion of Green Areas, and Combating Desertification (Uzbekistan Forestry Agency) under the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan (NCECC), the delegation inspected the jointly built halophyte garden and provided on-site scientific guidance.

On April 5, after a meeting with the designer of halophyte botanical gardens, XIEG experts, accompanied by Muradbay Ganiyev, an official from the Uzbekistan Forestry Agency, inspected the planned and completed halophyte gardens across six regions including Khorazm Region, The Republic of Karakalpakstan, Qashqadaryo Region, Bukhara Region, Navoiy Region and Jizzakh Region. They assessed the local natural conditions and construction progress, and provided on-site technical guidance and professional training.

In Khorezm Region, XIEG experts, together with local forestry authorities, investigated the natural environment of the planned halophyte garden and put forward suggestions on site selection. Invited by the Urgench Airport Administration, they assessed the greening feasibility of the salinized land outside the airport apron and gave preliminary advice on plant selection. The delegation also visited the Khorezm Mamun Academy, a branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and exchanged views on future cooperation between the Khorezm Mamun Academy and XIEG.

In other five regions, XIEG experts conducted an in-depth investigation into garden planning, drip irrigation facilities, plant sowing and seedling emergence at five halophyte gardens in Uzbekistan. They also donated soil quality monitoring instruments, addressed practical issues in garden construction, and provided on-site training to local staff on pre-sowing seed treatment, sowing techniques, drip irrigation management and relevant instrument operation.

On April 13, Aziz Abdukhakimov, Chairman of the NCECC and Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan on Environmental Issues, invited XIEG experts to attend a seminar (both online and offline) on the progress of halophyte garden establishment. TIAN Changyan was invited to provide a summary based on the inspection of halophyte gardens at the seminar, including the establishment progress and existing problems of each garden. Aziz commended the work of the Chinese experts and instructed relevant Uzbek authorities to solve the existing problems as soon as possible.

In June 2025, the XIEG signed an agreement with the NCECC on Co-establishing the Uzbekistan-China Halophyte Friendship Garden, aiming to promote practical cooperation between the two countries in saline-alkali land management. The establishment of the Friendship Garden will promote cooperation and exchanges between China and Uzbekistan in halophyte resource protection, ecological restoration and sustainable utilization of salinized land, help address the regional challenges such as climate change, water shortage and land degradation, and advance the building of the China-Central Asia Community with a Shared Future.

Discuss the site selection of the halophyte garden with experts from the local forestry department of Khorezm Region.

Discuss the selection of greening plants for the salinized plots at Urgench Airport.

Conduct soil pH demonstration and testing at the Karakalpakstan Halophyte Botanical Garden.

Demonstrate sowing methods at the Halophyte Botanical Garden in Jizzakh Region.

Contact

LONG Huaping

Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography

E-mail: longhp@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Web: http://english.egi.cas.cn