The Lower Amudarya State Biosphere Reserve has been added to the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves, announced the Deputy PM/Chairman of the National Commission for UNESCO Aziz Abdukhakimov.
During the 33rd meeting of the International Coordinating Council of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program (ISS-MAB), which is being held on September 13-17 in Abuja (Nigeria), it was decided to include the Lower Amudarya State Biosphere Reserve into the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (VSBR). Now there are two reserves from Uzbekistan in this network: the first is the Chatkal State Biosphere Reserve, introduced in 1978, and the second is the Lower Amudarya State Biosphere Reserve.
The Lower Amudarya Biosphere Reserve is located on the territory of the Beruni and Amudarya districts of Karakalpakstan, which accounts for 20% of the forests of Central Asia and 74% of all forests in Uzbekistan.
The total area of the reserve is about 69 thousand hectares. The nomination package for the Lower Amudarya State Biosphere Reserve was prepared by the State Committee for Ecology and Environmental Protection with the technical assistance of the German Society for International Cooperation and the M. Zukkov Foundation for Nature Protection.
