Desert Cultivation Scheme Dries Up
Desert Cultivation Scheme Dries Up
President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov is on a mission to make Turkmenistan greener through a new tree-planting scheme, but NBCentralAsia experts say the plants will die in the arid climate and salinated soil unless an efficient irrigation system is put in place.
During a cabinet meeting on July 14, Berdymuhammedov announced that everyone in Turkmenistan must take part in a massive scheme to “make the entire country greener”.
The programme will start with saplings in special plantations along the new ring road around the capital Ashgabat, and will be extended with similar activities in all urban and residential areas throughout the country.
The late president Saparmurat Niazov, who died in December, dreamed of creating “an oasis in the desert” and repeatedly initiated projects to make the country greener. In 1999 he adopted a national programme called Gok Kushak, or Green Belt, through which 50 million coniferous, fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs were planted.
But Niazov’s plan was flawed, and many of the trees, especially the conifers, died in Turkmenistan’s dry climate because drip irrigation technology was not installed and the country continued to use water wastefully.
NBCentralAsia observers in Turkmenistan warn that Berdymuhammedov’s initiative will go the same way if he does not install an irrigation system that works properly, especially in plantations of young trees.
At present, there are constant disruptions to the supply of irrigation water over the summer, making it difficult to keep even existing trees and farm crops alive.
Much of Turkmenistan is arid desert with temperatures soaring over 40 degrees during the summer, making it impossible to plant vegetation across the entire country.
“[The programme] is doomed to failure – you can’t ‘green’ a country with a hot climate and land that is salinated,” said an NBCentralAsia analyst in the Balkan region in the west of the country.
“It will be restricted to making a specific area around Ashgabat greener. Millions, even billions, of manats will be written off on implementing the broader programme.”
A United Nations report this year categorised Turkmenistan, along with sub Saharan Africa, as one of the regions of the world most at risk from intensive desertification.
Many of the lands around Ashgabat that are set aside for allotments are now unusable – and unused – because of extensive salination and clogged-up irrigation.
“If you’ve planted a tree and it is bearing fruit, but it suddenly starts to dry up from the top down, that means the roots have reached the salinated soil stratum. How can we talk about making things greener in conditions this?” asked one observer.
However, an ecologist in Ashgabat is more optimistic, saying the programme could become a success provided the authorities adopt a scientific approach and select drought-resistant trees appropriate to the local climate.
Ultimately, the success of the scheme will hinge on how well it is planned. The ecologist recommends that the government put in place mechanisms to encourage people to take part and invest funds in making it happen. “If that does not happen, this will prove a short-lived campaign,” he warned.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
During a cabinet meeting on July 14, Berdymuhammedov announced that everyone in Turkmenistan must take part in a massive scheme to “make the entire country greener”.
The programme will start with saplings in special plantations along the new ring road around the capital Ashgabat, and will be extended with similar activities in all urban and residential areas throughout the country.
The late president Saparmurat Niazov, who died in December, dreamed of creating “an oasis in the desert” and repeatedly initiated projects to make the country greener. In 1999 he adopted a national programme called Gok Kushak, or Green Belt, through which 50 million coniferous, fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs were planted.
But Niazov’s plan was flawed, and many of the trees, especially the conifers, died in Turkmenistan’s dry climate because drip irrigation technology was not installed and the country continued to use water wastefully.
NBCentralAsia observers in Turkmenistan warn that Berdymuhammedov’s initiative will go the same way if he does not install an irrigation system that works properly, especially in plantations of young trees.
At present, there are constant disruptions to the supply of irrigation water over the summer, making it difficult to keep even existing trees and farm crops alive.
Much of Turkmenistan is arid desert with temperatures soaring over 40 degrees during the summer, making it impossible to plant vegetation across the entire country.
“[The programme] is doomed to failure – you can’t ‘green’ a country with a hot climate and land that is salinated,” said an NBCentralAsia analyst in the Balkan region in the west of the country.
“It will be restricted to making a specific area around Ashgabat greener. Millions, even billions, of manats will be written off on implementing the broader programme.”
A United Nations report this year categorised Turkmenistan, along with sub Saharan Africa, as one of the regions of the world most at risk from intensive desertification.
Many of the lands around Ashgabat that are set aside for allotments are now unusable – and unused – because of extensive salination and clogged-up irrigation.
“If you’ve planted a tree and it is bearing fruit, but it suddenly starts to dry up from the top down, that means the roots have reached the salinated soil stratum. How can we talk about making things greener in conditions this?” asked one observer.
However, an ecologist in Ashgabat is more optimistic, saying the programme could become a success provided the authorities adopt a scientific approach and select drought-resistant trees appropriate to the local climate.
Ultimately, the success of the scheme will hinge on how well it is planned. The ecologist recommends that the government put in place mechanisms to encourage people to take part and invest funds in making it happen. “If that does not happen, this will prove a short-lived campaign,” he warned.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
