Uzbekistan is emerging as one of Central Asia's key examples of efforts to combat land degradation and restore ecosystems, but growing water shortages and climate pressures could complicate the country's progress. This was reflected in the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification's (UNCCD) regional thematic report titled Central Asia: Region of Ancient Traditions and Modern Perspectives. The report highlights Uzbekistan's environmental initiatives alongside broader challenges facing the region, including land degradation, shrinking water resources, soil salinization and growing pressure on the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins.
Uzbekistan has planted saxaul across 2 million hectares of the dried Aral Sea bed, helping stabilize the exposed seabed and reduce dust and sand movement. According to the report, actual dust retention from these efforts reached 35%-40%, significantly above the initial forecast of 15%-18%. The country's "Yashil Makon" initiative is also targeting the planting of around 200 million seedlings annually, while the government aims to increase urban green coverage from 8% to 30% by 2030.
Uzbekistan has also expanded water-saving agriculture, with drip irrigation covering about 1 million hectares. Trend's analysis shows that Uzbekistan's environmental policy is increasingly moving from individual restoration projects toward a broader land-management strategy that combines reforestation, water conservation, legislation and community participation. The country's national land-degradation neutrality targets, approved in 2023, include restoring degraded land, expanding forest cover and introducing water-saving technologies.
The report notes that forested areas across Central Asia increased by 6.4% during the period assessed, with Uzbekistan recording one of the strongest increases at 39%. Tajikistan followed with a 23% increase. Trend's calculations show that Uzbekistan's reported increase in forested areas was more than six times the regional average, underscoring the scale of the country's reforestation efforts.
However, these gains are occurring alongside a significant deterioration in regional water resources. The area covered by water bodies across Central Asia declined by 18.5%, while the decline in Uzbekistan was approaching 50%, according to the report. This creates a particular challenge because newly planted trees in arid areas require irrigation during their first several years of growth.
Water availability could become the main constraint on Uzbekistan's environmental restoration efforts. The country is located downstream in the region's major river systems and depends heavily on water flows originating in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, while much of its agricultural land is concentrated in water-intensive irrigated areas. The economic dimension further highlights Uzbekistan's dependence on regional connectivity.
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