Developing timely and quality climate services and upgrading multi-hazard early warning system in Uzbekistan
Introductory workshops conducted from August through November 2022 in Namangan, Fergana, Kashkadarya, Samarkand, Jizzakh, Sirdarya, Tashkent regions presented the project “Enhancing Multi-Hazard Early Warning System to increase resilience of Uzbekistan communities to climate change-induced hazards” to project beneficiaries and provided the seminar’s participants with the opportunity to learn about how the project would contribute to the improvement of the national system of climate services and development of multi-hazard early warning system.
Preventing the occurrence of natural disasters and actions targeted at mitigating the effects of environmental perils require comprehensive approach at local, regional and international level. The joint project “Enhancing Multi-Hazard Early Warning System to increase resilience of Uzbekistan communities to climate change induced hazards” of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES), the Center of Hydro-meteorological Service (Uzhydromet) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) aims to reach those targets by advancing and expanding the Uzhydromet’s technical capacities and the overall system of disaster risk reduction carried out by the MES. The seminar introduced to all the stakeholders, representatives of the regional department of emergency situations and disaster management authorities as well as other relevant public agencies the project goals and all the benefits the successful implementation of the project will bring in the long run.
During the workshops the representatives of the MES and the Uzhydromet together with the project’s personnel presented the project’s objectives and projected results, including project’s overall objectives and main activities. The agenda of the event included not only the presentation of the project, but also allowed participants to discuss the project plans and implementation strategies and gain an insight into each step of the project’s realization.
The focus of the project reflects my area of work and that is why attending this seminar was very useful for me, - says Tursun Aminov, specialist at the department of disaster risk reduction at the Samarkand Regional Transport Authority. – Precisely following all the regulations and decrees on effective measures of evacuation from disaster areas and taking into account the required conditions of roads and routes for successfully performing these operations constitute the main line of my work, in this regard the system of early warning plays a paramount role in the efficient evacuation process. All the instruments for prior notification of any natural hazard such as mobile application that is being developed in the scope of this project would make our job more efficient and easier. Also, as I have worked in remote rural areas, I think that all the means for forewarning people living in mountainous areas would contribute a lot to the overall system of disaster risk reduction.
The series of introductory workshops presenting the project has been conducted across all seven project target regions (Namangan, Fergana, Tashkent, Sirdarya, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya and Samarkand regions).
Being the ecology specialist, I enjoyed learning about the project, as climate change-induced hazards constitute most of the today’s environmental disasters, - says Khafiza Mamadalieva, specialist of the department of monitoring and protection of people at the Fergana regional department of the State Committee for Ecology and Environment Protection. - In my opinion, the project objectives, that are developing multi-hazard early warning system and strengthening climate services, will positively impact the development of sustainability in rural areas and could serve as a bridge between disaster risk reduction and environment protection.
The seminars familiarized the population of these areas with the project’s concept and its main objectives. It has to be noted that the project contributes to achieving the following sustainable development goals (SDG) - SDG 11 aiming to develop sustainable cities and communities and SDG 13 targeted at enhancing climate action.