Though, in addition to traditional tourism types such as historical, cultural and ethnic, Uzbekistan has a great potential to develop an ecotourism. Beauty and diversity of mountain and desert landscapes, great variety of flora and fauna, mild climate create the most favorable conditions for those who seek a contact with nature far from noisy megalopolises and daily bustle.

Ways of development and popularization of ecotourism in Uzbekistan were discussed on 3 September during the round-table conference in the Jeyran Ecocenter, which gives great consideration to the preservation of Uzbekistan biodiversity.

Information center of LLC Advantour said that the meeting, co-organized by the Michael Succow Foundation for the Protection of Nature, brought together representatives of the State Committee of Nature of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Bukhara Khokimiyat (Municipality), the State Biological Control of the Republic of Uzbekistan, tourist agencies and tourism experts.

In the course of the meeting it was mentioned, that to develop new ecotourism itineraries and to improve the Uzbekistan tourism image, it is necessary to create favorable service conditions and to involve private entrepreneurs and tourist organizations, to inform about tourist potential of Uzbekistan abroad, to reform tourist infrastructure and to provide qualified personnel.

Members discussed not only important economic but also social influence of ecotourism, allowing to the rational use of natural resources and development of care for nature among tourists and local people.

Within the framework of round-table discussion members made a tour around the Ecocenter territory, located 40 km from Bukhara. Here on the area of 16.5 hectares rare and endangered species of animals such as Jeyran (Persian gazelle), Asiatic wild ass, Przewalski horse, Bukhara wild sheep are bred. Also, over 250 species of plants, including endangered Lehmann tulip and Eremurus, can be found here.

Today the Ecocenter is engaged in the improvement of an additional territory of 9.3 hectares, which has been recently annexed with the aim to broaden the protected area and to satisfy needs of animals bred within the reserve. The center plans to create conditions for semi-free-ranging even-hoofed mammals, to develop ecotours both for tourists, interested in the nature, and for specialists: botanists, entomologists, ornithologists on the base of Jeyran Center

Note:

Michael Succow Foundation for the Protection of Nature was founded in 1999 by Michael Succow, professor of the Department of Botany and the botanical garden of the University of Greifswald.

The Foundation was organized with the prize money of the Right Livelihood Award, also referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize", in 1998. It is aimed to support foundations of national parks, biosphere reserves and other protected natural areas on the post-Soviet territory.

Jeyran Ecocenter is one of three protected territories of three-year project of the Foundation “Strengthening Protected Areas System in Uzbekistan”.