Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, on 11 February, the Ministerial Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) was held. The event was attended by environment ministers from snow leopard range countries, as well as representatives of partner organizations and international financial institutions (IFIs).

The 10th anniversary of this intergovernmental alliance, which was created with the Bishkek Declaration of 2013, was celebrated.

At the Ministerial meeting, the Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Aziz Abdukhakimov, spoke, who in his speech emphasized that the conservation of the snow leopard and its ecosystems is not only important from an environmental point of view, but is also of great importance for heritage and culture.

“In Uzbekistan, we place nature conservation and environmental protection at the center of state policy. Several documents, resolutions and action plans on environmental strategic policy were adopted, including the Concept of Environmental Protection until 2030, the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy until 2028 and others,” noted A. Abdukhakimov.

“In collaboration with the GEF and UNDP in Uzbekistan, we successfully implemented a snow leopard conservation project, which allowed us to create two visitor centers with a focus on environmental education and implement the SMART patrol system. We are also proud that transboundary cooperation on snow leopard conservation in the Western Tien Shan, initiated by the government of Uzbekistan, has led to the signing of a transboundary memorandum of understanding,” the minister added.

The meeting collectively assessed the efforts made by the governments of the 12 snow leopard range countries, as well as the GSLEP Secretariat and partners, to implement the Bishkek Declaration; priority actions for the future have been identified; Identified funding gaps were discussed, future resource needs were assessed, and funding modalities for snow leopard conservation initiatives were determined. This meeting, with the participation of international development organizations, international financial institutions and donor countries, provides an opportunity to strengthen international cooperation, initiate projects and attract grant funds to the country in order to preserve the snow leopard population and adapt to the effects of climate change.

In today’s realities, in the context of climate change, which leads to global warming and melting glaciers, thereby causing irreparable damage to the habitat of the snow leopard and the sources of its prey, an urgent need was noted for the development and deepening of regional, transboundary and interstate cooperation to preserve this valuable kind.

Considering the importance of conducting timely dialogue, developing joint actions and measures to preserve the snow leopard’s habitat, following the meeting, the historic Samarkand Resolution was adopted, outlining the main obligations. She called on governments, development partners and financial institutions to support the GSLEP program and related initiatives by exploring innovative financing mechanisms to accelerate climate change adaptation and conservation efforts.

This landmark meeting catalyzed transformative action over the next decade and promised to secure the ecological future of Asia’s highlands for the benefit of the region’s biodiversity and all humanity.