“Glaciers melt and the region will face water shortage in the nearest years. Area desertification and forests extinction are highly topical for the region nowadays, as well as solid domestic waste reprocessing,” the director said.

“Solid domestic waste affects the quality of water and consequently the population’s health. Further forest area reduction leads to ecosystem degradation, which in turn will seriously impact the region’s biodiversity,” the expert believes.

The news conference was held under the session of Intergovernmental Commission on Central Asia’s Stable Development, which is running in Bishkek. Besides the UNEP representatives the session is attended by Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tajik and Turkmen delegations. The session’s agenda reportedly includes such issues as climate change and its effects in Central Asia, long-run and short-run measures to be taken for the region’s stable development.