Long ago, in 1897, Russian writer Anton Chekhov in his famous play “Uncle Vanya” used to describe ecology changes: “The forests are disappearing, the rivers are running dry, the wildlife is exterminated, the climate is spoiled, and the earth becomes poorer and uglier everyday”.
Indeed, vast climate change is one of our century’s challenges. It has already gone beyond the scale of scholar disputes and became a global issue. Aggravated by hazardous human activities, the global ecology crisis became a true menace for economic, cultural and social development of all the nations. Scarcity of fresh water, extinction of animal and plant biodiversity, reduced rainfall, improper waste disposal are main factors of the global crisis.
Currently, the issue of environmental protection is on the agenda of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The KRG’s statements rule that fight against climate change is a pillar of social prosperity, political stability, security and economic success. The KRG runs a number of ecologies saving programs addressed air purification, reduction of waste disposals and greenhouse emissions.
The local authorities are actively participating in key events dedicated to the fight against climate change. Therefore, H.E. the President of Kurdistan Mr. Nechirvan Barzani and H.E. the Prime Minister Mr. Masrour Barzani attended in 2023 the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai and delivered detailed reports analyzing environmental issues of Kurdistan. The KRG continues this work and its delegation headed by H.E. the President of Kurdistan Mr. Nechirvan Barzani takes part in the COP29 in Baku this year.
The Russian Federation is actively resisting the global environmental crisis. Emphasizing this, on October 26, 2023, Н.E. the President of the Russian Federation Mr. Vladimir Putin approved the new Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation, which sets goals, principles and techniques for implementing a governmental policy on climate change and its consequences. This document laid solid foundation for implementation and development of the Russian climate policy.
Simultaneously runs the national project "Ecology" on protection of the environment, founded in 2018. It integrates preservation of forests and water, reduction of emissions into the atmosphere, landfill management, waste recycling and disposal, preservation of biological diversity, development of eco-tourism and environmental education.
Russia is also actively fighting the global environmental crisis. The Russian Federation had signed the main international climate agreements including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement.
Russia shares ecological experience on international platforms. As a member of the BRICS interstate association, in August 2024 we held an expert-level “BRICS Climate Agenda in Modern Conditions” Forum. During the event representatives of governmental and corporate sectors, expert and scientific communities from the BRICS member states discussed the strategy of combating climate change as a part of sustainable development and variety of approaches to hydrocarbon trade. We have exchanged practical solutions to drive low-carbon development.
Desertification problem becomes more and more relevant for Russia. Globally, it brings to gradual land degradation and turning fertile lands into barren deserts, unfit for human habitation and agriculture. Desertification also results in extinction of main ecosystems, flora and fauna. Scientists regard desertification a consequence of irresponsible human activity.
Desertification problem affects both Russia and Kurdistan. KRG emphasizes that over the past decades, the Region’s beauty and lushness of nature, which was symbolically reflected in the green color of the autonomy’s flag, has been rapidly fading due to human activity. To restore picturesque landscapes of Kurdistan, Kurdish government supports greenery-planting projects. During last six months, dozens of town parks and “green zones” along highways were laid out.
Today Russia suffers desertification at 100 million hectares territory. There is a vast arid zone embracing Dagestan, Tatarstan, Kalmykia, as well as provinces with administrative centers in Saratov, Volgograd, Astrakhan, Rostov and Stavropol cities at southern European part of our country. For example, sandy desert in Kalmykia annually enlarges for more than 60 thousand hectares. Dunes increasingly advance to the residential areas. Especially in the summer, dust storms up to 50-70 meters high move at a speed of more than 100 km/h. Forecasts predict, that Kalmykia will mainly become a desert in 200-300 years. The Russian government takes all possible steps to prevent this scenario.
To defy with such a grave environmental challenge, the Russian Academy of Sciences has established a research center to combat desertification. As part of the center's work, scholars develop program of “fito-melioration” i.e. stabilizing sands by planting green fences. Desertification monitoring module of the program started in 2022. It includes satellite scanning added with ground-based expeditionary surveys. The researchers conducted a cross-section of the revegetation results. This method is amazingly effective: after rehabilitation of tested area, the size of recovered zone increased for 10 times (from 35.7 thousand hectares to 399.6 thousand hectares). In addition, the desert almost disappeared in the central part of this area.
Combating desertification is a good example of productive work of Russian eco-scientists. Ecological crises are a common problem, so exchange of experience, coordination and active cooperation are the key for gaining success.
Maxim Rubin is the Consul General of Russia to Erbil.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.
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