Under the Technical Cooperation Programme of FAO (TCP/SEC/3501), a stakeholder consultation for the Central Asian Desert Initiative (CADI) took place in Istanbul from 16 to 17 February 2015. The workshop was attended by 12 delegates from partner institutions in Germany, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and FAO. 

The Central Asian countries carry high responsibility for the preservation of cold winter deserts. Known also as Kyzylkum and Karakum, this type of desert that has rain or even snowfall during winter time can be found in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Cold winter deserts host a rich diversity of endemic species and provide important ecosystem services for local people, but are threatened by degradation through excessive firewood collection from saxaul trees and inappropriate grazing practices for livestock. 

Despite its generous contribution to global biodiversity, the significance of cold winter deserts is still poorly understood and ecosystem-based management approaches are missing to a large extent.

Together with FAO, the Michael Succow Foundation from Germany has developed the project proposal, CADI, to assist the three affected countries in addressing these shortcomings with up-to-date methods and in a participatory manner. 

While FAO’s main contribution will be establishing sustainable land management schemes for desert landscapes with multiple stakeholders, the overall goal of the initiative is to conserve the biodiversity of winter cold deserts and their inherent ecosystem functions. To achieve this, CADI will receive funding from the International Climate Initiative (IKI), a fund supporting climate and biodiversity projects in developing and transition countries. 

The stakeholder consultation in Istanbul was instrumental to reach agreement on project components and activities in the countries and to highlight synergies with other FAO projects in Central Asia.