NEWS

Protecting Nature is Everyone’s Duty

Probably, when heading to Geokdere and Archabil, many residents of Ashgabat notice people in uniforms on the tops of the hills. This is how observation posts work – an annual campaign of the fire danger period that begins on May 1 will last all summer long and first half of autumn. From these equipped posts, the area around is inspected for smoke – the early signs of a starting fire and open fire. These structures are set up near industrial facilities and roads and around state nature reserves. Those on duty are ecologists, additional employees of the Ministry of Environment Protection of Turkmenistan and military personnel of the security, defence and law-enforcement agencies, particularly inspectors and firefighters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who are in close partnership. Observers are equipped with loudspeakers, two-way radios and communication devices, binoculars, fire extinguishers and mallets to quickly extinguish fires. Fire safety and prevention measures are implemented in an enhanced mode in the recreational areas at the Kopetdag foothills, where residents and guests of the capital recreate in the shade of trees near the rivers on these summer days. Most observation posts are located in such places. Landscapers and utility workers of the Ashgabat hyakimlik keep the gorges in Archabil and Geokdere clean. Awareness-raising activities are conducted for lover

16 hours ago

Nature

EFFECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY OF TURKMENISTAN: GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ASPECTS

The Turkmen people have always been taking care of and protecting the environment like the apple of their eye. Today, the national traditions of environmental protection inherited from our ancestors are becoming increasingly relevant. The annual nationwide greening campaigns play an important role in turning Turkmenistan into a blooming oasis and raise the people’s pride in their unique nature. In Turkmenistan, environmental protection is one the state policy priorities.  The achievement of sustainable development and environmental security on the planet is closely linked to international cooperation. Our country that acceded dozens of United Nations environmental conventions takes a responsible approach to tackling the challenges to sustainable development facing the world community.

4 July 2024

Nature

Preventive measures

«7/24. tm» №24 (211), 10.06.2024 Sometimes the air temperature becomes very high on sunny days, and high ambient air temperatures may cause some people to experience discomfort, which is manifested by increased sensitivity. To prevent hot days from negatively affecting your health, you need to consult a doctor and monitor your blood pressure. Those who suffer from chronic cardiovascular diseases, as well as elderly people and children must follow the daily routine.

10 June 2024

Nature

Plants that Love the Wind

Nature is incredibly inventive in its manifestations. In the process of long evolution or historical development, various characteristics appeared in plants as a result of mutations. If they turned out to be useless for the existence of organisms, they gradually disappeared. Those that helped survive were consolidated, strengthened and passed on by inheritance. The characteristics that we currently see in various desert or mountain plants in their external and internal structure are the result of natural selection. They help them vegetate and form fruits and seeds in harsh arid dry conditions, as well as form populations in new areas. Also, for plants in short weather conditions in the Karakum conditions, it is necessary not only to undergo the reproduction process, but also to distribute around the fruits and seeds that form on them. Different types of flora also use environmental factors, for example, wind, with the help of which plants are pollinated and distribute fruits and seeds. Many similar plants grow in the deserts of Turkmenistan: sedge, astragalus, calligonum, sand acacia, white and black saxaul, tamarix and others. In the process of evolution, all of them have developed special outgrowths-devices on their fruits that improve their flying properties.

26 January 2024

Nature

Even Mountains Worship Holy Places

In the northeast of the city of Aktau, in the Mangyshlak region, there is a mountain called Shirkala, which in Turkmen means “Lion's fortress” or “Lion Mountain”. There are also other names: the sphinx mountain and the white yurt of gods. If you look at it from one side, it really resembles a huge white yurt, but on the other side, it looks like a sleeping lion with its huge head resting on its paws. Some argue that it resembles a huge bowl, which was turned over by a satiated traveller. Residents of the region consider Shirkala a shrine of Mangyshlak. The mountain with a height of more than 300 metres is capricious and does not tolerate curious onlookers. Despite its relatively low height for mountaineering, Shirkala is a very harsh and unpredictable mountain. Monolithic walls enclosing the summit from almost all sides make climbing to this mountain very difficult, some routes are accessible to professional athletes only. Shirkala has an attractive atmosphere, it attracts travellers, climbers, writers and painters.

19 January 2024

Nature

Gems – Luxury of Turkmen Nature

Gems and ornamental minerals – jasper, amethyst, quartz geodes, nodules of pink celestite from Tuarkyr, agate from the Big Balhan Mountains banded marble onyx, which combines translucent and opaque bands, from the caves of Koytendag and Kaylyu, zebra-shaped dolomite from the Kopetdag Mountains, travertine from Gaurdak and chalcedony from Tuarkyr can be found in Turkmenistan. Many beautiful and rare samples “settled down” in the geological collections of training and research centres, nature museums of Turkmenistan and the CIS countries and private collections around the world.

22 December 2023

Nature

Guest from the Kazakh Steppes

Carrying out a planned walk-through and pre-winter scientific field activities and at the same time taking a stock of biodiversity, a group of nature conservation inspectors noticed a steppe eagle sitting on a two-metre elevation. Two steppe kestrels circled above him, this is how they usually protect their hunting territory. Suddenly the predator tilted and fell on its back, it became clear that something was wrong with him. Environmentalists began to approach the bird with caution, but there was no reaction on its part. Judging by its exhausted state, it became clear that the eagle had lost all strength during the flight, it was weak and hungry, so it was not difficult to catch it. We delivered the bird to the central estate of the reserve, a veterinarian examined and treated it, and the staff fed the feathered predator and at the same time recorded its measurements. It was an adult: the wing length was 51 cm, the body was 63 cm long, the tail was 24 cm, and the beak was 4 cm. The steppe eagle belongs to the order Falconiformes and the family of Accipitridae; he is a rare species listed in the Red Data Book of Turkmenistan. On the territory of the Badhyz State Reserve, it is registered as a wintering bird, which arrives in late September-early October and is found mainly in the steppe part of the Reserve’s territory. These birds fly back in the second half of March;

22 December 2023

Nature

New Flora of Turkmenistan

Scientific methods for studying flora and vegetation began to be applied in the first half of the 19th century. By the end of the century before last, hundreds of famous scientists and naturalists from Russia and Europe visited Turkmenistan in order to search and study of outlandish desert plants and mountain xerophytes. It was during this period that hundreds of thousands of herbarium samples were collected, which served as type material for describing new plant species in the future. Seed and planting material was obtained and was successfully acclimatised, it still adorns the most famous botanical gardens in the world. A lot of research in the field of botany was carried out in the last century, when a number of research institutions were established, and in the current one - in the modern period of independence. Among the achievements is the scientifically confirmed growth within the country of 3,100 species of higher plants (these are ferns, horsetails, gymnosperms or conifers, and flowering plants). Studying the statistics of new species finds over time, it may seem that work in this area is less active than in the past: there is less and less unknown and unexplored. Nevertheless, over the past five years, three species of higher plants have been discovered in Turkmenistan, which I would like to talk about. The history of the discovery of the Calligonum inerme (unarmed ka

17 November 2023

Nature

Gardens are the beauty of nature

The Turkmen people cherish the noble principles, and great work is underway in our glorious epoch. The noble principles include planting trees and contributing to the beauty of nature. The harmony of the large-scale work conducted in the country under the wise leadership of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov indicates the effectiveness of the measures in the revival of the new epoch of the powerful state. Protecting and beautifying the nature are among these measures in our country. That is why the tree-planting campaigns are held on a regular basis, and our people take an active part in this noble work. The tree-planting campaign was organized on November 4, and our compatriots engaged in it with great enthusiasm.

10 November 2023

Nature

A WONDERFUL PLANT OF TURKMEN DESERT

In the era of the Revival of the new epoch of the powerful state, great attention is paid to protecting and preserving natural resources and nature of the Motherland for future generations. The Karakum Desert that covers a significant part of the total area of our country is a treasure of our country. The Karakum Desert has a very rich flora and fauna. This Turkmen desert is distinguished by its natural wonders and incredible beauty. Thousands of plant species are found in Turkmenistan, and more than 700 of them grow in the desert. In this regard, we should highlight the publication of Volume XV of the Arkadag’s scientific encyclopaedia “Medicinal Plants of Turkmenistan” that describes the national traditions of healing and the medicinal value of the rich flora of the Turkmen land. You clearly see the inextricable connection between human health and nature in the scientific works by our scientist Arkadag. One of the plants widely used in folk medicine is saxaul.

7 November 2023

Nature