In Turkey, an earthy alternative to chemical fertilizers

A student at Aegean University holds a handful of the precious fertilizer. Photo: UNDP in Turkey

Earthworms are providing farmers with an appealing, organic alternative to chemical fertilizers in a part of Turkey that suffers from high levels of land and water pollution - with 45 farmers piloting the use of fertilizer made from earthworm waste in western Turkey’s Gediz River basin.

In recent years the Gediz River has seen rising levels of agricultural pollution – with a high incidence of nickel, copper, zinc and mercury – and many experts forecast water shortages caused by decreasing precipitation.

The area is home to almost 2 million people and one of the country’s most productive and ecologically diverse basins.

Kyrgyzstan: Setting ground rules for investment in hydropower

Before construction. Photo: UNDP in Kyrgyzstan

"It’s just plain and dry land for now, but I hope in several years this land will be green and employ hundreds of farmers," says Asan Halbekov showing the 2,000 hectares of land in the village of Toguz-Bulak in the far west of Kyrgyzstan’s Batken Province.

"Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, these farmlands were not cultivated because the pump station stopped working and there was no water. I hope our small hydro power plant and a pump station we’re planning to build will change things."

Asan Halbekov’s coal mining company is among the pioneer private investors in construction of small hydropower plants in Kyrgyzstan.

Solar powered concert rocks Chisinau

CHISINAU, Moldova – 30 April, 2013 – A solar powered concert in Chisinau this past weekend is just the beginning for rock band FurioSnails.

"In 2014, we would like to organize a larger-scale concert powered by renewable energy," said FurioSnails soloist Lilian Severin.

"We intend to promote alternative energy resources. Our desire is that the Republic of Moldova decreases its dependence on foreign energy resource suppliers, and starts producing its own energy out of solar, wind, water and biomass resources."

Restoring hope in the future for Prespa Lake

"We used to do a lot of things without thinking about the effects on the environment," says Naume Toskovski, an apple farmer in the Prespa Lakes region of fYR Macedonia.

"We didn’t know that dumping apples would pollute the water."

"Perhaps it’s a different story with pesticides and fertilizers – the temptation for farmers is always to over-use these chemicals and we know they are harmful for nature, but we didn’t know just how harmful they were. Until recently we didn’t know of any better alternatives."

In Moldova, big plans for biomass

Children from the Ermoclia kindergarten are now warmer, and the heating bill has fallen >>See more photos

The kindergarten in the village of Ermoclia has declared its independence. Energy independence, that is. Instead of struggling to keep students warm with expensive imported gas, the kindergarten now heats up with locally produced biomass fuels.

It’s good for the children and the environment too. And the cost of heating the school has fallen by half.

"It is nice to come to the kindergarten," says Mihaita, a smiling four-year-old boy. "It’s warmer than at home. I will tell my mom and dad to heat our house the same way."

The school in Ermoclia was the first public institution in Moldova heated with biomass energy through a UNDP project to increase its use.

"[We are at] the beginning of the large-scale use of biomass fuels," says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar.

"Besides reducing the consumption of imported energy sources, we are introducing agricultural residues into the economic cycle. These will no longer be perceived as waste, but as a new business opportunity and source of income."

Communities help manage Turkey’s Kure Mountains National Park

Galip Arslan, a local activist near the Kure Mountains National Park, has been part of the Government’s efforts to engage communities in protecting the environment

Kazakhstan: Save the wetlands, protect the economy

Bringing back traditional feltwork, Korgalzhyn wetlands, Kazakhstan

Valentina Zhakupbekova’s family depended on the exploitation of Kazakhstan’s vast wetlands - thousands of square kilometres of rich soil and abundant lakes, with caviar-bearing fish, unique birds and aquatic flora.

Her husband was an illegal poacher, supporting their four children with the fish he caught. After he died, With no employment and a family to feed, Ms. Zhakupbekova had no job and a family to feed, so, supported by UNDP, she learned how to create felt products made from wool, a commodity in abundant supply.

She opened a local retail shop and now sells her popular handmade slippers, boots and jewellery - and trained seven other women.

Tajikistan: Putting environmental resources in local hands

Land degradation led to the collapse of this road. Photo: UNDP in Tajikistan

"Protecting the forests is a noble cause that should always be supported," says Bekmurodov Kurbonmahmad, a member of the Community Forestry Management Committee.

In 2007, UNDP, in partnership with the Global Environment Facility, reached out to local officials and farmers in Tajikistan’s Vakhsh River valley to identify and address environmental threats, and encourage local management of natural resources.

Renewable energy in Slovakia: problems and prospects

Lenka Dojčanová*                                                        Русский/Russian

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -  1 October, 2012 - Membership in the European Union has meant that Slovakia and other Central European states must align their national energy policies with EU directives and regulations. Many of these are captured by the Europe 2020 programme, according to which the EU is to increase the share of renewables in final energy consumption to 20 percent by 2020.

Recycling takes hold in Armenia

See more photos from Armenia's recycling initiative

YEREVAN, Armenia – 13 July, 2012 – "Finally, we can separate plastic material from garbage and sell it," says head of the Communal Services Department in the town of Hrazdan, Shota Khachatryan. "This means additional income for the municipality, and now less garbage goes to the landfill, which helps reduce air pollution from burning plastic."

Saving unique fish in Issyk Kul

ISSYK-KUL, Kyrgyzstan – 19 June, 2012 – "I used to be a fisherman – like 10 to 15 percent of the people living in my district," said Ulan Abdyldaev, a fishermen from the Kuturga village located north of Issyk Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan.

"We used to go out into the lake, put up our nets and catch a lot of fish, mainly chebak and chebachok, with no hassle. It was getting less and less, but we did not pay much attention,” says Ulan, “And now, for the last five years, some chebak and chebachok have disappeared."

Like many villagers in Issyk Kul, Ulan made a living catching and selling fish. Uncontrolled fishing led to the disappearance of some unique species and also drove the fishermen out of business. Now Ulan is helping to restore some of the endemic fish species in Issyk Kul Lake: chebak, chebachok, marinka and naked osman.

Solar power restores electricity to remote Croatian village

AJDEROVAC, Croatia – 4 June, 2012 – “The milk that we produce, we cannot sell,” says Mileva Desnica, whose family lives on a small farm in the village of Ajderovac in Croatia's mountainous Gračac municipality.

“We don’t have a milk cooling tank and the electricity that would support it. We don’t have a refrigerator, so we can only store food in the cold room for a day or two at most. This is a big problem for us.”

That was before UNDP installed a five kilowatt solar energy station at the family farm, with the possibility of extending the energy supply to the whole community of seven families - cut off from the energy grid during war in the 1990s.

Helen Clark & Tarja Halonen on Rio+20 at Kapuscinski lecture in Helsinki, 7.05.2012

Helsinki, Finland – 7 May, 2012 – Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator and Tarja Halonen, former Finnish President delivered a lecture "Resetting the global development agenda at the Rio+20 summit", hosted by the University of Helsinki and Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Watch recorded video. Date: 7.05.2012. 

Farmers regain access to traditional pastures, help protect land

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan – 16 January, 2012 – "Sandyk is a distant pasture which was used by my ancestors throughout the centuries," says Kanat Isabekov, a farmer from the mountainous Suusamyr valley in Kyrgyzstan.

"But last year, I had to stop using the pasture because of a car accident on the difficult road to the pasture. Now I let my cattle graze in a pasture nearby, which is used by all the residents of our village."

UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre goes carbon neutral

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – 20 December 2011– With the purchase of 650 tons of carbon credits paid for from savings from rooftop solar panels, the UNDP Regional Centre in Bratislava has met its goal of becoming carbon neutral. 

A village in Uzbekistan adapts to climate change, and raises incomes

KYZYL RAVAT, Uzbekistan – 5 December 2011 – Climate change has taken its toll on rural Uzbekistan, degrading pastureland and depleting livestock. However, one remote village has demonstrated that it can adapt to the effects of climate change – and even increase people’s income at the same time. 

Реальный объем торговли выбросами углерода переходных и развивающихся экономик

Клубы дыма от фабрики в Эстонии. Государства Балтии никогда не станут крупными производителями или потребителями углерода в абсолютном выражении. © Курт Карнемарк / Всемирный Банк 

Eco friendly farming brings higher yields for farmers, stalls desertification

MARY PROVINCE, Turkmenistan – 8 November, 2011 – Farmers in Turkmenistan who grow cotton, grain, and vegetables, face the problem of low yields because of salinity, erosion and degradation of fields caused by inefficient land leveling, use of fertilizers and irrigation of fields.

Углеродное финансирование: потенциальные возможности и реальность

Строительство 'зеленого моста' на будущее в преддверии 'Рио+20'

Эмилия Вальстрем                                                   English/Aнглийский                        

Казахстан является одной из стран с крупнейшим объемом выбросов углерода в относительном выражении. Через инициативу Астаны «Зеленый мост» государство стремится занять лидирующее место в области «зеленого роста». Смогут ли эти солнечные батареи сократить углеродный след страны? © ПРООН – Казахстан