ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER 1`12 FALL ISSUE

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1 UN Joint Programme: Sustaining Livelihoods Affected by the Aral Sea Disaster ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER 1`12 FALL ISSUE Dear colleagues and partners! I am happy to introduce the second edition of our quarterly electronic newsletter covering our activities conducted over the Fall. In this feature you will find out what we did to introduce new technologies helping to track the progress made on MDGs in Karakalpakstan, how we are mainstreaming human security approach in policy making, as well as what we did to promote best practices in agriculture, pasture and land management. We would appreciate to receive your valuable feedback and wish you a good reading on behalf of our extended team! Please join our community on Facebook - And follow us on Twitter Get regular updates at Dildora Tadjibaeva Programme Coordinator

2 UN Day Celebrations On October 24, 2012 the nations of the world celebrated the 67th anniversary of the entry into force of UN Charter. UN Aral Sea Programme was part of this year s UN Day celebrations in Uzbekistan, organized by UNIC, and supported by UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNESCO and the World Bank. The celebration took place at Karakalpak State University named after Berdakh on October 24, and involved a briefing by representatives of UN agencies and theme groups. UN Aral Sea Programme together with UNFPA and UNAIDS held a theme group on environment and healthcare for about 30 students, and engaged them in a discussion on various topics, such as volunteerism, reproductive health, gender issues, and HIV/AIDS. UN Aral Sea Programme representative held a discussion on human security in Aral Sea region and briefed the students on the newly launched Programme, its goals and achievements. The students and faculty took an active part in a discussion, and received gifts from UN Aral Sea Programme and UNAIDS. Click here to view a full photo set. Improving economic and food security Creating a network of rural consultants: 24 rural farmers and dehkhans (small farmers) from Muynak, Shumanay and Kanlikul were selected to form a network of rural consultants to provide consultancy services to their peers in adoption of new agricultural practices. The farmers were enrolled in a 5-day course on rural consulting taught by the specialists of KRASS (Khorezm Rural Advisory Support Service) and learned best practices of running rural advisory services, key concepts of agro-consulting, M&E, communication techniques and client relationship management. Click here to view a full news story and a photo set. Popularizing sustainable land management among farmers: More than 100 rural farmers and dehkhans (small farmers) from four settlements Nazarkhan, Hoja Kol, Bekbay and Kipchak located in the area of Baday-tugay nature reserve park of Amudarya district in Karakalpakstan completed a comprehensive course on Sustainable forest and land management. The main goal of the course was to raise the awareness of rural population and farmers of the requirements of the bio-reserve zones, as well as explain the causes and consequences of land degradation.

3 The participants learned the best practices and approaches to sustainable forest and land management, as well as received valuable knowledge and skills needed to raise land fertility. Click here to view a full photo set. New approaches in pasture management for rural population: 25 farmers from target districts were engaged in a comprehensive two-day workshop on sustainable pasture management. Over the course of the workshop, the farmers learned the best practices of pasture management from other regions of Uzbekistan and gained skills in environmental protection and waste management. 10 active farmers were selected to participate in a 3 day study tour to Bukhara region, where they were exposed to the best practices of Bukhara farmers and exchanged knowledge in pasture management. Click here to view a full photo set and a news story. New partnerships: The instructors also shared modern irrigation and water management technologies, as well as Israel s experience in the use of irrigation water, since this country is also experiencing water shortage problems similar to those in Karakalpakstan. Click here to view a full photo set and a news story. Another training titled Business skills for farmers was conducted within partnership with MASHAV and engaged 19 farmers and dehkhans. UN Aral Sea Programme started partnership with Israel s Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV), which was launched in 1958 with the aim of sharing with the rest of the developing world the know-how and technologies which provided the basis for Israel s own rapid development. Within the framework of this cooperation it is planned to conduct series of knowledge sharing activities in the field of agriculture. For instance, 20 farmers and dehkhans (small farmers) completed a 3-day course on Vegetable farming in greenhouse and water management. The course was led by agriculture experts from Israel Moshe Broner and Raphael Krieger. The farmers studied the experience of Israel in greenhouses management and received specific recommendations in terms of replication of such practices in Karakalpakstan and particularly in the context of Muynak, Shumanay and Kanlikul areas.

4 The participants learned the best practices and business approaches to agriculture and learned necessary skills to improve the income of their farms. It is planned to conduct a series of trainings and capacity building activities with MASHAV in 2013 to promote the best practices applied in Israel among the farmers and rural population of Aral Sea shore. Capacity-building of veterinary service providers 20 heads of all district veterinary services providers in Karakalpakstan participated in a workshop on prevention of infectious diseases in animals and livestock, lead by an expert on veterinary services. The participants found out about methods of early detection and prevention of diseases in animals and livestock, such as immunization. The participants discussed and shared ideas, and challenges they experience in their field. Click here to view a full photo set. Mainstreaming improved healthcare practices Practical Approach to Lung Health (PAL): The drying up of Aral Sea has caused frequent dust storms that carry high amounts of chemicals and pesticides causing serious lung complications and respiratory diseases among the population. Therefore, it is essential to promote practical solutions to such diseases and improve the capacity of healthcare workers. Within the framework of UN Aral Sea Programme s effort to improve healthcare system in the most vulnerable districts of Karakalpakstan, as well as address the pressing issue of lung health, WHO is promoting Practical Approach to Lung Health (PAL) strategy among the general practitioners and nurses.

5 The goal of this effort is to train 170 general practitioners and 120 nurses in rural areas in PAL strategy. Within this effort, 12 experienced PAL trainers completed a Training of trainers (TOT) on adult teaching methodology to further strengthen the effectiveness of PAL strategy implementation. A training on Practical approach to lung health strategy was held for general practitioners from rural healthcare centers. The training was carried out by WHO and Ministry of Health of Karakalpakstan within UN Aral Sea Programme. Over this period of time 80 general practitioners, 80 nurses, and 60 activists were trained in PAL strategy. Strengthening governance on sub-regional level Human security principals for regional decision-makers: 15 government officials of Karakalpakstan completed a course on Human Security concept and Human Development. The course focused on elaborating the key human security concepts, as well as human development and sustainable development issues and their local context. The course was conducted within UN Aral Sea Programme s initiative to strengthen the capacity of local government authorities in policy-making and sustainable development with a specific focus on human security and human development concepts. Click here to view a full photo set and a news story. New tools for tracking of MDGs and human development: 20 specialists of the Ministry of Economy of Karakalpakstan completed a training course on Millennium Development Goals Statistics and DevInfo Database Management. The participants improved their capacity related to to monitoring of the achievement of national MDGs, human development indicators and general socio-economic conditions in Karakalpakstan. The main goal of the course was to strengthen the capacity of the government officials related to MDG data analysis and regional planning. Click here to view a full photo set and a news story. A network of public sector trainers established: 15 candidate trainers were selected to conduct capacity building of government officials of Karakalpakstan in the future. They are expected to conduct courses for government officials on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Result-based management (RBM), monitoring and evaluation, and other topics. The trainers completed a comprehensive 5-day training course on Methodology of adult education: interactive methods and technology to conduct trainings and seminars, which gave them the necessary knowledge and skills to work with adult students. Click here to view a full news story.

6 New Developments Our close cooperation with the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan resulted in a launch of a webpage dedicated to the activities of UN Aral Sea Programme. The page is available in four languages Karakalpak, English, Russian and Uzbek. Check it out for latest news updates and publications: Strong cooperation with the top newspapers in Karakalpakstan Erkin Karakalpakstan and Vesti Karakalpakstana resulted in a launch of a special bi-weekly newspaper rubric dedicated to the activities of UN Aral Sea Programme. The first issue was released on November 20, 2012 with a total circulation reaching 2000 copies. This issue highlighted the background information on the Programme and an gave an update on its current achievements. For latest updates on Joint Programme activities check out our Programme page on AKVO platform. Here you can find information on the Joint Programme s mission and goals, partners, as well as latest developments and photo gallery.

7 Our latest blog post titled New UN Partnership Improving Human Security in Aral Sea Region made to UNDP Europe and CIS s Voices from Eurasia blog: We have released a 2nd edition of our Brochure, which provides brief background on UN Aral Sea Programme, its activities, goals, partners, etc. Click here to download. United Nations Trust Fund For Human Security launched its new website, which provides a large amount of useful information on human security concept, activities and projects. UN Aral Sea Programme is featured there as well. Please click here to view UN Aral Sea Programme page, and check out Programme summary, brochure, newsletter, and other materials and publications.

8 Our partners The Joint Programme is funded by: The United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security was established in 1999 with the express aim of promoting human security through the protection and empowerment of people and communities threatened in their survival, livelihood and dignity. The objective of UNTFHS is to finance activities carried out by UN organization(s) and/or designated non-un organization(s), which translate human security concept into practical actions, in particular those at the field level, to demonstrate its added-value in view of promoting and disseminating the concept. Since 1999, the UNTFHS has committed over USD 350 million to projects in over 70 countries. The Joint Programme is implemented by: UNDP is the UN``s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP is on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - was established on November 16, 1945 and its Headquarter is in Paris. As specialized agency of the United Nations, UNESCO contributes to the building of peace, the alleviation of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. It is doing so promoting international co-operation among its 193 Member States and six Associate Members UNESCO is working to create the conditions for genuine dialogue based upon respect for shared values and the dignity of each civilization and culture. UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, is the lead UN agency that expands the possibilities for women and young people to lead healthy sexual and reproductive lives. We are on the ground improving lives in more than 150 countries. We`re making real progress yet more work needs to be done. UNFPA - delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every child birth is safe, and every young person`s potential is fulfilled. The World Health Organization-founded in 1948-is the specialized agency of the United Nations for health. WHO Country Office in Uzbekistan has been an active player in the country, towards the achievement of a common development goal - Health for all. The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide by advocating for recognition of volunteers, working with partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing an increasing number and diversity of volunteers, including experienced UN Volunteers.