A Next-Generation Nursery System for Green Uzbekistan
An AI-Supported Integrated Nursery Approach and the RESILAND CA+ Experience
16 March 2026
Uzbekistan is striving to build a more systematic, data- and knowledge-based, and long-term forestry infrastructure in order to combat land degradation, desertification, and climate change.
In this context, the Uzbekistan Resilient Landscapes Restoration Project (RESILAND Uzbekistan) constitutes the Uzbekistan component of the broader, regionally scaled RESILAND CA+ program, supported by the World Bank. The main objective of the project is to enhance sustainable landscape management in selected areas of Uzbekistan and to strengthen transboundary restoration cooperation across Central Asia.
A Next-Generation Nursery System for Green Uzbekistan-16 March 2026-İsmail Belen
Within this broader objective, the assessment, improvement, and next-generation planning of nine state forest nurseries distributed across the country’s different ecological regions holds a special place.
This is because one of the most critical bottlenecks in achieving goals such as large-scale afforestation, landscape restoration, dryland rehabilitation, and increased ecosystem resilience is the inability to produce high-quality, climate-adapted, and site-appropriate planting material in a continuous and reliable manner.
At the same time, these nurseries are seen not merely as places where seedlings are grown, but as the biological and operational backbone of Uzbekistan’s restoration capacity.
The nine state forest nurseries evaluated under RESILAND CA+ are strategically located so as to cover different ecological regions of Uzbekistan. These nurseries are considered not simply as standalone production facilities, but as strategic nodes in a regional seedling production and distribution network to be established across the country.
An examination of their geographic distribution shows that these nurseries are clustered within four main ecological and hydrological zones.
The Sho‘rtan and Kitob State Forestry Enterprises in the Kashkadarya region are located in the Kashkadarya basin at the foothills of the Pamir-Alay mountain system. These two nurseries play an important role in the production of species adapted to semi-arid climatic conditions, erosion control on mountain foothills, dryland rehabilitation, and the support of agroforestry practices. The region’s mountain–valley transition character provides a suitable environment for these nurseries to produce a diversity of species serving both restoration and rural development purposes.
The Samarkand Central (Pastdargʻom) and Darg‘om State Forestry Enterprises in the Samarkand region are located within the Zarafshan basin and are regarded as the technological and methodological pilot centers of the nursery system to be developed under the project. These sites stand out as areas where modern nursery production techniques can be applied, next-generation infrastructure can be established, and different production models can be tested. At the same time, they also hold significant potential for the production of medicinal and aromatic plants, as well as species with high economic value.
The Namangan Central and O‘rta Orol State Forestry Enterprises, located in the Fergana Valley within intensively farmed areas influenced by the Syr Darya basin system, serve a strategic function in supporting afforestation practices that will enhance the ecological resilience of agricultural landscapes. These sites are particularly critical for producing planting material needed for windbreaks, field boundary plantations, canal- and roadside plantings, and urban and peri-urban greening efforts.
The Surkhandarya and Uzun State Forestry Enterprises in the southern part of the country are located within the Surkhan–Sherabad basin system, in a region dominated by arid and hot climatic conditions connected to the Amu Darya. These two nurseries will provide significant production capacity, particularly for dryland restoration, steppe ecosystem rehabilitation, the establishment of protective green belts, and climate change adaptation strategies.
Finally, the G‘allaorol / Qoravultepa site in the Jizzakh region, located in a semi-arid transition zone in the central part of the country, serves as a geographically and logistically complementary center within the national seedling production network. In addition to supplying seedlings for steppe and semi-arid restoration projects, this site will contribute to balancing production and distribution capacity for different regions.
Because these sites are spread across different climatic and topographic zones, they have the potential to establish a regional production network at the national scale. The feasibility study also shows that these areas have been identified as priority sites for strengthening Uzbekistan’s national seedling production capacity through a climate-resilient approach.
In this transformation process carried out under the RESILAND CA+ program, forestry experts with international experience are also contributing to the planning of the nine state forest nurseries and the establishment of a next-generation production infrastructure. One of these experts is İsmail Belen, who serves as a nursery strategy consultant within the project.
To better understand this next-generation nursery approach developed in line with the “Green Uzbekistan” vision and the work being carried out under RESILAND CA+, we spoke with İsmail Belen, President of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and a forestry expert. Belen emphasized that the nine nurseries planned in Uzbekistan will serve not only as production facilities, but also as fundamental building blocks of the country’s long-term landscape restoration and climate resilience strategy.
In light of these developments, Belen made the following remarks:
I currently serve as the President of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). Established by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 2000, the United Nations Forum on Forests is the only intergovernmental platform in which all member states participate and which develops global policies in the field of forestry.
https://forests.desa.un.org/
Previously, between 2012 and 2017, I served as Chair of FAO’s Silva Mediterranea – Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions.
https://www.fao.org/silva-mediterranea/en
In addition, I have served as a member of the Forest Europe – Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe Coordination Committee.
https://foresteurope.org
Through these international responsibilities, as well as my nearly 35 years of professional experience in forestry in Türkiye, I have had the opportunity to closely observe both the world and global forestry developments.
I am also quite familiar with the friendly and brotherly country Uzbekistan, which I have had the opportunity to visit many times at different periods.
In 2020, I served as the coordinator during the preparatory phase of the FAO project titled “Restoration of Degraded Forest and Other Wooded Lands in Caucasus and Central Asia: Forest Restoration Improvement for Environmental Development and Sustainability (FRIENDS).” This work allowed me to gain a comprehensive understanding of the region.
https://www.fao.org/turkiye/news/detail-news/en/c/1610431/
In 2021, I coordinated the study “Guidelines on Safeguarding Native Tree Species for Conservation of Genetic Biodiversity in Central Asia.” Through this work, I contributed to the development of guidelines aimed at protecting native tree species in Central Asia and ensuring the sustainable management of genetic biodiversity. The study also helped me better understand the importance of existing native tree species that survive under challenging environmental conditions and evaluate what can be done to support them.
In 2023, I served as team coordinator for the study “Developing Guidelines on the Implementation of Nature-based Solutions (NbSs) to Combat the Negative Impacts of Climate Change on Forestry,” conducted for the FAO Subregional Office for Central Asia and covering Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Through this work, I gained valuable knowledge and experience regarding nature-based solutions aimed at reducing the negative impacts of climate change on forestry.
That same year, I participated in CRIC 21 (21st Session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention) held in Samarkand. This international event served as a platform where global policies and practices related to combating drought, land restoration, and sustainable land management were evaluated, while Uzbekistan’s experiences were shared with the international community.
In 2024, in cooperation with FAO and UNDP, I prepared the report titled “Ecosystem Restoration Guidelines for the Aral Sea Region.” This guideline provides technical guidance on ecosystem-based approaches and land rehabilitation practices for restoring degraded ecosystems in the Aral Sea basin, and it allowed me to examine the Aral Sea region as a whole.
https://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/news-archive/detail-news/en/c/1730753/
In 2025, within the framework of the FAO–Türkiye Forestry Partnership Programme (FTFP) and the FRIENDS project, I organized a study visit in the Samarkand and Kitab regions. Representatives from several countries in the region participated in this visit, which gave me the opportunity to closely observe field-level restoration and forestry practices.
Also in 2025, within the framework of the RESILAND CA+ Project, I had the opportunity to collaborate with the Agency for the Expansion of Forests and Green Areas and Combating Desertification, operating under the National Committee on Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, during the planning process of the nine forest nurseries to be established under the project.
Through this process, I also had the opportunity to review once again—and more closely—the Uzbekistan–2030 Strategy and the related presidential decrees.
Based on these evaluations, I believe that the “Green Uzbekistan / Yashil Makon” vision, launched under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, is truly exciting, well planned, and possesses a strong perspective for the future.
I also see that the work carried out under the leadership of Abdukhakimov Aziz Abdukaxarovich, the President’s Advisor on Environmental Affairs and Chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, further strengthens the institutional and strategic foundations of this vision.
At the same time, I closely follow the work being carried out on the ground by Erkin Madorbekovich Mukhitdinov, Director of the Agency for Afforestation, Expansion of Green Areas and Combating Desertification, together with the management and technical teams of the Forest Agency. I believe that the RESILAND project will make significant contributions toward achieving these major goals.
I am of the opinion that the nine nurseries to be established under RESILAND CA+ will make an important contribution to the national target of producing 200 million seedlings annually, as set out in presidential decrees.
Nurseries, which constitute one of the most fundamental elements of afforestation activities, are considered highly strategic and long-term investments in the forestry sector. Nurseries represent the starting point of a complex and integrated process that extends from seed procurement to seedling production, from planting these seedlings in the field to the maintenance and development of the forests formed through these plantings, and ultimately to forest regeneration. In this sense, nurseries are not merely areas where seedlings are produced; they are critical infrastructure elements that determine the quality, resilience, and sustainability of the forests that will be established in the future.
When establishing a nursery, planning must be carried out with a minimum 50-year perspective. Considering that the seedlings produced in these nurseries will live for many decades in the field, the planning horizon must effectively extend for at least another 50 years. In other words, when designing a nursery, a perspective of approximately 100 years must be taken into account.
Within such a long timeframe, it is inevitable that climatic conditions, water resources, soil characteristics, human needs, land-use patterns, and production priorities may change. Therefore, these factors must be considered as fundamental elements of the planning process. Nursery planning should therefore be approached strategically, taking into account not only today’s needs but also potential ecological and socio-economic transformations that may emerge in the future.
At the same time, these nurseries should not be considered solely as traditional forest tree production facilities. When Uzbekistan’s geographical and socio-economic conditions are taken into account, it becomes clear that agriculture plays an extremely important role in the country’s economy and employment. Despite the country’s generally arid climate, many regions possess river systems and irrigation infrastructure.
For this reason, it is of great importance that nurseries are also planned to include the production of species that support agricultural production, require low water input, and are resilient to harsh soil conditions. Cultivating species that can support agriculture and livestock activities, contribute to agroforestry practices, and increase production diversity in rural areas will allow nurseries to play a significant role not only in ecological restoration but also in rural development and economic resilience.
Therefore, nursery planning requires a comprehensive and integrated approach that simultaneously evaluates climatic conditions, water resources, soil characteristics, land use, production objectives, and socio-economic needs. Such an approach will not only enhance the success of large-scale afforestation and landscape restoration efforts, but will also contribute to the country’s long-term environmental and economic sustainability goals.
When we began our work under the RESILAND project, the first step was to prepare a comprehensive policy alignment report titled “Alignment of the RESILAND CA+ Nursery Programme with National Afforestation and Landscape Restoration Policies and the Uzbekistan–2030 Strategy.” The aim of this report was to assess how nursery investments align with Uzbekistan’s national policy framework and strategic objectives.
This approximately 20-page report was designed to demonstrate the extent to which the nine state forest nurseries planned under RESILAND CA+ are aligned with Uzbekistan’s environmental, forestry, and land restoration policies. In particular, the study examined together the Uzbekistan–2030 Strategy, the Yashil Makon National Greening Program, the country’s national afforestation and landscape restoration policies, and the institutional and operational components of the RESILAND CA+ project.
The report also provides a detailed analysis of the environmental and climate priorities within the Uzbekistan–2030 Strategy. It highlights the critical role of modern and climate-resilient nursery systems in achieving key targets such as planting 200 million seedlings annually, expanding forest areas across the country, restoring ecosystems in the Aral Sea basin, combating desertification and climate change, and protecting biodiversity. The report particularly emphasizes that in order to achieve these goals, seedling production must evolve from a campaign-based activity into a continuously operating national production system.
In addition, the report explains how nurseries are positioned within the structure of the RESILAND CA+ project. It analyzes the relationship between the project’s components aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and the afforestation and landscape restoration activities to be implemented in the field, concluding that nurseries constitute strategic infrastructure elements at the center of this process.
The report also includes a technical assessment based on national strategy documents, draft legislation, project documentation, and field observations. In this context, interviews conducted with relevant institutions, technical meetings held with the project implementation unit, and field observations carried out at various state forestry enterprises were incorporated into the analytical process. In this way, a framework was developed to ensure that nursery investments planned under RESILAND CA+ are aligned not only technically but also with the country’s national policies, legal framework, and institutional structure.
Subsequently, in order to translate these policy priorities into field-level applications, I developed a 33-page comprehensive technical framework document titled “RESILAND CA Nursery Framework – RNF: Technical Disposition for the Design, Upgrading, and Preparation of Forest Nurseries in Uzbekistan.” This document was prepared as the main technical reference for the design, establishment, and operation of the nine state forest nurseries planned to be developed or modernized under RESILAND CA+.
The RNF is not merely a guide for the nurseries planned under the current project. It also establishes a standardized technical and operational framework that can be applied to all forest nurseries that may be established or modernized in Uzbekistan in the future. This framework was developed by combining international nursery management practices, Uzbekistan’s national forestry policies, the objectives of the RESILAND project, and technical field assessments.
Within this document, the planning and management of nurseries are addressed through a multidimensional approach. The framework provides detailed definitions and guidelines on land allocation and legal arrangements, nursery site selection criteria, soil and water analyses, infrastructure planning and architectural design, production systems, irrigation and fertilization methods, pest and disease management, human resources and institutional capacity development, production–distribution–marketing systems, quality assurance mechanisms, and monitoring and evaluation processes.
The RNF also envisions nurseries not merely as seedling production facilities but as multifunctional centers that support landscape restoration, agroforestry practices, rural development, and climate change adaptation policies. For this reason, the framework is built on an integrated approach that considers ecological suitability, water efficiency, climate resilience, social inclusiveness, and economic sustainability together.
Through this technical framework, the objective is to ensure that the design, modernization, and operational processes of the nine nurseries planned under RESILAND CA+ are carried out according to common standards, thereby establishing in Uzbekistan a sustainable, climate-resilient, and scalable national nursery system in the long term.
In the third stage, in order to determine the technical characteristics of each nursery and provide data for the design process, I prepared detailed field survey questionnaires. In this context, I developed a comprehensive assessment tool titled “Pre-Establishment Nursery Questionnaire (RESILAND CA+).” This questionnaire was prepared on an internet-based platform and shared with all institutions involved in the project, including leshoz managers and technical teams. This approach enabled all stakeholders to contribute to the evaluation process using a common and standardized data-collection instrument.
This comprehensive technical questionnaire, consisting of 64 pages, was designed not only to assess the physical characteristics of nurseries but also to evaluate aspects such as institutional structure, landscape and socio-economic context, soil and water conditions, production systems, climate risks, and long-term operational sustainability. Thanks to its structure composed of six main thematic sections, the administrative, ecological, technical, and economic dimensions of the nurseries could be analyzed systematically.
In order to support these studies and verify the data obtained from the field, I had the opportunity to visit Uzbekistan twice, first between 22–26 December 2025 and later between 1–14 February 2026. During these visits, I conducted extensive meetings with relevant institutional authorities and had the opportunity to personally examine all nine state forest nurseries evaluated within the scope of the project.
During the fieldwork, while holding one-on-one discussions with colleagues and technical teams, we also collected all technical data and documentation related to soil characteristics, water resources, land structure, production infrastructure, transportation facilities, and environmental conditions of the nursery areas. In this way, both the information obtained from the questionnaires was verified in the field and the current condition of each nursery was evaluated through a holistic approach.
In order to systematically analyze the data obtained from field observations, technical assessments, and questionnaire studies, and to provide a shared working environment for all stakeholders, we developed a dedicated web-based collaboration platform:
inanıyorum.
This platform is not merely a website where field studies are shared. It has been designed as a dynamic workspace and analytical environment where the data collected during field investigations, technical reports prepared, evaluations conducted, and expert opinions are brought together. In this way, institutions, experts, and technical teams involved in the project can share data, conduct assessments, and contribute to the work online through the same platform.
The work carried out on the platform and the initial assessment results were shared with officials of the Uzbekistan Forest Agency on 20 February 2026. During this meeting, the findings obtained from field investigations, technical evaluations regarding the current condition of the nurseries, and the analyses conducted through the digital platform were discussed in detail.
Subsequently, on 2 March 2026, I delivered a comprehensive presentation to the World Bank delegation and representatives of relevant institutions in Uzbekistan. During this presentation, the findings obtained from field studies, evaluations concerning the current conditions of the nurseries, and the methodological approach to be followed during the planning process were shared in detail.
One of the most important features of the digital platform developed is that it has been designed to integrate with different data sources. In Uzbekistan, the geographic data infrastructure developed by the Cadastre Agency Republican Aerogeodetic Center, which conducts forest inventory verification and e-mapping activities, appears to be compatible with this platform. In this way, land data and mapping systems can be evaluated within the same digital environment.
Similarly, the platform is planned to be supported in the future by satellite-based observation systems. In particular, the Sentinel satellite systems operating within the Copernicus Programme implemented by the European Space Agency and the European Commission continuously observe the Earth’s surface and provide high-resolution data on land use, vegetation development, and indicators of climate change. Through these data, many parameters can be monitored regularly, including:
- land cover changes
• drought and water stress indicators
• vegetation development
• soil moisture and climate risk indicators
The platform can also be used together with remote sensing tools such as Google Earth and Collect Earth. In this way, both field observations and satellite data can be utilized to analyze afforestation and restoration areas in a more comprehensive manner.
In addition, the “Ўрмон майдонларини экологик таснифлаш” (Ecological Classification of Forest Areas) studies carried out within the RESILAND CA+ Барқарор ландшафтни тиклаш лойиҳаси (Resilient Landscape Restoration Project) in Uzbekistan also constitute an important data source for this platform. Such ecological classification systems play a critical role in determining the species to be produced in nurseries and in planning restoration activities.
The platform can also potentially be integrated with the Satellite Monitoring of Forest Fund Lands – Smart Forestry Platform, developed by Uzcosmos – the Uzbekistan Space Agency. Through such integration, satellite data, field observations, and nursery production planning could be brought together within the same digital environment.
This multi-layered data infrastructure will also create a foundation for the future development of artificial intelligence–supported analytical systems. By jointly evaluating satellite data, field observations, and production data, AI-based decision-support systems can be developed for processes such as:
- species suitability analysis
• climate change risk forecasting
• optimization of seedling production planning
• prioritization of restoration areas
In conclusion, the digital platform developed is not merely a tool serving the planning process of the nine state forest nurseries within the RESILAND CA+ project. It also represents the beginning of a next-generation digital forestry infrastructure that can contribute to making forestry activities in Uzbekistan more data-driven, traceable, and integrated.
In the long term, we believe that this approach will provide a strong technological foundation for afforestation and landscape restoration efforts carried out under Uzbekistan’s “Green Uzbekistan / Yashil Makon” vision, and that the model developed could become an innovative and internationally shareable example for restoration programs implemented in arid and semi-arid regions.
The overall picture emerging from these comprehensive efforts demonstrates that Uzbekistan is not merely implementing a technical project in the field of forestry and landscape restoration, but is also initiating a long-term and visionary transformation process.
Under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the determined efforts of the National Committee on Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change, the Agency for the Expansion of Forests and Green Areas and Combating Desertification, and other relevant institutions within the framework of the “Green Uzbekistan / Yashil Makon” vision deserve great recognition.
Likewise, the RESILAND CA+ program, implemented with the technical and financial support of the World Bank, is making significant contributions to strengthening sustainable landscape management and restoration activities in Uzbekistan.
On this occasion, I would like to sincerely congratulate the Uzbek officials leading the project, the World Bank experts, and the RESILAND CA+ team for their vision, cooperation, and dedicated efforts. I firmly believe that this initiative will serve not only as an important model for Uzbekistan, but also as an inspiring example for Central Asia and many other countries facing similar ecological conditions.
