On October 11, Orenburg hosted a round table meeting as part of the international conference "Transboundary Geoecological Problems and Issues of Nature Management in the River Basins of Inner Eurasia under the Conditions of Modern Climate Change." The event was organized by the Institute of Steppe of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences with the support of the Russian Geographical Society.
The main goal of the conference was to intensify international cooperation at the level of scientific and public organizations in the field of protection and optimization of nature management in transboundary river basins. The meeting was attended by representatives of state authorities and the scientific community, experts and representatives of the public of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Orenburg Region.
The scientific session began with a report by Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Chibilev on the restoration and conservation of the ecosystem of the Ural basin. In it, the author revealed a whole range of problems in the study and conservation of the river – from a retrospective analysis of its state and meliorative measures to an assessment of long-term trends in river flow and the role of specially protected natural areas.
Natalya Dauletyarova, Deputy Director of the Department of Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan from Astana, spoke about the current situation in the implementation of the Kazakh-Russian Cooperation Program for the Conservation and Restoration of the Ecosystem of the Ural(Жайык) River Basin. Elena Tarasenko, Chairman of the environmental movement "Біздің Жайық — наш Жайык", member of the Kazakh-Russian Commission for the Preservation of the Ecosystem of the Transboundary Ural River Basin, spoke about the role of social movements in preserving the ecosystem of the Ural basin.
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The attendees heard and discussed scientific reports on a wide range of studies aimed at clarifying the prerequisites and causes of the formation of a complex ecological and hydrological situation in river basins, assessing the mechanisms and prospects for solving numerous problems, enhancing international cooperation in the field of sustainable water use and conservation of valley-river ecosystems. Particular attention was paid to solving the problems of environmental and water security of the population and economy in connection with climate change in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of Inner Eurasia in Russia and Kazakhstan.
The resolution drawn up as a result of the conference will be sent to the government of the Orenburg Region; scientific reports will be published in the journals "South of Russia: Ecology, Development", "Regional Environmental Issues", "Steppe Science", and in the collection of conference materials.