The next stage of training on working with new equipment for monitoring the state of the environment and soils was held for domestic specialists in the framework of a joint project of UNDP and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan “Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan: Integrated Development of Green Cities in Ashgabat and Avaza”.

The training was attended by employees of the laboratories of the Environmental Control Service and the provincial environmental protection departments.

The training course was aimed at the implementation, within the framework of the project, of activities for the development and implementation of a plan for a modern system for monitoring the ecological state of the cities of Turkmenistan.

Victoria Akopova, Project Specialist for Environmental Monitoring:

“The acquisition of this new equipment is already the third step towards improving the existing environmental monitoring system. As a result of increased technical capacity and knowledge, laboratory staff will become even better at fulfilling their environmental goals and objectives”.

The training participants were introduced to the new equipment and its purpose, the functionality of its application was described.

For specialists directly involved in the selection and chemical analysis of environmental components, instructions were given on the operation of the new equipment.

On the basis of the laboratory for monitoring water and soil pollution of the Environmental Control Service, practical exercises were held with samples obtained from the observation network.

The participants in the training also conducted a series of analyzes of soil samples, built calibration graphs and performed a cameral processing of the results obtained, according to a UNDP press release.