When someone living in Canada (for economic reasons, as he stated) says the marriage between capitalism and democracy is over and so toxically speaks about “western” values while fully benefiting from them – I have a question – does that western-educated minister and western-educated commentators lashing against universal values, do these people realise that what they are doing is simply selling their cheap loyalty to the higher bidder which they think China and Russia are. Any thoughts about a full-blown war going on in Ukraine – a former Soviet republic? The war waged against Ukraine by Russia. I’d rather say the kremlin because that’s where the colonial power has been sitting all these decades and centuries. Where is the Aral Sea? Why there is less air to breathe in Uzbekistan? Why are there -since the Soviet times – three “strategic” crops where planned economy, forced labour, low procurement prices with banned cooperatives serve as immense drivers of poverty, driving millions of able-bodied Uzbekistanis out into the harshest slavery-like labour migration to Russia?
And these western-educated patriots of Russia-China alliance (and not patriots of Uzbekistan) do not know that they are playing the smoke-screen propaganda games using the “woke/lgbtq” labels to define the western society.
My reaction to this publication: Uzbekistan’s Western-educated Digital Tech/IT Minister Sherzod Shermatov says a country does not have to embrace “Western values” such as freedom of speech or other human rights to develop. Look at China, he writes on Telegram channel, sharing his impressions on 🇨🇳 speedy trains, electric cars, innovation, and scientific achievements under tight government control. t.me/shshermatov/466
What a sad discussion. I’m glad someone mentioned Uyghurs, the Uzbeks’ closest brothers and sisters in Central Asia, who grow cotton and wear ikat like we do, who wear the do’ppy hats like we do, who cook like we do, whose language is closest to Uzbek like no other nation’s language is. If western-educated folks with access to information know about the Uyghur concentration camps and yet praise China, let me bring you the bad news: China’s economy is second in the world just like Russia’s army is second in the world. Its investments are bribes to the leaders of Third world countries just to position itself as a higher bidder. Its investments have strings attached to the perpetuation of poverty and nepotism in those countries.
The subject matter is “Human Rights for Sustainable Development in Transition Economies of Central Asia” (case study of Uzbekistan)
It is necessary to explore the concept of the economic value of human rights. I see the Maslow pyramid of needs as a pyramid of rights and source of “supply-and-demand”-based economic relations. Around it, it is possible to build functional structures of government, private sector, and civil society.
You know, there is so much talk about the change of system and that simple reshuffling of cadres doesn’t change the state and we face the problem of corruption to the point that some people think that it’s the inherent feature of the Uzbek society and human rights is just a myth.
Planting trees to mitigate climate change is a popular theme in Uzbekistan just like in many other countries. The ability of trees to produce oxygen, absorb dust and CO2, give shade, create a better microclimate, prevent dust storms and soil erosion are well known.
Our attention, however, was drawn to a special role of trees in water generation and replenishment of water resources. 75% of fresh water supplies in the world come from forests. Trees add moisture to the air and create clouds.
In fact, it is possible to create an additional precipitation of 200 mm per year by a relatively quick forestation method using the aerial plantation of seed balls – endemic tree seeds encapsulated in the nutritious soil rolls.Of course, nothing will grow without water. And there is water under the deserts and semi-deserts of Uzbekistan. Artesian wells with solar powered pumps and capillary irrigation as well as low-tech cost-effective atmospheric water condensation devices will take care of seeds and saplings until roots of trees reach for the aquifers. Once that stage of growth is achieved, trees will activate the water cycle process by uptaking the groundwater and transpiring it into the atmosphere, humidifying the air and producing precipitation. Some figures in the attached draft Strategy of Forestation might seem too ambitious until one realises that it took probably quite a few trillions of cotton plants to dry the Aral Sea and its basin in the course of years.
Uzbekistan has its own best practice of forestation in the Aralkum desert, which can be partially replicated and upscaled in a more community-centred country-wide action. Households and communities taking part in the action will eventually form endemic seed-breeding farms and permaculture homesteads. In fact, every component of the project has a potential to develop into a business opportunity of industrial scale and help build a ‘green economy’ not only in Uzbekistan but in the neighbouring countries. We can turn problems into opportunities by creating cost-effective forestation models for all terrains in Central Asia.
I would very much like to join the efforts aimed at climate change mitigation through forestation and afforestation in Uzbekistan.
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