On the 7th of April 2022 young diplomats from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan were cordially invited to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) for a meeting with representatives of the Green Central Asia project. The initiative of the visit was organized within the program “Training for International Diplomats” of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.
The main aim of the event was to get to know how climate change impacts the regions of Central Asia, to learn about research approaches used by scientists in PIK and what can be done in terms of adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacts in the region.
Researchers of the institute and members of the Green Vision Central Asia Project gave several presentations: Dr. Fred Hattermann introduced our guests to the work at PIK and Dr. Iulii Didovets brought up an overview of the Green Central Asia project and its working packages. Dr. Bijan Fallah covered a climate section of the project, while Stefanie Wesch spoke on agriculture and security sections. The event was followed by an interactive part hosted by Paula Aschenbrenner and Olga Nepomshina.
Afterwards, a warm discussion raised unique ideas and important conclusions about what diplomats might implement in their countries to prevent the impacts of a changing climate and strengthen relationships between countries within the region. An enthusiastic atmosphere accompanied the event and proposed potential cooperation with young diplomats on organizing capacity building events and further knowledge exchange.
