Bonn, 1 January 2021 - Turkmenistan has acceded to the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) bringing the number of Parties to that Agreement to 82. Turkmenistan has also acceded to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) becoming the 132nd Party of CMS. 

Turkmenistan is a land-locked country in Central Asia, with borders with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Afghanistan and a shoreline on the Caspian Sea.  The capital and largest city is Ashgabat.  Its population of 6 million (2020 estimates) and area of a little under 500,000 km2 make Turkmenistan one of the least densely populated countries in Asia.  The country is suffering for high rates of desertification with the Karakum and Kyzyl Kum deserts growing significantly each year.

The Turan Depression dominates the centre of the country, extending beyond Turkmenistan’s borders into neighbouring Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, while the Karakum Desert accounts for 80 per cent of the land area.  The country’s highest point is Ayrybaba in the Kugitangtau Range at 3,000 metres (10,000 ft).  The Kopet Dag Range  in the south-west reaches just under 3,000 metres (9,500 feet).  The Uly Balkan (Great Balkhan Range) in the west which rises to 1,880 metres (6,170 ft) at  and the Köýtendag Range in Lebap Provinvce on the south-eastern border with Uzbekistan are the only other significant elevations.

With 128 waterbirds species, Turkmenistan harbours half of the species covered by the AEWA Treaty along the African-Eurasian Flyway, including  the Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus, the Dalmatian Pelican Pelicanus crispus, the Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and the Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius. International Single Species Action Plans have been developed in the framework of AEWA to guide conservation activities for these species along their entire range.