On 9 April 2021 the virtual ceremony of The Grand Final of the Global Disruptive Tech Challenge 2021 – Restoring landscapes in the Aral Sea region was held, organized by the World Bank in partnership with the Global Landscape Forum (GLF), the Kazakh-German University (DKU) and the innovation company PlugandPlay (P&P).
The Disruptive Tech Challenge was launched in November 2020 with the aim of identifying cutting-edge ideas for solving the problems of land degradation and desertification in the Aral Sea region. Till January 2021, 159 proposals have been submitted on 4 themes from 38 countries.
Four winners were announced at the ceremony, whose projects were aimed at: “Agriculture and land management: NETICS patented GEOWALL land cultivation technology (Netherlands);
Sustainable Forestry: Aral Honey Gardens (Uzbekistan);
Socio-Economic Development: Capacity-building of women on water and land management (Tajikistan),;
Information and Knowledge: Sentinels for Sustainable Pasture management (Greece).
Each grand prize proposal was awarded US$ 5,000 and an opportunity to participate in a mentorship program for its contribution to restoring the Aral Sea.
Link for more details: http://academic-waters.org/ru/newsblog/125/
