Laurel Saito University of Nevada Reno, USA Kristina Toderich Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, UZBEKISTAN Dilorom Fayzieva Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, UZBEKISTAN

 Gained independence from Soviet Union in 1991   10 3 km 2  Population: 28 million  Literacy: 99.3% Bukhara

 Double land-locked country  Agriculture is about 17% of GDP  Cotton is dominant crop (11% of GDP in 2009)  Natural resources  Natural gas  Mining  Aral Sea Courtesy of ZEF

 90% of girls receive secondary education ( )  8% of women receive tertiary education ( )  59% of women of 15+ years are in labor force (2010)  Down from 75% in 1990  18% of seats in lower house of parliament held by women (2008)  15% of seats in upper house of parliament held by women (2008)  5% of gov’t ministers are women (2008)  20.3 mean age for marriage Source: ZEF

 Academy of Sciences  Established 1943  7 branches of disciplines  Universities  24 new institutions established in 1992  International collaborations  Provide additional research funding  Provide funds for new equipment  Provide funds for training of young scientists

Example 1: Study of Khorezm lakes

 Lead investigators:  Laurel Saito, USA  Dilorom Fayzieva, Uzbekistan ▪ Head, Hygiene and Environmental Medicine Laboratory Institute of Water Problems Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences ▪ Ph.D Research Inst. of Sanitation, Hygiene and Occupational Diseases, Uzbekistan ▪ Experienced with international collaborations with UK, Germany, Japan, European Union, Medicins Sans Frontiers

 Met in 2002  Interest in applying innovative technologies (stable isotope analysis; SPMDs) to assess ecosystem sustainability   Womens International Science Collaboration ▪ Funding agency: American Association for the Advancement of Science (through grant from NSF) ▪ Travel grant ($8,000) for proposal preparation ▪ Saito and colleague took trip to Uzbekistan Dec 2003-Jan 2004

 Oct 2003  Fulbright Student Fellowship application submitted for Margaret Shanafield; not funded  Feb 2004  Proposal submitted ($69,000); not funded  Integrated watershed management policies in the Zarafshan River Basin, Uzbekistan  Funding agency: National Council for Eurasian and East European Research

 Mar-Dec 2004  International Travel Grant ($2,500)  Funding agency: University of Nevada Reno  Enabled Fayzieva to visit UNR in spring 2004 for proposal development  May 2004  Visiting International Fellowship (~$1,200)  Funding agency: Environmental and Water Resources Institute  Enabled Fayzieva to come to US for EWRI conference and collaborate with Saito

 Feb-Dec 2006  Fulbright Student Fellowship awarded for Margaret Shanafield  Jul 2006-Nov 2010  Using stable isotopes, passive organic samplers, and modelling to assess environmental security in Khorezm, Uzbekistan  Funding agency: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Science for Peace)  €259,000

 NATO Science for Peace Project  Trained 6 young Uzbek scientists  2 Uzbek and 2 US masters theses completed on project  2 student manuscripts published  4 additional manuscripts in prep  Majority (85%) of funding for Uzbek side  No salary coverage for US participants

 Nov 2005  Proposal submitted ($179,000); not funded  Assessing human impacts on water resource sustainability in Khorezm, Uzbekistan  Funding agency: World Bank Development Marketplace  Jun 2008  Proposal submitted ($49,994); not funded  Investigating pesticide contamination in small lakes in Khorezm, Uzbekistan  Funding agency: U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation

 Mar 2009-Mar 2014  Investigating pesticide contamination in small lakes in Khorezm, Uzbekistan  Funding agency: National Science Foundation  $139,000  Provided funding for soil core sampling and analysis and microbial experiments

Example 2: Use of halophytes to improve saline lands

 Lead investigators  Laurel Saito, USA  Kristina Toderich, Uzbekistan ▪ Head, Desert Ecology and Water Resources Research Complex Research Institute of Regional Problems Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences ▪ Coordinator, International Center for Biosaline Agriculture Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) ▪ PhD 1988 Botany, Russia ▪ Experienced with international collaborations with Norway, Japan, European Union, USA

 Met in 2004  Interest in determining utility of halophytic plants as economic resource while rehabilitating saline land and water  Feb 2012  Proposal submitted ($4.975 million); in review  Using halophytic plants to improve food security and environmental quality in dryland ecosystems  Funding agency: USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

 Jul 2012-Jun 2014  Modeling halophytic plants to improve agricultural production and environmental quality in Nevada  Funding agency: Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station  $69,200  Soon in 2012-Mar 2014  Utilization of low quality water for halophytic forage and renewable energy production  Funding agency: USAID/NSF  $100,000

 Find the right partner  Enthusiastic and responsive  Strong English skills  Ability to identify good project participants  Share philosophies about mentoring  In-person visits are very helpful  Be persistent and keep iterating  Learn from experience  Be aware of political hurdles

 Building collaborations for the future

 UN Women Watch (