Remembering Neimatullo Safarov

The Global Forest Coalition wishes to express our deep sadness over the death of our colleague Neimatullo Safarov, from our member group Noosfera in Tajikistan. Neimatullo was one of the most central figures in biodiversity conservation in Tajikistan, and was instrumental in facilitating the Community Conservation Resilience Initiative in his country. He was also Tajikistan’s national focal point for the CBD, which held a moment of silence for him in honor of his life and work. He will be dearly missed, and our deepest sympathies go out to Neimatullo’s family, friends and colleagues. We wish them much strength in these difficult times.

In Memoriam – Dr. Neimatullo Safarov, 1944 – 2021, by Noosfera

It is with deep sadness that we have learned of the death of Dr. Neimatullo Safarov, the former CBD National Focal Point for Tajikistan and the Member of Public Organization “Noosfera”.

Doctor of Biological Sciences, Neimatullo Safarov had more than 50 years of professional experience in ecology, environment protection and conservation of biodiversity. Dr. Safarov began his career in 1970 as the Senior Laboratory Assistant of the Institute of Botany under Academy of Sciences of Tajik SSR and over the years, within the structure of the State Centre “Priroda” under the Main Department of Geodesy and Cartography, USSR, he held the positions of Senior Engineer (1976-1978), Senior Researcher (1978-1980), Head of Aerospace Environment Monitoring Sector (1980-1983) and Head of Laboratory for Aerospace Environment Monitoring (1984-1990). From 1990 to 1994 Mr. Safarov held a post of the Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Environmental Protection; from 1994 to 1996 – the First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan, and from 1996 to 1998 – the Acting Minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan. From 1998 to 2002 he leaded the State Institution the Research Laboratory for Nature Protection.

From 2003 and until 2021 Dr. Safarov held the position of the Director of the National Biodiversity and Biosafety Center of the Republic of Tajikistan and at the same time represented Tajikistan in the capacity of the National Focal Point for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing.

Under the leadership of Dr. Safarov, the laws and legislative acts of Tajikistan, state programs, concepts, strategies and action plans on environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, biosafety and nature management were developed and approved by decisions of the Government of Tajikistan and further implemented. One of the most priority national strategic document on biodiversity became the National Strategy and Action Plan on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, which serves a program document for conservation of rich and unique biodiversity of Tajikistan.

Professional experience of Dr. Safarov in managing and coordinating environmental projects included numerous engagements with a number of UNDP, World Bank, UNEP projects, successfully implemented at international, regional and national levels.

Since 1992, as a Member of Public Organization “Noosfera”, Dr. Safarov actively leaded the work with local communities, and supported the initiatives aimed at conservation of biodiversity and sustainable livelihood for local people. These works were further converted in analytical reports and proposals for developing strategies and comprehensive measures for conservation of high-altitude ecosystems of Tajikistan. The most significant outputs of his contribution in the work of PO “Noosfera” became the Management Plan of Zakaznik of Dashtijum, the CBD Program on Protected Areas and gap analysis and assessment of capacities of protected areas in Tajikistan, and the GEF SGP National Strategy in the Republic of Tajikistan for 2015-2018. Under the leadership of Dr. Safarov, for more than a decade the Public Organization “Noosfera” has been fruitfully cooperating with the Global Forest Coalition in implementing projects, complementary to Tajikistan’s efforts in studies and conservation of sustainable productive forest ecosystems for livelihoods of local communities.

The research activities of Dr. Safarov were focused on ecology, botanical geography, flora, phytocoenology, ecosystems, and, in general, biology. The Doctor of Biological Sciences, Mr. Safarov is the author of 11 monographs and more than 120 scientific and practical articles, brochures, booklets, albums on ecology, biogeography, flora, ecosystems and phytocoenology.