Uzbekistan rolls out AI-backed tree registry to combat illegal logging
New digital platform to track one million trees by year-end aims to integrate green data into national planning and environmental protection systems
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (MNTV) — Uzbekistan has launched a nationwide digital registry to monitor and manage its urban tree population, using artificial intelligence and geospatial tools to protect green spaces and integrate environmental data into state planning systems.
The latest phase of the initiative began in Tashkent, where officials aim to digitally catalog at least 1 million trees by the end of 2025. According to Gazeta.uz, the project combines GPS mapping, AI-based analysis, and field-based measurement to create a centralized database accessible to urban planners, environmental regulators, and government agencies.
The platform is designed to improve accountability around tree preservation, particularly in the context of urban development. It enables real-time tracking of tree species, age, health, and location—and is expected to play a role in identifying illegal logging or unauthorized removals, which have drawn criticism from environmental advocates in recent years.
The Zamin Foundation, which is overseeing the project’s implementation, said the registry will be integrated with other state information systems involved in land use and construction approvals. Officials say this will ensure that green areas are factored into development decisions and that enforcement mechanisms are strengthened.
The initiative follows a 2021 presidential decree mandating a full inventory of all non-forest trees in Uzbekistan and imposing a nationwide moratorium on tree felling. That policy has since driven large-scale digitization: by early 2024, more than 254 million trees over the age of five had been registered across the country.
In March 2025, 120 field specialists were trained to conduct ground-level inventories in Tashkent using digital tools. Once verified by dendrologists, the registry will include high-resolution photographs, species classification, and ecological metrics for each tree.
Officials have framed the initiative as part of a broader push to modernize environmental governance and respond to growing public concern over deforestation and heat island effects in urban areas.
By incorporating tree data into the national digital ecosystem, Uzbekistan aims not only to improve transparency and enforcement, but also to strengthen climate resilience in one of Central Asia’s most rapidly urbanizing countries.
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