Press Releases 2008
United States Helps Preservarion of Cultural Heritage in Khiva (05/15/2008)
Everywhere there is wood there may be termites. Whereas, in the forests termites perform an important ecological role by consuming the dead wood, in urban areas they can cause lot of damage to houses and trees. In Khiva, inside the fortress Ichan Kala, there are 56 buildings of great historic importance and the place has been designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site.
Most of these buildings have wood as one of the building materials in addition to ornate wooden pillars. It is this wood that was infested by the Turkestan termite. In 2003, the United States Department of Agriculture initiated a collaborative project with the Institute of Zoology of the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences to develop strategies for managing the termites in these buildings. Dr. Ashok Raina of the Agricultural Research Service of USDA stationed in New Orleans and working on the Formosan subterranean termite was designated as the US collaborator. Prof. Aloviddin Khamraev and his colleagues at the Institute of Zoology formed the Uzbekistan team. The work got started immediately with meticulous examination and recording of infestation sites. Not much was known about the biology and development of caste system in this termite species. Plenty of useful information was obtained about how this termite lives and feeds. From screening of over 40 native plants, shrubs and trees it was determined that the foods most preferred by the Turkestan termite are sunflower and corn stems.
These were then ground up to make a bait matrix. In the mean time, large number of bacteria and fungi infecting termites and other insects were collected and evaluated against the Turkestan termite. In addition to these, an environmentally safe chemical that inhibits molting in insects was sent from the U.S. and incorporated into the baits. First baits were placed in key buildings like the Juma mosque in 2005, and by 2007 most of the termite infestation in this structure was eliminated. The program is being expanded to cover all the buildings.
A socioeconomic study undertaken by the project people revealed that private houses in the surrounding communities were heavily infested by the Turkestan termite. In some cases the damage was so intense that the people had abandoned the houses. Through community seminars and door to door campaigns, people were made aware of the termite damage and how to prevent it. Recently, the surveys for termite infestation were expanded to other regions in North East and North West Uzbekistan.
An interesting finding was that in Karakalpakistan, nearly 78% of all wooden telegraph poles were infested with the termite. Termite infestation also makes the houses very weak that may pose a great danger in case of an earthquake. The local administration is very supportive of the termite control program. In October 2005, an international workshop on the biology, ecology and control of the Turkestan termite was held in Khiva. The workshop, attended by many scientists from Central Asia, was a great success. In recognition of his contributions to science in general and help to the scientists of Uzbekistan in preserving the cultural heritage sites, Dr. Raina was elected a member of the Peoples Academy of Central Asia, a first for any western scientist.
Dr. Ashok Raina
U.S. Department of Agriculture
The U.S. Embassy Tashkent hosted Dr Ashok Raina, Supervisory Research Entomologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service laboratory in New Orleans, LA, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to support the joint USDA-Former Soviet Union Scientific Cooperation Program in Uzbekistan. The project, run by scientists of the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Science of Uzbekistan is designed to develop management strategies for the control of Turkestan termites at the cultural heritage site in Khiva, Uzbekistan. In addition to already having made significant progress in controlling the termites, Dr. Raina’s participation in the ESFP program helps to advance the efforts of U.S. Embassy Tashkent to establish lasting relationships between Uzbek and American scientists.