In early March, Dr Gisela Domej from GeoZS and Umed Aslanov from Hilfswerk International met with colleagues from the Kazakhstan Scientific Research Institute of Pedology and Agrochemistry. U. U. Uspanova and Akhmedsafin Institute for hydrogeology and environmental geosciences. The appointed working group took an important step forward in the preparation of a joint project proposal focusing on environmental data analysis and capacity building in the Turkistan region of Kazakhstan at meetings in Almaty.