In 2018 GIZ (German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH) has been commissioned by the German Ministry of Environment (BMU) to accompany the candidacy process and further analyse the sustainable use of natural resources along the Lower Amu Darya in Khorezm region and Karakalpakstan autonomous republic. The project is named 'Ecosystem based land use and Ecosystems conservation along the lower Amu Darya reaches' (IKI Amu Darya). In this project, CIRAD is responsible for characterizing and mapping natural ecosystems (min scale 1:100 000) in the Lower Amudarya State Biosphere Reserve (LASBR) in collaboration with local stakeholders. In order to start the mapping activities, the expert, a remote sensing engineer, is responsible for a pretest of ecosystem classifications based on Landsat and Sentinel imageries. The objective of this activity is to provide CIRAD with a functional typology for ecosystem analysis and mapping in the LASBR area.