The environmental agenda in Central Asia: key results of joint efforts

The environmental agenda in Central Asia: key results of joint efforts

Central Asia is increasingly facing the effects of climate change and is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world. Over the past 70 years, the temperature in Central Asia has increased by 1.5–2 degrees Celsius, which has had an impact on worsening environmental problems, accelerating glacier melting and desertification.

All these processes are interconnected and negatively affect the ecosystems, the economy and the lives of the people of the region. Globally, the rate of ice melting due to climate change has increased by 65% in recent years: in the early 90s, the planet was losing 0.8 trillion tons of ice per year, and in the 2000s it was already 1.3 trillion tons. For the Central Asian region, this environmental problem is one of the most important climate challenges of our time.

There is a growing shortage of water resources in Central Asia. Today, more than 37 million people live in areas with an acute shortage of water resources, mainly due to a decrease in water availability, as well as an insufficient level of development of the relevant infrastructure. According to estimates by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), in 2025-2030, the total amount of investments needed by the countries of the region in water and climate infrastructure is about $29.2 billion. The situation is complicated by the condition of the Aral Sea region – about 15-75 million tons of sand, dust and salt are annually carried out by the winds from the dried-up bottom of the Aral Sea, which worsens air quality over considerable distances and leads to direct socio-economic losses. That is why, in recent years, environmental issues have become an increasingly important priority on the regional agenda of Central Asia.

Problems with water resources, land degradation, climate change, and the state of the Aral Sea region are now being considered by the countries of the region not individually, but in the context of common issues of sustainable socio-economic development. Thanks to the political will of the leaders of the Central Asian countries, multilateral cooperation in the environmental field has become more systematic and substantive. The strengthening of the institutional framework of regional cooperation played a key role in this.

Along with the existing mechanisms of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea and its structures, environmental issues have become more consistently consolidated in the framework of consultative meetings of the heads of state of the region, as well as specialized interdepartmental and expert dialogue. It should be noted, among other things, the activation of the countries of the region. on international climate platforms. In particular, at the conferences of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the countries of Central Asia began to speak under the slogan "5 countries – 1 region – 1 voice", representing both national priorities and common regional approaches to climate issues.

All Central Asian countries have presented their nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement and set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, expand green energy capacity, and strengthen adaptive capacity. It is significant that Kazakhstan has consolidated its course towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, Uzbekistan has increased its target for reducing specific GHG emissions per unit of GDP by 50% by 2035 compared to 2010. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan also confirm their commitment to global climate goals and continuously update their contributions to increase their ambition.

Notable results have been achieved, including in terms of adaptation to the consequences of the Aral Sea crisis. In particular, over the past 5 years, 1.7 million hectares of forest plantations have been created on the drained bottom of the Aral Sea on the Uzbek side, and forest reclamation works have been carried out on an area of more than 1 million hectares on the Kazakh side.

One of the most significant results of regional cooperation was the improvement of the situation in the Northern Aral Sea. Due to the coordination of the modes of operation of reservoirs on the Syrdarya River and the implementation of interstate agreements over the past three years, more than 6 billion cubic meters of water have entered the sea. As a result, the volume of the Northern Aral increased from 18.9 billion cubic meters. m at the end of 2022 until 23 billion cubic meters . m at the end of 2025.

Regional cooperation is also expanding in the field of knowledge exchange and scientific environmental expertise. One of the fruits of this cooperation was the creation of the Central Asian University for the Study of the Environment and Climate Change in Uzbekistan, which became a new platform in the region for training personnel and developing joint research in this area.

Thus, regional environmental cooperation in Central Asia is gradually becoming applied. The countries have already achieved significant results in forming a common international position, developing coordination mechanisms, implementing measures to restore ecosystems in the Aral Sea region and creating a scientific and educational base.

However, the scale of environmental challenges in the region still requires enhanced coordination. The development of more coordinated approaches to the management of transboundary water resources, the expansion of climate adaptation measures, the mobilization of long-term investments in water and environmental infrastructure, as well as the strengthening of a common expert and analytical base remain among the priorities.

The effectiveness of the entire environmental agenda of Central Asia in the coming years will depend on how consistently the countries of the region will be able to translate the achieved level of political interaction into sustainable joint mechanisms.

The upcoming large-scale event to hold the Regional Environmental Summit in Astana in April this year will be another step towards achieving the common climate goal. The development of new and practical solutions to address climate and environmental challenges will contribute not only to increasing the contribution of Central Asian countries to the global climate agenda, but also to addressing regional challenges to ensure ecosystem sustainability, reduce air pollution, manage natural resources sustainably, and, as a matter of priority, manage water and energy resources.

Elvira Bikeeva,

IMRI Project Manager Malika Saparmuametova, Leading IMRI Specialist