BAKU, AZERBAIJAN: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a new regional initiative, Glaciers to Farms, which aims to enhance sustainable water use and food security in Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Pakistan. This program is a response to the rapid glacial melt attributed to climate change, posing severe risks to water supplies essential for agriculture and hydropower, affecting over 380 million people in the region.
According to Asian Development Bank, the initiative is backed by the Green Climate Fund’s Project Preparation Facility. Risk assessments of glacial melt in countries such as Azerbaijan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will form the scientific groundwork for the Glaciers to Farms program. The region is anticipated to experience temperature rises of up to 6 degrees Celsius by 2100, exacerbating the loss of glacial mass and threatening ecosystems.
Key international figures, including Azerbaijan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev and ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa, have expressed their support through a signed declaration. The program aims to mobilize up to $3.5 billion in funding from ADB, GCF, governments, development partners, and the private sector, pending board approvals. This funding will not only target water and agricultural investments but also aid vulnerable communities in mountainous areas threatened by glacial melt.
The initiative is recognized by GCF’s Chief Investment Officer Henry Gonzalez as crucial for enhancing climate resilience and sustainable development. It highlights the urgent need for collaboration and innovative strategies to tackle the severe challenges of climate change, emphasizing the protection of mountain communities and ecosystems.
The Glaciers to Farms program is part of a broader effort by ADB to assist Asia in adapting to the impacts of melting glaciers. Other initiatives include establishing early warning systems and climate-resilient infrastructure in the Hindu Kush Himalaya and enhancing resilience across river basins in South and Southeast Asia.
In an effort to further global awareness and action, the United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glacier Preservation. Tajikistan is set to host an international conference on glacier preservation in Dushanbe next year.
ADB continues its mission to foster a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, with a firm commitment to eradicating extreme poverty since its establishment in 1966, underpinned by its 69 member countries.