Glasgow, Scotland, 10 November 2021 – During the first week of COP26, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) joined the Governments of Tajikistan and Switzerland to discuss and align approaches that are building climate change resilience in the Pamir highlands, where mountain communities are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of global warming.

AKAH is part of the official Tajik delegation to COP26 together with the Committee for Environmental Protection, Agency for Meteorology, Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, and other relevant agencies. During the panel events, representatives from the delegation presented their work and plans towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions to achieve the country’s NDC, or Nationally Determined Contribution. They discussed how the Government of Tajikistan and the international community could collaborate on climate-resilient development in mountain areas, taking into account four key priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and Sustainable Development Goals 11 (building sustainable communities and cities) and 13 (climate action). With the Government of Switzerland agreements for joint engagement on forestation, glacial lake monitoring, snow leopard preservation and modalities for integrated habitat and watershed assessments were finalised.

Recognising the scale of the challenge and the need for closer cooperation, the five countries of Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – came together for the first time to present a single regional position at COP26. The opening ceremony of the exhibition of Central Asian countries was held under the motto "5 countries, 1 region, 1 vote". During the talks in Glasgow, the countries discussed the implementation of key issues of the Paris Agreement and initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, as well as the transition to a green economy, renewable energy sources and climate-sustainable development.

AKAH Tajikistan CEO Mr Hadi Husani said:

“Tajikistan is among the states that have consistently pursued a strategy to reduce carbon emissions voluntarily and is interested in the world's best green practices, applying cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and socially inclusive technologies and solutions. AKAH, together with other international partners, will continue to help Tajikistan promote international environmental dialogue, exchange of information and knowledge to support science-based and climate-resilient decision-making. AKAH is ready to assist in the preparation and implementation of environmental projects in the Central Asian region.

For more information about COP26 (31 October - 12 November 2021)

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Watch this 5-minute film: “Building resilience to climate change in Tajikistan”