On 10 December 2025, the Regional Dialogue on Landscape Restoration in Central Asia continued its work in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, bringing together representatives of five Central Asian countries and international experts to address land degradation, desertification and climate resilience. The event is organized under the RESILAND CA+ Program, the World Bank’s largest ecosystem restoration initiative in the region.
Opening the dialogue, Erkin Mukhitdinov, Acting Director of the Agency for Expanding Forests, Green Zones and Combating Desertification under the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change of Uzbekistan, emphasized that the meeting brings together two strategic themes for Central Asia: regional cooperation and environmental sustainability.
He noted that all Central Asian states face common challenges, particularly the decline in water resources. Since 1991, water consumption in Uzbekistan has decreased by 48 percent. At the same time, glaciers in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are rapidly melting, affecting the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers — the region’s main water lifelines.
One of the most alarming trends is accelerating desertification. According to Mukhitdinov, 9 square meters of land turn into desert every minute in Uzbekistan. In this context, the RESILAND CA+ Program plays a vital role by offering concrete solutions to land degradation and helping countries build resilient landscapes.
He also highlighted the Aral Sea crisis, calling it a global environmental disaster. Together with the impacts of climate change, the drying of the Aral Sea contributes to the decline in forest health, forcing a shift in planting seasons: trees must now be planted in winter because spring sap flow prevents seedlings from surviving.
Mukhitdinov stressed that RESILAND CA+ projects in Uzbekistan will strengthen efforts to restore degraded land at both the national and regional levels. He expressed hope that the program’s work will be reflected in the future C5 agenda.
The dialogue gathered representatives from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as international experts to discuss enhanced regional cooperation, sustainable forest management and transboundary landscape restoration.
The RESILAND CA+ Program supports climate resilience across all five Central Asian countries by integrating national-level actions with regional collaboration.
The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) implements the regional components of:
– RESILAND Kyrgyzstan – RESILAND Tajikistan – RESILAND Uzbekistan
