On 11 December 2025, as the world marked International Mountain Day, Kyrgyzstan highlighted the urgent need to protect fragile mountain ecosystems and strengthen global cooperation in response to accelerating climate impacts.
Mountains cover one-quarter of the Earth's surface, supply fresh water to billions of people and support unique biodiversity. Yet mountain countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change, facing extreme weather events, glacier loss, water scarcity and threats to food and energy security.
In an interview with UN News, Aida Kasymalieva, Permanent Representative of Kyrgyzstan to the United Nations, emphasized that over the past 70 years the country has lost 16 percent of its glacier area, with some regions witnessing the near-complete disappearance of glaciers. This trend poses severe risks not only for Kyrgyzstan but for all of Central Asia, which relies on the Syr Darya and Amu Darya river systems.
Mountains Under Pressure
Kasymalieva noted that climate impacts are already affecting communities. In recent years, Kyrgyzstan has experienced over 300 landslides, leading to loss of life, damaged infrastructure and the displacement of residents. The country is also facing reduced river flows, drought and increasing desertification.
Experts warn that by 2100 Kyrgyzstan may lose more than half of its glaciers, with far-reaching consequences for water security and ecosystems.
Kyrgyzstan’s Global Mountain Leadership
Kyrgyzstan has long been an advocate for mountain issues. The proposal to establish International Mountain Day originally came from Kyrgyzstan.
Between 1998 and 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted 13 mountain-related resolutions, reflecting the country's leadership on the global stage. Kyrgyzstan is also active within the Mountain Partnership Negotiation Group under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Following COP28, mountain issues were included in the final outcomes, and Kyrgyzstan championed the creation of an annual global dialogue “Mountains and Climate.”
On the symbolic level, one of the peaks in the Issyk-Kul region was named “United Nations Peak”, underscoring the importance of mountain diplomacy for the country.
Global Mountain Dialogue and the Road Ahead
In 2025, Kyrgyzstan hosted the Global Mountain Dialogue for Sustainable Development, bringing together participants from more than 50 countries and 29 international organizations. The next major milestone will be the Second Global Mountain Summit “Bishkek+25” in October 2027, marking 25 years since the historic first summit.
At the UN, the country is also promoting the updated resolution “Sustainable Mountain Development”, last adopted by the General Assembly in 2022.
Kyrgyzstan at the UN Climate Conference
At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the Kyrgyz delegation actively advocated for stronger integration of mountain issues into the negotiation process. At Kyrgyzstan’s initiative, multilateral consultations on mountains and climate were held on the sidelines of the conference.
“We have ambitious goals for sustainable mountain development,” Kasymalieva said. “But no mountain country can achieve them alone. We need support from the global community, the United Nations, climate and green funds, and donor countries — and, above all, unity and collective action from mountain nations themselves.”
