Home / Recent news / Central Asian countries sign Regional Biodiversity Cooperation Declaration at RES2026
Central Asian countries sign Regional Biodiversity Cooperation Declaration at RES2026
Home / Recent news / Central Asian countries sign Regional Biodiversity Cooperation Declaration at RES2026
Central Asian countries sign Regional Biodiversity Cooperation Declaration at RES2026
- Heads of environmental authorities of five Central Asian countries signed the Regional Declaration on Cooperation among Central Asian Countries on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management at the Regional Environmental Summit (RES2026) in Astana, Kazakhstan.
- The Declaration was signed during a high-level session held by the Committee for Forestry and Wildlife of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, UNDP Kazakhstan, and the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership.
- Governments, UN agencies, multilateral environmental agreements, development partners, multilateral environmental funds, academia, and the private sector signaled strong support for coordinated regional implementation ahead of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP17 in Armenia.
The Regional Environmental Summit (RES2026), hosted by Kazakhstan in partnership with the United Nations, brought together diverse partners to advance coordinated regional solutions to climate and environmental challenges across Central Asia. Kazakhstan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Yerlan Nyssanbayev, underscored the intention behind RES2026:
The Regional Environmental Summit, initiated by the President of our country at the United Nations General Assembly, is intended to move the regional dialogue on climate and environmental issues into the practical sphere of coordinated joint action. Central Asia is not only forming a shared understanding of the challenges, but also a common mechanism for addressing them.
Harmony with Nature for regional resilience
Momentum for regional biodiversity cooperation took center stage at RES2026 during a high-level session co-hosted by the Committee for Forestry and Wildlife of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, UNDP Kazakhstan, and the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, which has embedded Facilitators in Kazakhstan and Georgia, and supports active members in the region, including Tajikistan. Titled Harmony with Nature for Regional Resilience, the session convened heads of environmental authorities from across Central Asia alongside the Government of Armenia as the incoming Presidency of CBD COP17, UN agencies, multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), international organizations, development partners, multilateral environmental funds, academia, and the private sector, reflecting a strong whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to biodiversity action. During the session, ministers and senior representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan signed the Regional Declaration, marking a landmark step forward for regional biodiversity cooperation.
The Regional Declaration set out a practical roadmap for action, including the development of a Regional Umbrella Programme and joint Action Plan, a regional resource mobilization plan, and strengthened transboundary conservation cooperation, all anchored in the Global Biodiversity Framework and other multilateral environmental agreements. The initiative is expected to help countries coordinate implementation of updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), strengthen joint ecosystem restoration and ecological connectivity, and mobilize domestic resources, international financing, and technical support in a more coordinated and targeted manner across the region.
During the opening segment of the high-level session, CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker emphasized the global significance of the initiative:
Central Asia has an opportunity to scale up regional cooperation for national impact: for nature, for people, for economies, and also to set an example for the rest of the world. The region has unique ecosystems: mountain ecosystems, riparian ecosystems, steppes, deserts, and many others. Many of these ecosystems are shared, which speaks directly to the importance of regional cooperation.
From political commitment to coordinated action
Throughout the session, countries highlighted shared priorities including ecosystem restoration, wildlife conservation, ecological connectivity, climate resilience, and transboundary cooperation. Speakers referenced ongoing regional efforts focused on saiga restoration, snow leopard conservation, migratory species protection, ecological corridor development, and proposals for a regional Red Book of threatened species for Central Asia.
The session reinforced growing recognition that biodiversity, climate, water, and land degradation challenges must be addressed together through integrated regional approaches. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen described the Declaration and Regional Umbrella Programme and Action Plan as “deeply meaningful,” noting that they allow the region “to talk together, walk together and act together.”
UNDP Associate Administrator Haoliang Xu emphasized the need to move beyond fragmented national projects toward “an integrated portfolio of green investment projects across jurisdictions,” highlighting that landscapes, ecosystems, and livelihoods extend across borders and require coordinated planning and investment.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) also expressed strong support for the initiative. In a recorded message, Interim CEO Claude Gascon described the Summit as “a critical step in strengthening Central Asia’s collective leadership” and emphasized that “water security, protection of mountain ecosystems, climate resilience and transboundary cooperation are no longer optional; they are essential to sustainable development, stability and prosperity.”
Implementing the Regional Declaration
During the second segment of the high-level session, moderated by NBSAP Accelerator Partnership Global Coordinator, Katherine Madden, participants focused on implementation and how to translate political commitments into coordinated action. Opening the discussion, Madden asked:
What will be different tomorrow as a result of this Declaration?
CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker pointed to Central Asia’s potential to demonstrate global leadership through integrated regional cooperation: “If Central Asian countries pull together, as you have done, and find not only national solutions but regional solutions to transboundary challenges, that is real leadership.”
Panelists highlighted financing, governance, technical coordination, community engagement, and implementation capacity. Speakers also stressed that the success of the Declaration will depend on aligning regional action with national priorities and ensuring that biodiversity investments deliver benefits for people and livelihoods, while recognizing that biodiversity is an integral part of Central Asia’s natural and cultural heritage.
The discussion also highlighted the importance of science, enforcement cooperation, financing, and institutional coordination. IUCN Regional Director Oliver Avramoski stressed that moving from declaration to implementation would require “the right institutional format, technical support, a secretariat function and financing.”
International partners, including UNDP, UNEP, CBD, CITES, CMS, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, GEF, GCF, GIZ, IUCN, UNESCO, and others, confirmed their commitment to support the region through technical assistance, scientific cooperation, knowledge exchange, capacity building, and coordinated financing.
Closing the session, Madden emphasized that the launch of Harmony with Nature for Regional Resilience represents more than a political declaration:
The message is clear: we must move from ambition to coordinated action.
Looking ahead to CBD COP17
Ahead of CBD COP17 in Armenia, the Declaration positions Central Asia to present a more unified regional voice on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Environment, Ara Mkrtchyan, noted that the initiative demonstrates the region’s political will to move “from commitments to concrete action” and highlighted COP17 as an opportunity to elevate Central Asia’s contributions to the global biodiversity agenda.
The full session of Harmony with Nature for Regional Resilience from RES2026 can be viewed on YouTube beginning at minute 3:02: Watch here. Read additional coverage from UNDP here.
- Heads of environmental authorities of five Central Asian countries signed the Regional Declaration on Cooperation among Central Asian Countries on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management at the Regional Environmental Summit (RES2026) in Astana, Kazakhstan.
- The Declaration was signed during a high-level session held by the Committee for Forestry and Wildlife of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, UNDP Kazakhstan, and the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership.
- Governments, UN agencies, multilateral environmental agreements, development partners, multilateral environmental funds, academia, and the private sector signaled strong support for coordinated regional implementation ahead of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP17 in Armenia.
The Regional Environmental Summit (RES2026), hosted by Kazakhstan in partnership with the United Nations, brought together diverse partners to advance coordinated regional solutions to climate and environmental challenges across Central Asia. Kazakhstan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Yerlan Nyssanbayev, underscored the intention behind RES2026:
The Regional Environmental Summit, initiated by the President of our country at the United Nations General Assembly, is intended to move the regional dialogue on climate and environmental issues into the practical sphere of coordinated joint action. Central Asia is not only forming a shared understanding of the challenges, but also a common mechanism for addressing them.
Harmony with Nature for regional resilience
Momentum for regional biodiversity cooperation took center stage at RES2026 during a high-level session co-hosted by the Committee for Forestry and Wildlife of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, UNDP Kazakhstan, and the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, which has embedded Facilitators in Kazakhstan and Georgia, and supports active members in the region, including Tajikistan. Titled Harmony with Nature for Regional Resilience, the session convened heads of environmental authorities from across Central Asia alongside the Government of Armenia as the incoming Presidency of CBD COP17, UN agencies, multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), international organizations, development partners, multilateral environmental funds, academia, and the private sector, reflecting a strong whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to biodiversity action. During the session, ministers and senior representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan signed the Regional Declaration, marking a landmark step forward for regional biodiversity cooperation.
The Regional Declaration set out a practical roadmap for action, including the development of a Regional Umbrella Programme and joint Action Plan, a regional resource mobilization plan, and strengthened transboundary conservation cooperation, all anchored in the Global Biodiversity Framework and other multilateral environmental agreements. The initiative is expected to help countries coordinate implementation of updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), strengthen joint ecosystem restoration and ecological connectivity, and mobilize domestic resources, international financing, and technical support in a more coordinated and targeted manner across the region.
During the opening segment of the high-level session, CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker emphasized the global significance of the initiative:
Central Asia has an opportunity to scale up regional cooperation for national impact: for nature, for people, for economies, and also to set an example for the rest of the world. The region has unique ecosystems: mountain ecosystems, riparian ecosystems, steppes, deserts, and many others. Many of these ecosystems are shared, which speaks directly to the importance of regional cooperation.
From political commitment to coordinated action
Throughout the session, countries highlighted shared priorities including ecosystem restoration, wildlife conservation, ecological connectivity, climate resilience, and transboundary cooperation. Speakers referenced ongoing regional efforts focused on saiga restoration, snow leopard conservation, migratory species protection, ecological corridor development, and proposals for a regional Red Book of threatened species for Central Asia.
The session reinforced growing recognition that biodiversity, climate, water, and land degradation challenges must be addressed together through integrated regional approaches. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen described the Declaration and Regional Umbrella Programme and Action Plan as “deeply meaningful,” noting that they allow the region “to talk together, walk together and act together.”
UNDP Associate Administrator Haoliang Xu emphasized the need to move beyond fragmented national projects toward “an integrated portfolio of green investment projects across jurisdictions,” highlighting that landscapes, ecosystems, and livelihoods extend across borders and require coordinated planning and investment.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) also expressed strong support for the initiative. In a recorded message, Interim CEO Claude Gascon described the Summit as “a critical step in strengthening Central Asia’s collective leadership” and emphasized that “water security, protection of mountain ecosystems, climate resilience and transboundary cooperation are no longer optional; they are essential to sustainable development, stability and prosperity.”
Implementing the Regional Declaration
During the second segment of the high-level session, moderated by NBSAP Accelerator Partnership Global Coordinator, Katherine Madden, participants focused on implementation and how to translate political commitments into coordinated action. Opening the discussion, Madden asked:
What will be different tomorrow as a result of this Declaration?
CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker pointed to Central Asia’s potential to demonstrate global leadership through integrated regional cooperation: “If Central Asian countries pull together, as you have done, and find not only national solutions but regional solutions to transboundary challenges, that is real leadership.”
Panelists highlighted financing, governance, technical coordination, community engagement, and implementation capacity. Speakers also stressed that the success of the Declaration will depend on aligning regional action with national priorities and ensuring that biodiversity investments deliver benefits for people and livelihoods, while recognizing that biodiversity is an integral part of Central Asia’s natural and cultural heritage.
The discussion also highlighted the importance of science, enforcement cooperation, financing, and institutional coordination. IUCN Regional Director Oliver Avramoski stressed that moving from declaration to implementation would require “the right institutional format, technical support, a secretariat function and financing.”
International partners, including UNDP, UNEP, CBD, CITES, CMS, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, GEF, GCF, GIZ, IUCN, UNESCO, and others, confirmed their commitment to support the region through technical assistance, scientific cooperation, knowledge exchange, capacity building, and coordinated financing.
Closing the session, Madden emphasized that the launch of Harmony with Nature for Regional Resilience represents more than a political declaration:
The message is clear: we must move from ambition to coordinated action.
Looking ahead to CBD COP17
Ahead of CBD COP17 in Armenia, the Declaration positions Central Asia to present a more unified regional voice on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Environment, Ara Mkrtchyan, noted that the initiative demonstrates the region’s political will to move “from commitments to concrete action” and highlighted COP17 as an opportunity to elevate Central Asia’s contributions to the global biodiversity agenda.
The full session of Harmony with Nature for Regional Resilience from RES2026 can be viewed on YouTube beginning at minute 3:02: Watch here. Read additional coverage from UNDP here.
The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership is a country-led initiative that supports the implementation of NBSAPs to collectively achieve the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. It is co-chaired by Colombia and Germany, supported by the governments of Germany, Norway, Canada and France, and coordinated by a Global Coordination Unit hosted by the Secretariat of the CBD, UNDP and UNEP.
The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership is a country-led initiative that supports the implementation of NBSAPs to collectively achieve the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. It is co-chaired by Colombia and Germany, supported by the governments of Germany, Norway, Canada and France, and coordinated by a Global Coordination Unit hosted by the Secretariat of the CBD, UNDP and UNEP.
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