Strengthening of livelihoods through climate change adaptation in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

Programme description

Title: Strengthening of Livelihoods through climate change adaptation in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
Overall term: 2014 to 2018

Context

The mountainous countries of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are strongly affected by the impacts of climate change. Glaciers will retreat and the snowcover will change, with the snowmelt increasing and starting earlier in the season. Together with water losses from increased evaporation, these changes will reduce the availability of water for irrigation, while shifting the period of peak water run-off away from the main growing season. In both countries, this will have serious impacts on agriculture, which relies heavily on irrigation.

Another consequence of climate change is the increased incidence of weather-related natural disasters. Floods, mudslides, heatwaves, cold spells and droughts will all occur more often, and destroy houses, infrastructure and harvests. The predominantly poor people of the rural areas lack the capacities and resources to meet these challenges, or to develop adaptation measures and secure their livelihoods.

Objective

The livelihoods of vulnerable rural communities in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are strengthened through climate change adaptation measures.

Approach

The project supports adaptation measures in agriculture, while strengthening people’s resilience in the face of severe natural events. Measures to support agriculture include the introduction of water-saving irrigation methods and water-efficient crops, the use of quality seed and the rehabilitation of water reservoirs. The disaster risk reduction measures include the construction of dams and riverbank reinforcement and, in particular, erosion control.

The target group of these activities are the poor people living in the mountain valleys and foothills of Batken Province in Kyrgyzstan and Sugd Province in Tajikistan. Significant project partners are the local and regional units of the two countries’ ministries of agriculture and of emergency situations, as well local administrations, agricultural service providers and international organisations.

The project is funded by the Energy and Climate Fund and will work closely with two other projects in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan financed through the same Fund.