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Bishkek – Mountain regions especially in the world’s developing countries face growing pressure from climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation, yet mountain communities have great potential for climate-resilient development and work to upgrade mountain products sectors such as organic food, textiles and tourism services is already paying off, QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said here today.
Speaking at the opening of the International Conference of the Global Mountain Dialogue for Sustainable Developmenthosted by the Kyrgyz Government, Qu underlined the fact that people in mountain areas – who predominantly rely on family farming – are among the world’s poorest, with many in developing countries facing food insecurity.
“Yet mountain communities, the stewards of mountain resources, have great potential for climate-resilient development by transforming to more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agrifood systems,” he said, highlighting the importance of sustainable agriculture and water management practices.
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov in his opening remarks called on international organizations and financial institutions to support projects that improve the socioeconomic conditions of inhabitants in mountainous and remote regions who experience the effects of climate change alongside geographical isolation. He described the conference as an opportunity to assess what has been done and establish new coalitions, strategies, and political commitments on the way to the Global Mountain Summit Bishkek+25, which will take place in 2027,
Water supply at risk
More than two billion people rely on mountain and glacier freshwater for their daily needs, agriculture and livestock. But this supply is at risk as temperatures rise and glaciers retreat, Qu said.
Despite progress, mountain regions remain under immense pressure, increasingly affected by the impacts of the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, soil erosion and land degradation.
Protecting mountain ecosystems is not just a concern for mountain regions, it is a global responsibility, the Director-General said.
Sustainable mountain development improves nutrition, boosts agricultural productivity, restores the environment, raises the standard of living in rural areas and contributes to global economic growth.
This calls for strategic investments, enabling policies, technological innovation, solid institutions and the capacity to adapt, leaving no one behind. And it means scaling-up solutions from mountain regions to turn local progress into global impact, the FAO Director-General underlined.
The Government of Kyrgyzstan, with support from FAO and national partners, is implementing a Green Climate Fund project that is helping the country restore its forests and rangelands in the fight against climate change.
Improving value chains
The Mountain Partnership’s initiatives, designed to improve value chains for mountain products such as organic food, textiles, and tourism services, are having positive impacts on more than 50 000 small-scale producers in remote mountain areas, including in Kyrgyzstan, Qu said.
The Director-General also announced that FAO has secured a commitment of 1 million Euro from the Government of Italy through the Mountain Partnership Secretariat to support activities in Kyrgyzstan, including the Business Incubator and Accelerator programme for small-scale mountain producers.
FAO hosts the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, which is a global UN alliance of over 600 members dedicated to enhancing the well-being of mountain communities and protecting mountain environments.
In 2024, working closely with FAO the Secretariat led the development of the Global Action Plan on Mountain Region Development. It provides a strategic framework for FAO Member States to implement the Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions 2023–2027, which was a major outcome of the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development in 2022.
As part of his visit, the Director-General signed a Host Country agreement with Kyrgyzstan. The agreement, signed on behalf of the host country by Bakyt Torobaev, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister for Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry, formalizes FAO’s official status in Kyrgyzstan and paves the way for strengthened bilateral cooperation, expanding FAO’s support in sustainable agriculture, water resource management, food security, and rural development.
FAO has partnered with Kyrgyzstan since the country joined the United Nations in 1993. The country office was opened in 2009.
Its assistance in Kyrgyzstan mainly focuses on enhancing capacities to assess, plan and implement action for achieving sustainable food and nutrition security and spans the agriculture sector, including crop, livestock and fisheries projects, support to sustainable land and forest management in the face of climate change, and disaster risk management.
In 2024, the FAO Representation in Kyrgyzstan implemented 13 national projects. These initiatives covered: biosafety management in accordance with the Cartagena Protocol; cevelopment of the livestock and horticulture sectors, Sustainable pesticide management; aquaculture and organic agriculture development; projects under the Peacebuilding Fund; a Carbon Sequestration project through climate investments in forest and pasture lands and Integrated water resources management for agroforestry restoration in the Syr Darya River Basin (PPG).
Additionally, the FAO Representation supported the implementation of 24 global, regional, and subregional projects.
