Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia — At the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17), the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) presented mechanisms for consolidating the region's countries in the face of growing climate threats and land degradation.
This year’s COP17 marked a critical shift: the issue of desertification has definitively transitioned from a purely environmental sphere into a macroeconomic one. The summit's main vector was the search for practical mechanisms to attract private capital to ecosystem restoration. In this context, CAREC took strategic part in the side events of the Republic of Uzbekistan and spoke at specialized panel sessions, demonstrating the region's readiness for systemic integration.
A key event was the participation of a CAREC representative as a speaker at the Ecumene panel session. The discussion brought together the highest level of environmental diplomacy and the financial sector. The panel included UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Ecology Aziz Abdukhakimov, Aide and Special Presidential Representative of the Russian Federation on Climate Issues Ruslan Edelgeriev, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Andrey Razin, and State Secretary of the Ministry of Environment of Mongolia Shurenchuluun Batbayar. The business side was represented by executives from Gazprombank and other major corporations.
A significant practical step of the session, emphasizing the transition to financially-oriented models, was the official announcement of the launch of the Business4Land (B4L) Russian hub. This national platform is aimed at the direct mobilization of private sector resources for sustainable land management, opening up new opportunities for public-private partnerships across Eurasia.
During the report, the CAREC representative outlined the internal mechanics of interstate coordination in Central Asia. It was emphasized that CAREC's mandate is not limited to declarative activities but translates into a strictly practical dimension through the ministerial dialogue at the Central Asia Climate Change Conference (CACCC).
The main and objectively measurable result of this integration is the development of six harmonized regional policies under the flagship World Bank program Resiland CA+. This package of documents forms a unified legal and operational framework for the countries of the region. The official signing of these policies is scheduled for the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP31) in Ankara, marking an unprecedented step in the institutional consolidation of Central Asian countries' efforts.
The implementation of complex regional policies is impossible without relying on objective data. On the margins of COP17, CAREC highlighted the architecture of its digital solutions, which eliminate "blind spots" in climate risk analysis:
· CACIP Portal — the central hub for climate information.
· Resiland Platform — the project's operating system, featuring a detailed catalog of emergencies, an integrated monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system, and a comprehensive online database.
· "One Health" Initiative — an approach that systematically links the health of ecosystems, animals, and humans into a single analytical matrix.
CAREC's participation in UNCCD COP17 reaffirmed the organization's position as the primary integrator in Central Asia, capable of converting global challenges into concrete political agreements, backed by digital technologies and financial mechanisms.
For further information, please contact Azamat Kauazov, Manager of the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Program at CAREC and Сoordinator of the Central Asian Climate Change Platform CACIP. cacip@carececo.org