Central Asian summit launches regional green partnerships, spotlights Tehran Convention amid Caspian Sea decline

Central Asian leaders used their first Regional Ecological Summit in Astana on 24 April 2026 to launch a suite of cross-border initiatives and to raise alarm over the Caspian Sea’s falling water levels during a high‑level dialogue on the Tehran Convention.

“The beautiful and diverse region of Central Asia is facing significant challenges – from temperatures rising faster than the global average to biodiversity loss, degrading mountain ecosystems, and air pollution, including sand and dust storms.

These are shared challenges that demand shared solutions,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, adding that strong regional cooperation can build resilience and deliver progress for millions of people. The heads of state of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan endorsed a new regional partnership on the circular economy.

Supported by the UN Environment Programme, the platform is intended to gather commitments from all five states based on a common understanding of circularity for the region. Citing one example, the World Bank estimates that investing USD 289 million toward circularity in Kazakhstan’s construction sector could yield USD 1.3 billion in economic benefits and cut national greenhouse gas emissions by 5%.

In a separate high‑level ministerial dialogue on the Tehran Convention – the regional treaty on the Caspian Sea that has been in force since 2006 and is supported by the UN Environment Programme as its secretariat – Andersen highlighted the scale of the crisis facing the inland sea.

Caspian water levels have fallen by around two metres since the 1990s, with projections of a further decline of 8 to 21 metres. She warned that damage to the sea threatens ports, fisheries, infrastructure and coastal communities, with major economic costs, risks to food security and the potential displacement of millions of people.

The summit also unveiled a regional platform on glaciers, reflecting growing urgency around water security. Glaciers supply between 30% and 60% of Central Asia’s freshwater, yet accelerated melting is increasing the risks of droughts, floods and long‑term scarcity, with knock‑on effects for agriculture, energy and livelihoods.

Countries endorsed a regional declaration on biodiversity that recognizes healthy ecosystems as a foundation for resilience and sustainable development, committing to strengthen data sharing, joint monitoring and integrated action across key sectors. They extended similar commitments to address air pollution, focusing on energy, transport, industry, and sand and dust storm management.

A regional climate and ecology investment portfolio was set up to expand access to international finance for environmental action. The scale of the challenge is considerable. Central Asia ranks among the regions most affected by air pollution, which is estimated to cause between 65,000 and 71,000 premature deaths each year, with several countries listed among the top 30 most polluted worldwide.

The region is also a leading hotspot for major methane leaks, presenting significant opportunities to reduce emissions through the UN Environment Programme’s International Methane Emissions Observatory and its Methane Alert and Response System.

Organizers and participants framed the new partnerships as a transboundary response to transboundary problems—from shrinking glaciers to a declining Caspian Sea—arguing that coordinated action under regional platforms and treaties such as the Tehran Convention will be essential to protecting ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.