The inaugural Regional Ecological Summit in Astana has focused on cross-border cooperation as a blueprint for climate change response.
Understanding Bir Tamyr
Climate change in Central Asia doesn’t consider national borders. Flooding doesn’t stop at passport control; land degradation doesn’t require a visa. It tests the collective resilience of the region, with water scarcity, glacier retreat, desertification, biodiversity loss, and air pollution impacting the national economies and ecosystems of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
This regional backdrop establishes the goals of the inaugural Regional Ecological Summit 2026 (RES 2026), held in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital, from April 22 to 24, and why its primary concern was building a Central Asian consensus on climate change.
Hosted by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in partnership with international partners including the OECD, the IEA, IRENA, and the UN, RES 2026 brought together 500 delegates from government, the third sector, business, science, and civil society under the banner Bir Tamyr.
Meaning “shared roots,” having Bir Tamyr as a north star gave the summit a clear direction as well as a message to broadcast to the world: Central Asia’s countries may be distinct in geography, politics, and identity, but they are bound by common pressures and a shared stake in the future.
“It should be based on partnership, trust, and shared responsibility,” said H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan. “As partners we must work pragmatically and responsibly in support of peace and sustainable development.”
Implementing a shared agenda
Once a set of shared principles were agreed, RES 2026 introduced more than 20 thematic and country-based sessions exploring how this consensus could be translated into integrated systems that help mitigate the impacts of climate change for all within the region.
Structured around eight priority areas including climate transition, food security, air quality and waste, and digital ecological competencies, the agenda reflected both the scale of the challenge and the reality that climate policy cannot be separated from wider questions of governance.
“Regional cooperation can foster a market-driven transition if businesses share circular designs and practices, and governments are willing to learn from each other,” remarked Inger Anderson, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Program (UNEP). “I really salute the framework for partnership that Central Asia is now developing.”
The summit also aligned itself with the UN Regional Action Programme for sustainable development, a five-year framework designed to accelerate the economic benefits stemming from the climate transition. That through line meant RES 2026 could situate environmental collaboration within wider regional economic development.
A new hub for climate action
Astana’s position as host city reflects Kazakhstan’s broader wish to position itself as a leader in climate action.
Part of that desire stems from the learnings of addressing the country’s own climate threats, none more so than the situation in the Aral Sea. Long considered one of the most potent symbols of ecological collapse, with entire fishing communities decimated, thanks to Kazakhstan’s response – namely the building of the Kok-Aral dam – the Aral Sea has, quite literally, been brought back to life.
“So far, we have restored about 36% of the Northern Aral Sea, improving water quality, fish stocks, and enhancing living conditions,” said the President of Kazakhstan.
Alongside the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea restoration program was presented as a counterpoint to more traditional narratives of degradation, demonstrating that environmental damage, while severe, is not always irreversible.
Shared risks can produce shared solutions
If RES 2026 is to be judged by outcomes, then the most important came in the form of commitments that reach beyond Astana and into the far corners of Central Asia.
Among the most memorable announcements was a joint declaration by Central Asian heads of state on regional cooperation in ecology and sustainable development. The declaration included the launch of several new projects and initiatives across the summit’s priority areas.
While specific to Central Asia, the declaration and the wider commitments borne out of RES 2026 have a broader relevance in demonstrating that a cooperative model of climate and environmental governance can be achieved, even in a world where fragmentation has too often dominated the narrative.
For Astana, changing that narrative means beginning a process where shared risks can begin to produce shared solutions. For Central Asia, it means taking a step toward a more coordinated ecological future. And for the world at large, it means reminding itself that change will depend not only on national action, but on the application of Bir Tamyr: shared roots, and collective responsibility.
Learn more about the Regional Ecological Summit in Astana here.
