FAO steps up efforts to address water scarcity and strengthen climate resiliency in Kyrgyzstan’s mountains

Declining glaciers, shrinking water sources and increasingly unpredictable weather are threatening the livelihoods of thousands of rural families in the At-Bashy district of Kyrgyzstan – and urgent action is needed. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat conducted a comprehensive field mission to the district, where communities reported a dramatic deterioration in water availability, worsening droughts, and accelerating land degradation over the past five years, calling for immediate climate-resilient solutions.

Across five Aiyl Aimaks (municipalities) of At-Bashy district, a total of 148 community members – including farmers, livestock breeders, women entrepreneurs, youth and local authorities – documented a landscape in rapid transformation. Glaciers that once fed rivers and irrigation canals are retreating. Winter snowfall is declining well below historical norms, and summer pastures are running dry. 

“The water sources we depended on are disappearing, our yields are declining, and our children are leaving for the cities to have more opportunities,” said Gulzada Kermakunova, a livestock breeder from Kyzyl-Tuu village. 

For households where livestock production accounts for up to 80 percent of income, the consequences are both tangible and severe.

The mission was conducted under the FAO-hosted Mountain Partnership Secretariat’s project “Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in Mountain Areas,” funded by the Government of Italy. The project is implemented in partnership with Sapienza University of Rome across four participating countries: Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, and Pakistan. In Kyrgyzstan, activities focus on reducing vulnerability in the At-Bashy district by assessing the impacts of drought and land degradation and developing an evidence-based plan to introduce water-saving technologies suited to mountainous conditions – including the construction of water storage reservoirs and the application of drip irrigation systems.

Through individual questionnaires and participatory focus group discussions held in multiple villages, community members consistently identified the same priority needs: rehabilitation of irrigation canals and water storage infrastructure, the introduction of water-saving technologies, improved pasture management, and enhanced access to agricultural training and veterinary services. Women, who disproportionately shoulder household and agricultural responsibilities when men migrate for work, further emphasized the critical need for improved access to finance and support for small-scale entrepreneurship. 

The survey findings will be integrated into a policy brief and a technical plan for implementing water-saving technologies. Developed in consultation with local authorities and communities, this approach ensures that grassroots knowledge and priorities remain central to the project’s recommendations.

During the mission, FAO teams met with Muktar Sherbaev, Akim of At-Bashy rayon, and Nurbek Satarov, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Kyrgyzstan in Naryn Oblast, who expressed strong institutional support for the project and openness to future collaboration. 

“The challenges our communities face – such as water scarcity, land degradation, and the impacts of a changing climate – require coordinated and long-term action,” said Nurbek Satarov. “We welcome this collaboration and look forward to seeing its results.”

Mountain areas cover 27 percent of the Earth’s surface and are home to nearly half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, yet these ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to climate change. In Kyrgyzstan, where mountain communities depend heavily on agriculture and livestock, the effects of environmental degradation are already being felt across generations. The findings from At-Bashy will be presented at a national and international workshop to mobilize support for sustainable land and water management in mountain areas, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on Climate Action and SDG 15 on Life on Land.