Natural hazards are unavoidable. The way we mitigate and manage them is within our control – and preparedness is the first line of defence. The Europe and Central Asia region is vulnerable to several types of natural hazards, including floods, storms, droughts, wildfires and landslides. Due to the effects of climate change, climate-related hazards in particular have increased in frequency and intensity over the past few decades. The agriculture sector and food security are heavily impacted by these phenomena. FAO estimates that the agriculture sector absorbs more than 26 percent of total economic costs from climate-related disasters.    

Serbia has taken an important step towards building more climate-resilient forests with its first national training of trainers on climate-adaptive silviculture. The three-day programme, held from 15 to 17 July 2026, united experts from research institutions, government and public forest enterprises who will play a leading role in introducing climate-adaptive forestry practices across Serbia.

Kazakhstan and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have launched three new projects under the FAO–Kazakhstan Partnership Programme. Raimund Jehle, FAO Deputy Regional Representative, and Yermek Kenzhekhanuly, Vice-Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, exchanged signed official documents at a ceremony on 22 July.

As Montenegro works to realize its climate ambitions and build greater resilience, strengthening institutional capacity to access international climate finance is becoming increasingly important. Building a common understanding of climate finance mechanisms across institutions is a key step in translating national priorities into high-quality investment projects. To support this process, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Region Development, implemented the Month of climate finance learning, a unique six-week awareness-raising initiative under the Readiness Project of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

Sustainable forest management not only helps reduce forest degradation but also supports poverty reduction and improves livelihoods. Achieving these outcomes requires the meaningful participation of all groups that depend on and contribute to forest resources, including women, who play important roles in forestry and agroforestry systems. For this reason, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) calls for greater recognition of women’s contributions to forestry and agroforestry systems across Europe and Central Asia. 

Agriculture plays a central role in Uzbekistan’s economy. While being a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, it is also highly exposed to climate risks. To this end, the Government of Uzbekistan has officially endorsed a new investment roadmap to support the transition towards climate-smart agrifood systems, marking an important step from the ambitious national climate commitments to concrete investment action.

The CACFish meeting marked an important step towards establishing a practical, regionally harmonized data collection mechanism to support evidence-based fisheries management across Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The Central Asia Water-Land Nexus (CAWLN) programme launched its implementation phase at the Eighth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Funded by the GEF and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the regional programme brings five countries together to advance integrated approaches to land and water management in Central Asia. 

A virtual event organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 28 May showcased practical, scalable solutions from across Europe and Central Asia, highlighting how circular bioeconomy approaches in agriculture can drive innovation, support sustainable development and help translate commitments into concrete action on the ground. The event marked the launch of the publication “Case studies promoting bioeconomy through agricultural practices in Europe and Central Asia”, which presents examples of sustainable and circular agricultural practices already being implemented across the region.

A new generation of ideas and partnerships took centre stage recently in Dushanbe at the GENERATION YSInvest event organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Held alongside the Thirty-fifth Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe, the multi-day event was structured around three interconnected pillars – youth engagement, science and innovation, and investment – highlighting how inclusive dialogue and coordinated action can drive sustainable change in the region.