Countries across Central Asia and the South Caucasus have signed the “Silk Road” Declaration on population mobility under climate change. The document was adopted during the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), at an event titled “Advancing population migration issues under climate change,” supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Uzbekistan’s National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change said in a press release that the signing ceremony was attended by committee chairman Aziz Abdukhakimov, ministers and senior representatives of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The declaration is intended to strengthen regional dialogue, improve the resilience of vulnerable communities and develop joint approaches to climate impacts while respecting each country’s national priorities and development circumstances.
Key Takeaways: The declaration was signed within COP31 with IOM support and involved representatives of seven Central Asian and South Caucasus countries. It focuses on regional cooperation on climate-related migration, reducing forced displacement risks and improving resilience for vulnerable communities.
The declaration comes as Central Asia and the South Caucasus face growing climate-related pressures, including rising temperatures, glacier melt, water scarcity, desertification, land degradation and more frequent extreme weather. Participants discussed how these factors can affect forced population movements and stressed the need to coordinate adaptation, risk-reduction and resilience measures. The talks also highlighted the importance of regional data exchange and practical cooperation on climate migration.
According to the committee’s press service, the document aims to “strengthen regional dialogue and coherence of efforts on migration and population displacement related to climate change, improve the resilience of vulnerable communities, and develop joint approaches to responding to climate impacts while taking into account each country’s national priorities and development features.” The event also examined ways to align regional cooperation, information-sharing and practical action on climate-related mobility.
Next steps are expected to focus on integrating the declaration’s provisions into national plans and regional projects, identifying resilience measures for vulnerable groups and establishing information-sharing on climate displacement. The document is expected to serve as a basis for continued discussions within COP31 and for shaping long-term cooperation mechanisms among Central Asian and South Caucasus countries.
Source: www.gazeta.uz