The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved $250 million to support the “From Glaciers to Farms” program, a flagship adaptation initiative implemented by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), reports Avesta.tj.
The program aims to establish resilient water supply and agricultural systems for vulnerable communities in Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Pakistan that rely on melting glaciers. GCF funding will primarily be provided as grants and will be invested alongside $3.25 billion from ADB over the next decade to implement projects agreed upon by participating countries.
Investments will focus on efficient irrigation systems, construction of reservoirs, and watershed management, helping to increase agricultural productivity amid accelerated glacier melt, which causes droughts and floods.
The program will cover four major glacier-fed river basins: the Naryn and Panj in Central Asia, the Kura in the South Caucasus, and the Swat in Pakistan, with a total area of about 27 million hectares. Special attention will be given to the Panj River basin (around 4,650 sq. km) along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border, where glaciers are rapidly retreating due to rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns.
Glacier melt increases the risk of floods, landslides, and glacial lake outbursts, threatening water supply, hydropower, and agriculture that local mountain communities depend on. The program also plans to enhance early warning systems and improve the climate resilience of local populations.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
October 29, 2025