Richard English, Regional Campaigns Manager, reports from a recent climate change event in Tajikistan and the launch of a new policy paper Reaching Tipping Point?: Climate Change and Poverty in Tajikistan.
I’m here at an exciting event in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, a country with some of the highest mountains in Central Asia. Talk of climate change and melting glaciers might seem odd when its been minus 10 degrees centigrade outside and snow is everywhere. But believe me climate change and its impact is the hot topic today. The event is to launch an Oxfam International Report “Reaching Tipping Point?: Climate Change and Poverty in Tajikistan“.
So much interest was shown in the event that we had to move to a larger conference space. Nearly a hundred people attended including representatives of the Tajikistan government, international donors and NGOs from Europe and the US, World Bank, United Nations alongside many Tajik organisations working at national and local level with communities affected by climate change.
Andy Baker, Oxfam’s Country Director presented a gripping picture of accelerating climate change impacts such as drought and increased heat in summer alongside warmer winters and periods of intense cold. At the same time glaciers are in retreat with potential implications for future water supply in the region as a whole.
And the story from the ground, from local people who rely on rain and water and some consistency in seasonal patterns, is that they are finding it increasingly hard to cope. 75% of Tajikistan’s population of 7 million is dependent on the food that they grow themselves and the need for sustainable farming. Climate Change now looms large as a potential massive boulder blocking their development path.
Then we heard for the Tajik government’s head of climate change research at the State Administration for Hydrometeorology, Mr. Ilhom Rajabov. He stressed that climate change has no borders and Tajikistan was one of the most vulnerable countries in the world and had to be active on the issue and start adaptation measures as soon as possible especially in agriculture.
An energetic discussion, with many raised hands, then took place on the issue of ensuring good scientific data on climate change impacts alongside ensuring that the voice and experiences of poor and vulnerable communities is heard in the responses that are now urgently needed.
The conference concluded that the report was a good one and added greatly to the debate on the urgent need to tackle climate change in Tajikistan. The meeting agreed that organisations working on climate change needed to work more collaboratively together on local solutions to climate change and use this to influence themselves and the government.
Reaching Tipping Point?: Climate Change and Poverty in Tajikistan