Recommendations for Scaling-Up Nature-Based Solutions for Resilient Landscapes in Central Asia

Overview & Synopsis

Globally, land degradation poses a major threat to food security, livelihoods sustainability, ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation and overall landscape resilience. Land conversion, rapid industrialization and urbanisation, unsustainable agricultural practices and water use, population growth, and climate change have all contributed to the degradation of land, leading to accelerated desertification and the loss of productive soil. In response to these growing challenges, the World Bank has collaborated with Central Asia leaders to create a regional RESILAND CA+ Program1 (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan) which aims to address land degradation through enhanced regional collaboration and increased adoption of landscape restoration and natural-based-solutions practices in selected provinces in these countries that share common water basins, common cultures, and common borders to increase the resilience of people, ecosystems, and infrastructures. Regional cooperation is required to harmonize approaches and harness the ecological and economic benefits across shared transboundary corridors.