OSCE facilitates dialogue on improving gender considerations in climate resilience and energy security in Central Asian mountain regions

How to ensure gender differences and experiences are effectively addressed in advancing climate resilience and energy security in mountain regions in Central Asia was part of the discussions during the high-level Global Mountain Dialogue conference organized by Kyrgyz Republic in collaboration with international partners in Bishkek on 24 and 25 April. The event is also part of the “Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions (2023-2027)”, led by the United Nations Mountain Partnership.

“Ensuring women’s leadership can improve communities’ and households’ climate resilience and energy security. At the same time, it is crucial to also educate men and boys on these topics,” said Zamira Akbagysheva, President of the Congress of Women of the Kyrgyz Republic, during her intervention.

The participants explored gender-responsive solutions and the importance of increasing the integration of gender equality in decision-making processes for advancing climate resilience and energy security. “As knowledge holders and heads of households, women are uniquely equipped to advance climate adaptation. They furthermore often act as first responders to climate-induced disasters yet lack access to targeted capacity building and to decision making power,” said Tahmina Sayfulloeva, Deputy Chairperson of the Sarob Cooperative in Tajikistan.

Other speakers included Oksana Gudkova, Engineer at Unison Group, Kyrgyzstan; Aygul Orazova, Director of “Standart Hyzmat”, Turkmenistan; Hilke David, Deputy Country Director Kyrgyzstan, World Food Programme and Dr. Barbara Magalhães Teixeira, Researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The event was was opened by Ambassador Bakyt Dzhusupov, Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and moderated by Patrizia Albrecht, Climate Affairs Adviser at the OSCE.

The discussions also contributed to the operationalization of the 2024 “Regional co-operation strategy on climate change and security in Central Asia’s high mountain areas”. The strategy sets out ways to co-operate across the region to jointly address climate-related security risks in Central Asia’s high mountain areas.

In addition, the outcomes of the conference are expected to contribute to an ongoing study on the gender dimension of climate and security in the OSCE region, which is planned to be presented by the OSCE, SIPRI and adelphi later this year.

These activities and the conference are part of the OSCE extrabudgetary project, “Strengthening responses to security risks from climate change in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia”, which is implemented by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities in partnership with adelphi and in close collaboration with the OSCE field operations. It is funded by Andorra, Austria, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.