LocationsTowards more resilient Central Asian cities
May 21, 2026
Ariel view of Osh, Kyrgz Republic
Just like the rest of the world, cities in Central Asia are facing rapid urbanization, growing population density and increased vulnerability to disaster and climate risks, which are adding more pressure to ongoing efforts to make cities safer and more livable.
As hazards intensify vulnerabilities, the major question to be addressed now and tomorrow is how do we make cities in Central Asia more resilient?
In 2024, UNDP and the Government of Japan launched a joint regional project in Petropavl (Kazakhstan), Osh (Kyrgyz Republic), Dushanbe (Tajikistan), Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) and Namangan (Uzbekistan) to help make them more resilient to disasters and the impacts of climate change.
At the heart of this project is a principle that we cannot reduce risk unless we understand it.
Through research and consultations, we developed City Risk Profiles to recognize the risks and provide the pilot cities with an evidence-based ground for integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into urban planning and development.
Each city faces distinct challenges, but also share patterns across the region.
Petropavl is greatly affected by spring floods. In 2024 alone, almost 6,000 people were evacuated, and damages exceeded US$174 million.
Osh faces recurring mudflows and flash floods originating in the surrounding mountain gullies. Informal settlements on unstable foothill slopes make these events especially destructive.
Dushanbe’s challenge stems from rapid urban growth and increasing environmental stress. The city is adapting to rising pressures linked to storms, heat waves, air pollution and dust storms, among other hazards.
Ashgabat experiences an arid climate and depends heavily on the Karakum Canal for its water supply. Rising temperatures and pressure on aging infrastructure make water security one of the city’s priorities.
Namangan’s pressures are characterized by rapid population growth and urban expansion. Development in flood-prone and foothill areas is pressuring the city’s infrastructure and resources.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
But Osh, Dushanbe, Ashgabat and Namangan all face hazards originating from the surrounding mountainous terrain. Intense rainfall and accelerating glacial and snowmelt can trigger events impacting urban areas.
Seismic risk is another major concern for the region. Except for Petropavl in northern Kazakhstan, almost all other pilot cities have experienced destructive earthquakes in the past century. Population growth and urban infrastructure development further compound their vulnerability to this sophisticated geophysical hazard.
Many of these hazards do not stop at administrative boundaries. Floodwaters may originate upstream and affect all communities downstream. Glacier retreat threatens long-term water and food security in the region. Air pollution travels long distances across borders, and dust storms originating in the desert areas of the Aral Sea region move toward the mountains of the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, reducing glacial albedo and accelerating glacial melt.
This means resilience cannot stop at municipal or national borders.
Recognizing this, UNDP helped organize a Regional Urban Resilience Dialogue, where representatives of the five pilot cities signed a joint declaration, launching the Regional Urban Resilience Coalition — the first coordinated platform for climate-resilient urban development in Central Asia.
The coalition connects cities facing similar risks and enables them to share knowledge and scale solutions. It is open to other urban centers and stakeholders across the region.
Work continues at the city level. City Risk Profiles outline tailored, evidence-based recommendations for each city, taking into account its vulnerabilities and development priorities. These recommendations are already helping integrate disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into local planning and development.
We want to ensure that future development investments reduce and prevent risk rather than create it.
Salimkhan Sabitov was one of the citizens who shared his thoughts on the sustainable future of Petropavl, Kazakhstan. His and other reflections were captured in our City Imaginarium campaign.
(Read more of Petropavl and Dushanbe's citizens' reflections on their future city at City Imaginarium.)
Several common priorities emerged across cities. Strengthening infrastructure and water management systems remains essential, particularly as climate pressures intensify and urban populations continue to grow. City Risk Profiles also highlight the importance of improving early warning and monitoring systems, restoring riverbanks and urban green areas and limiting construction in flood-prone or landslide-risk areas through risk-informed urban planning.
However, cities across the region face challenges in implementing these solutions. Aging infrastructure, rapid urbanization, capacity gaps and limited financing can slow resilience efforts, particularly as risks evolve. This is where regional cooperation and long-term partnerships become especially important.
UNDP, in this context, supports cities through technical expertise in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, built over years of research and programme implementation worldwide. Within this project, best practices from countries with advanced disaster risk management systems, particularly Japan, are also being brought into the regional context.
With this in mind, in 2025, UNDP and the Government of Japan further expanded their disaster risk reduction portfolio in Central Asia by launching a new regional project on earthquake risk management. The pilot cities remained the same, except in Kazakhstan, where earthquake-prone Almaty was selected.
Most recently, during a commemoration in Uzbekistan of the International Day in Memory of the Victims of Earthquakes, heads of national disaster management authorities from all five Central Asian countries signed a joint statement, paving the way for improved regional cooperation. There is now strong political will and established platforms for state and non-state partners to work together to make urban centers more resilient to shocks.
Let us not forget that building resilience is a process rather than a one-time effort. It is no longer a choice, but the foundation on which sustainable development must stand.
Read the full City Risk Profiles here.
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