LocationsAhead of the Eighth GEF Assembly in Samarkand
From Restoration to Resilience: Three Decades of Partnership for Uzbekistan’s Green Future
May 30, 2026
Photo: Mukhiddin Ali / UNDP Uzbekistan
As Samarkand prepares to host the Eighth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) alongside ECO EXPO Central Asia 2026, Uzbekistan is emerging not only as a venue for global environmental dialogue, but increasingly as a contributor to regional and global solutions.
This moment reflects the growing recognition that the region can become a platform for innovation, resilience, and partnership at a time when climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and pollution are reshaping economies and societies worldwide.
For the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), this year’s GEF Assembly carries special significance. Since Uzbekistan joined the GEF partnership in 1995, the Government of Uzbekistan has been advancing the country's commitments under the Rio Conventions on climate change, biodiversity and desertification, as well as the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. For more than three decades, the GEF and UNDP have worked alongside the Government of Uzbekistan, National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, national institutions, academia, civil society organizations, and local communities to help advance environmental sustainability and climate resilience agenda through a broad portfolio of over 20 initiatives worth more than 40 million USD.
Over the years, this tripartite partnership has evolved far beyond individual projects. Together, we have worked to address interconnected challenges ranging from biodiversity loss and land degradation to climate change and environmental pollution, as well as to build systems, knowledge, and partnerships that connect environmental action with people’s livelihoods, economic opportunity, and long-term development.
The results of this cooperation can be seen across the country. From restoring ecosystems in the Aral Sea region and conserving globally significant biodiversity, to advancing sustainable urban transport, expanding access to renewable energy solutions, and supporting environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste, GEF-supported initiatives have helped demonstrate how environmental action can also generate economic and social benefits.
Few places symbolize both environmental tragedy and resilience more powerfully than the Aral Sea region. Once one of the world’s largest inland seas, the Aral Sea became a global symbol of ecological collapse. Yet the region is also increasingly becoming a place of innovation and restoration.
Photo: Ikhtiyor Rakhmon, UNDP Uzbekistan
Through the GEF-supported Aral Sea Wetlands Project, implemented by UNDP together with the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, efforts are underway to restore wetlands, strengthen sustainable water and land management, conserve biodiversity, and support climate-resilient livelihoods across the Lower Amudarya basin. These integrated approaches recognize a simple but critical reality: restoring ecosystems is inseparable from strengthening communities and improving resilience for future generations.
Beyond wetland restoration, the initiative has helped strengthen integrated water resources management through ecological flow assessments and improved planning tools, while supporting the restoration of degraded landscapes through saxaul planting on six thousand hectares. At the same time, biodiversity conservation efforts are being strengthened across protected areas covering more than four million hectares through improved management approaches and monitoring systems.
The lessons emerging from the Aral Sea region are increasingly relevant beyond the region. For example, another joint initiative of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, UNDP, the GEF, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) EcoLand will support the restoration and conservation of landscapes and ecosystems in other regions of Uzbekistan. Across the whole Central Asia, climate pressures, land degradation, and water stress are creating shared environmental risks that require shared responses.
Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan
Environmental sustainability also depends on strong institutions and effective governance systems. This is particularly important in the area of chemicals and waste management, where countries continue to face complex technical, regulatory, and financial challenges.
A new joint initiative of the Government of Uzbekistan, the GEF and UNDP on the implementation of the Stockholm Convention in Uzbekistan represents an important step toward strengthening the sound management of hazardous chemicals and waste. The initiative focuses not only on reducing the risks associated with persistent organic pollutants, but also on strengthening monitoring systems, laboratory capacity, institutional coordination, and long-term regulatory frameworks. Such work may often remain less visible than large infrastructure projects, yet it is essential for protecting ecosystems, public health, and future generations.
At the same time, one of the most important environmental conversations globally is increasingly centered on finance. Protecting nature is no longer seen solely as an environmental issue. It is also an economic imperative.
Through the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), UNDP has worked with governments around the world to help identify financing solutions for biodiversity and ecosystem restoration. In Uzbekistan, this cooperation is now entering a new phase through the launch of a Biodiversity Finance academic module jointly developed with the Central Asian Green University, based on the BIOFIN methodology.
This effort reflects a broader shift taking place globally and nationally: the recognition that future economists, financiers, policymakers, and business leaders must understand the value of ecosystems and integrate nature into financial and development decision-making. Building a green future will require not only technology and investment, but also new skills, new knowledge, and a new generation of professionals capable of linking finance with sustainability.
Yet perhaps one of the most powerful lessons over the years is that environmental transformation cannot be achieved through institutions alone.
Lasting progress depends on people.
Photo: GEF SGP Uzbekistan
For nearly two decades, the GEF Small Grants Programme in Uzbekistan has demonstrated how locally led solutions can generate tangible environmental, social, and economic benefits. From biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture to renewable energy and land restoration, community organizations and civil society actors across the country have shown that local innovation can become a powerful driver of resilience and sustainable development.
As Uzbekistan and UNDP launch the next operational phase of the GEF Small Grants Programme, the focus is not only on supporting grassroots initiatives, but also on strengthening the role of communities, local knowledge, and civil society in shaping the country’s green transition, contributing to the implementation of the Uzbekistan’s new targets of the National Biodiversity Strategy, fully aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
This broader transition is increasingly positioning Uzbekistan as an active participant in regional and global environmental dialogue. The country’s environmental agenda today is no longer defined solely by addressing past crises. It is increasingly focused on building resilient landscapes, strengthening green growth, investing in sustainable finance, empowering local communities, and fostering regional cooperation across Central Asia.
Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan
Across sectors, partnerships of the Government of Uzbekistan, the GEF and UNDP have demonstrated how environmental solutions can deliver measurable development gains. In Tashkent, support for sustainable urban mobility helped advance the country's first green transport corridor, contributing to cleaner air (emissions reduced up to 24000 tons of CO2 annually), increased public transport use (up to 30%), expansion of electric bus fleets and historic creation of jobs for women bus drivers. Through low-carbon housing initiatives, thousands of households have invested in energy-efficient and renewable energy solutions, helping reduce emissions while lowering energy costs. These experiences show that environmental sustainability and economic development can reinforce one another when supported by long-term partnerships and innovation.
The Eighth GEF Assembly and Eco Expo 2026 in Samarkand therefore arrive at an important moment. They offer an opportunity not only to reflect on progress achieved, but also to shape the partnerships and investments needed for the future.
As the world gathers in Samarkand, the message from Uzbekistan's growing environmental leadership is increasingly clear: environmental sustainability is not only about protecting nature. It is about strengthening resilience, expanding opportunity, and building a future in which people and ecosystems can thrive together across Central Asia and beyond.