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UNDP

How Central Asian Small Businesses Are Earning More From Local Products

For Ikhtiyor Alimov, finding foreign buyers was only part of the challenge. His dried-fruit business in northern Tajikistan also needed enough equipment to fill its orders. Alimov founded Mevai Zarrin in Isfara with eight workers and handmade machinery. Its processing capacity eventually reached 200 kilograms a day, but manual production limited further growth. With the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the company upgraded its equipment and packaging. It can now process 600–650 kilograms daily, according to the organization’s account of its development. “We were able to reduce our product waste by 20%,” Alimov said in UNDP’s regional account of the program. Across Central Asia, small producers face similar difficulties. Processing a harvest before selling it can increase producers’ earnings, but expansion requires investment that many family businesses struggle to afford. The Finland-funded Aid for Trade initiative, implemented by the UNDP, is closing after more than 15 years of work across Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. UNDP and Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of the Economy presented results in Bishkek on September 24, discussing which forms of support should continue beyond 2026. In Tajikistan, UNDP reported that the initiative helped create 147 jobs, including 90 for women since 2022. At Mevai Zarrin, support depended partly on buying fruit from local farmers and connecting producers in southern Tajikistan with processors in the north. The company signed contracts with ten farming households in Khatlon, securing supplies while giving growers another outlet for their harvests. Pooling smaller harvests can make deliveries large enough for a processor to buy. For farmers, those arrangements offer a route beyond nearby markets without requiring each household to become an exporter. Mevai Zarrin also obtained FSSC 22000 food safety certification to help it pursue new customers. In UNDP’s September profile, Alimov said the company had sent samples to prospective buyers in Germany and was awaiting their response. Processing the Harvest In Uzbekistan’s Andijan region, Dildora Nurmatova’s family business, ErElDi, has increased its profits by processing peanuts. Nurmatova began investigating the crop during her agricultural studies. By 2024, her enterprise was harvesting five metric tons from one hectare. According to UNDP’s regional retrospective, selling processed snacks rather than raw peanuts tripled her profits. [caption id="attachment_57615" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Dildora Nurmatova in her peanut field in Uzbekistan’s Andijan region. Image: Elyor Nemat, UNDP Uzbekistan[/caption] Aid for Trade supplied processing and packaging equipment, alongside a separate workshop and a three-phase electricity connection. Business advice helped the family develop products and organize production. The company supplies packaged peanuts to Andijan’s wholesale market. Lower-grade kernels go into milled products for bakeries and ice-cream producers, giving the family a market for material that cannot be sold as premium snacks. ErElDi’s customers are close to home. The family can earn more from its harvest by doing the processing itself, before it considers the costs of finding buyers abroad. In Kyrgyzstan, UNDP reported that the project contributed to 837 new jobs, including 548 for women, and supported export contracts worth $17.1 million since 2022. [caption id="attachment_57610" align="aligncenter" width="2400"] Beekeepers...

Japanese Investment

Japanese Investment Tackles Uzbekistan’s Aral Sea Crisis

Until recently, the rehabilitation center in Akmangit, a settlement in Karakalpakstan, relied on sewage trucks to remove wastewater. Although it receives about 3,500 patients with disabilities each year, the center had no sewer system. In March 2025, a Johkasou system, a compact Japanese unit that treats wastewater biologically, was installed at the center. The treated water can now be reused for irrigation instead of being hauled away. Similar systems were installed at a kindergarten and a specialized school. In their first four months of operation, the three units treated more than 16,400 cubic meters of wastewater. Although these installations are small relative to Karakalpakstan’s water and sanitation needs, they illustrate Japan’s approach in Uzbekistan’s Aral Sea region through local pilot projects tied to longer-term development programs. During an October 2025 visit, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) delegation and a representative of the Embassy of Japan in Uzbekistan saw residents using the program to introduce drip irrigation and expand small businesses. A smoked-fish producer in Samanbay employed 12 people. Since 2020, Japan has funded trials of water-saving and wastewater-treatment technologies in the region, supported climate-resilient agriculture, and introduced local business-development models. These projects draw less attention than Central Asia’s uranium, critical-mineral, energy, and transport deals. In Karakalpakstan, however, Japan has pursued influence through smaller projects intended to remain in place for years. Water and Agriculture Projects In September 2023, Japan provided $2 million for a UNDP program promoting climate-resilient agriculture in four districts of Karakalpakstan. By the program’s conclusion in 2025, more than 7,700 residents had gained access to clean drinking water. The Johkasou units were among the program’s most visible elements. Developed in Japan in the late 1940s amid sanitation problems, the decentralized systems offer an alternative where centralized sewer networks are impractical. Their treated water can be reused for irrigation. The program tested another Japanese technology on the dried Aral Sea bed. In 2024, UNDP planted 1,000 saxaul seedlings using a superabsorbent polymer (SAP) that retains moisture around plant roots. Saxaul, a desert shrub or small tree, helps stabilize sand and limit the spread of salt and dust from the former seabed. The 1,000 seedlings formed part of UNDP’s Green Aral Sea initiative. Between 2020 and March 2025, the program planted 823,000 trees across 658.2 hectares. In February 2026, Japan and UNDP launched a $4.6 million project scheduled to run through 2028. Its work includes irrigation rehabilitation, digital water monitoring, wastewater reuse, and desalination powered by renewable energy. More than 1,000 farmers and households are expected to benefit. Local Business Models Japan has paired these technologies with models for local economic development. One is the One Village, One Product Movement (OVOP), which began in Japan’s Oita Prefecture in 1979. Under the model, communities develop marketable products based on local resources and skills. In Karakalpakstan, OVOP has been applied to agriculture, handicrafts, and food processing, including the small businesses visited by the delegation in October 2025. Another Japanese approach is kaizen ("continuous improvement"). It seeks to improve production and...

UNDP

UNDP Opinion: Central Asia – Shared Wildlife, Shared Landscapes, Shared Responsibility

As global leaders gather for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly in Samarkand, Central Asia has an opportunity to send a clear message to the world: protecting biodiversity is not only about saving species — it is about securing water, livelihoods, resilience and long-term stability for millions of people across our region. From the glaciers of the Tien Shan and Pamir mountains to the deserts, steppes and river basins downstream, Central Asia’s ecosystems are deeply interconnected across borders. Rivers flow between countries. Wildlife migrates through shared landscapes. Mountain ecosystems regulate water systems that sustain agriculture, energy production and communities far beyond the highlands themselves. Among the most powerful symbols of this shared natural heritage is the snow leopard — the silent guardian of Central Asia’s mountains. The snow leopard represents far more than a rare and iconic species. Its survival reflects the health of entire ecosystems that millions of people depend upon every day. Healthy mountain landscapes help secure freshwater resources, reduce disaster risks, sustain pastures and agriculture, preserve biodiversity, and strengthen resilience to climate change across the region. But today, these ecosystems are under growing pressure. Climate change is accelerating glacier melting and intensifying water stress. Land degradation, unsustainable grazing, habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss are placing increasing pressure on fragile mountain environments and rural livelihoods. Communities living closest to nature are often the first to feel the consequences — through declining water availability, degraded pastures, reduced agricultural productivity and increasing climate-related risks. These challenges do not stop at national borders. And neither can the solutions. Only a coordinated regional response can match the scale of the challenge. Protecting Central Asia’s mountain ecosystems requires countries to work together to conserve ecological corridors, strengthen transboundary protected areas, improve water and land governance, and invest in climate-resilient livelihoods for communities whose futures are closely tied to nature. There are already successful examples of regional agreements. For example, a highly successful transboundary nature conservation agreement in Central Asia protects the Ustyurt Plateau and the Turan Temperate Deserts. Spanning across Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, this initiative has successfully safeguarded vulnerable ecosystems and migratory species like the saiga antelope and snow leopard. [caption id="attachment_50004" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Photo: Saiga calf. Kazakhstan/UNDP Kazakhstan[/caption] It is encouraging that transboundary cooperation has already taken shape across the region. Across Central Asia, governments, communities and development partners are already demonstrating that conservation and development can advance together. While each country's experience is unique, the lessons are remarkably similar: when communities benefit from healthy ecosystems, nature and people both thrive. In Kazakhstan, the snow leopard has become one of the clearest examples of how coordinated conservation efforts can help restore fragile ecosystems across borders. The species inhabits mountain systems that extend beyond national boundaries into China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan, making its protection inseparable from regional cooperation. Over the past decade, habitat countries have strengthened efforts to protect the species through national conservation strategies, expanded protected areas, and improved ecosystem monitoring. Supported by cooperation between the Government, UNDP, the Global...

Aral Sea

Uzbekistan Installs 37 Air Monitoring Stations in Aral Region as Environmental Cooperation Expands

Authorities in the region of Karakalpakstan have installed 37 automated air quality monitoring stations to track pollution levels in the Aral Sea region, according to Uzbekistan’s National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change. The project was implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The system measures fine particulate matter, including PM2.5 and PM10, as well as gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and hydrogen sulfide. It also records key meteorological indicators, including temperature, humidity, air pressure, and wind speed. Data is transmitted in real time through the Aurisgreentech system, which officials say reduces human error and improves accuracy. During a recent visit to the region, UNDP's representative in Uzbekistan Akiko Fujii reviewed the work of the regional ecology committee's Situation Center, where monitoring results are processed. According to official reports, she also inspected a laboratory equipped to analyze air, water, and soil samples in line with international standards. “The United Nations will continue to support projects aimed at improving the environmental situation in Karakalpakstan,” Fujii said, noting the importance of reliable data in assessing pollution and forecasting ecological risks. The initiative comes as regional cooperation on environmental challenges gains momentum. From April 22 to 24, Astana will host a regional ecological summit bringing together UN agencies, international organizations, and government representatives from Central Asia and the Caspian region. The summit will include a ministerial session led by the World Health Organization focusing on the health impacts of environmental degradation in the Aral Sea area. Discussions are expected to address the links between pollution, public health, and the need for coordinated responses across borders.

Emergency Response

Mosques in Uzbekistan Begin Broadcasting Emergency Alerts in New Warning System

Uzbekistan has introduced a new system for warning citizens about emergencies using mosque loudspeakers, significantly expanding the reach of early warning messages across the country. The initiative was reported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Emergency Situations. According to a UNDP report, the project provides a technical solution aimed at strengthening Uzbekistan’s multi-hazard early warning system. As part of the pilot phase, special alert broadcasting devices have been installed in 272 mosques across seven regions: Fergana, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Namangan, Samarkand, Syrdarya and Tashkent. These devices enable authorities to transmit emergency messages through mosque loudspeakers. UNDP noted that mosques were selected because of their established role in local communities, and their wide geographic distribution. Most are equipped with powerful external loudspeakers capable of covering distances of between 500 and 2,000 meters. Since announcements are broadcast outdoors, residents within range can receive alerts regardless of whether they are inside the mosque. Project estimates cited by UNDP suggest that the system could reach around 6.5 million people, including vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly. Another advantage highlighted in the report is its potential reliability during disruptions to mobile networks or electricity supply, when conventional communication channels may be unavailable. UNDP also stated that the initiative forms part of broader efforts to modernise Uzbekistan’s early warning capabilities in response to growing climate-related risks. Alongside mosque-based alerts, 28 large outdoor screens have been installed along major highways in densely populated areas to provide emergency information. The wider project, funded by the Green Climate Fund and implemented jointly by UNDP, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Uzhydromet, focuses on improving preparedness for hazards such as floods, landslides, avalanches, mudflows and drought, particularly in Uzbekistan’s eastern mountainous regions.

Irrigation

Kazakhstan to Modernize Irrigation Sector with $5.3 Million EDB Grant

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) have launched a new joint initiative aimed at modernizing the country’s irrigation sector. Titled “Developing a Business Ecosystem for Sustainable Irrigation in Kazakhstan,” the project is supported by a $5.3 million grant from the EDB and implemented in partnership with UNDP. The agreement was signed by Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, UNDP Resident Representative Katarzyna Wawiernia, and EDB Deputy Chairman Ruslan Dalenov. Boosting Climate Resilience and Water Efficiency The multi-year initiative focuses on strengthening Kazakhstan’s resilience to climate change by improving irrigation management. Key components include establishing a National Water Resources Information System, deploying forecasting and water distribution tools, creating regional centers for modern irrigation, training specialists, and promoting water-saving technologies nationwide. Nurzhigitov emphasized that the project aligns with Kazakhstan’s broader strategic goals for climate adaptation and water sector reform. “For us, participation in this project means achieving strategic goals to modernize the water sector and increase resilience to climate change. We are actively working to attract investment in the water sector, but all strategic decisions are and will be made exclusively in Kazakhstan. Transferring water resources or facilities to foreign countries has never been considered. Our goal is to modernize the water sector to protect the interests of our citizens and ensure security and sustainable development,” he stated. Expanding Water-Saving Irrigation Kazakhstan has steadily increased the use of water-efficient irrigation technologies such as drip and sprinkler systems to reduce agricultural water consumption. Since 2024, the government has raised subsidies for farmers adopting these technologies. Reimbursement rates for drilling underground water wells and installing modern systems have increased from 50% to 80%. As a result, the area equipped with water-saving irrigation expanded from 312,200 hectares in 2023 to 580,000 hectares in 2025, representing 30% of the country’s total irrigated farmland. By 2030, the government aims to extend modern irrigation systems to 1.3 million hectares, covering 70% of all irrigated land in Kazakhstan.