How to address transboundary threats in Central Asia to be discussed at RES 2026
The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (hereinafter – CAREC), in cooperation with the World Bank, will hold a session within the framework of the Regional Ecological Summit 2026 (hereinafter – RES), which will take place in Astana on 22–24 April, on ensuring coordinated action in the face of transboundary threats — from outbreaks of zoonotic diseases to climate-related shocks affecting agriculture and health systems.
The panel session entitled “The One Health Regional Programme in Central Asia” will take place on 23 April at the Hilton Astana Hotel. Participants and partners of the session will include representatives of the regional offices of the World Bank, the World Health Organization (hereinafter – WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (hereinafter – FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (hereinafter – UNEP), the World Organisation for Animal Health (hereinafter – WOAH), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as well as representatives of the ministries of health, agriculture, and ecology of the Central Asian countries.
As the climate crisis intensifies droughts, extreme heat, floods, and the risks of the spread of dangerous diseases, issues of health, ecology, and food security can no longer be treated separately. This will be the focus of the event. At the centre of the discussion is the One Health approach, which views the health of people, animals, and ecosystems as one interconnected system.
For Central Asia, this is no longer a theoretical concept, but a practical necessity. The region is facing growing climate and biological risks that cannot be effectively addressed within the framework of only one country or one sectoral authority. Therefore, participants in the session will discuss not only the challenges, but also concrete solutions: how to establish data exchange, strengthen early warning systems, improve intersectoral coordination, and identify the joint steps that countries are ready to support already now.
Particular attention will be given to the One Health Regional Programme for Central Asia, launched in July 2025 and being implemented by CAREC, as well as to national initiatives of the countries of the region. It is expected that the session will help advance the coordination of the One Health Regional Action Plan, which is intended to become a practical tool for coordination among countries, international partners, and relevant sectoral agencies.
A separate focus will be placed on the issues most sensitive for the region: climate-related threats to health, the resilience of veterinary systems, food security, laboratory preparedness, transboundary response, and information exchange among countries. These are precisely the issues on which the region’s ability to prevent crises, rather than merely react to them after the fact, directly depends.