Islamabad: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved technical assistance to implement the Farm Glacier (G2F) regional plan, covering Pakistan and several central and western Asian countries as the region faces an intensified risk of climate disasters.
According to the ADB report, support will support the climate action roadmap through glacier monitoring, river programs and regional knowledge sharing. It will also help countries establish institutional and operational mechanisms and prepare the diagnostic, research and capacity requirements required to implement the plan.
Early ADB support ensures that the G2F program will transition sewing to implementation phases, minimizing delays, prepare for proposed projects, and improve the overall effectiveness and sustainability of interventions in key sectors, including agriculture, health, health, health. Reports, protection and water.
G2F is based on ADB and aligned with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) priorities, up to $3.5 billion in public and private finance, including $325 million in GCF discount support to build resilience from Glacier to Farmland.
$3.5 billion regional initiative targets glacier retreats, food security
These programs establish a complete adaptation framework that can link upstream glacier monitoring with downstream interventions in agriculture, water management and disaster risk risks, and are supported by an integrated scientific policy funding mechanism.
The feasibility assessment of the G2F has confirmed that the climate financing system in West Asia and Central Asia is underdeveloped and inconsistent with national priorities. Key gaps – including the lack of green taxonomy; environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards; and risk sharing mechanisms to undermine government and private actors’ ability to expand their adaptive investment.
The structure of the G2F is based on a phased ecosystem-based program that utilizes regional platforms such as the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation Program (CAREC), while avoiding duplication and promoting country-led adaptation.
It is a regionally integrated multisectoral climate adaptation program designed to maintain the lives, livelihoods and ecosystems of more than 370 million people in Central and West Asia.
The region has experienced rapid experience, with the highest climatic impact rate being retreating at a rate of up to 1% per year, water flows becoming increasingly unstable, food insecurity and climate-related health risks are intensifying. “These cascade threats are particularly severe in major transboundary basins such as the Indus, Amu Darya and Syr Darya, where communities are heavily dependent on water systems raised in ice circles,” the ADB report said.
Central West Asia is one of the fastest warmer regions in the world, with an average temperature of 0.2 to 0.4 degrees Celsius per decade. If these trends continue, more than 50% of the glacier volume in Pamir may lose ten Shan ranges by 2100, which poses an existential threat to water, food and energy security throughout the region.
Glacier retreats are already unstable seasonal water availability, enhancing natural hazards – such as Glacier Lake Eruption Floods (GLOF), avalanches and flash floods – as well as imposing enormous pressure on already fragile agriculture. In addition to glacier retreats, snow melted earlier this year due to rising temperatures, transferable peak water in months when agricultural demand remains low.
This temporary mismatch between water supply and irrigation will reduce agricultural productivity and increase dependence on groundwater and reservoir storage – resources are already under pressure, the report said.
Any changes in water timing, quality or quantity can affect vulnerable communities, especially in stressful and low-capacity areas. Rural families, women for farms and agriculture – Tiny Cabins and Secondary Education Enterprises (MSMES) – are ready to face limited funding, infrastructure and support services – often the first to feel the impact of water pressure and production losses.
Posted in Dawn on September 28, 2025
