FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia

FAO Regional Priority Programme

Ecosystems and landscapes in Europe and Central Asia are highly fragile and sensitive to climate change and environmental shocks due to systematic natural resources depletion caused by unsustainable agricultural practices. In the past decade, the region’s biodiversity of food and agriculture eroded substantially. FAO aims to provide countries with strategies and mechanisms for addressing the interlinked challenges of climate change, natural resources management, biodiversity maintenance and environmental sustainability while transitioning to more climate-resilient and sustainable agrifood systems. This work contributes to regional efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda, Paris Agreement, and other international commitments.

This Regional Priority Programme supports Member Nations in strengthening national capacities and enhancing processes for sustainable natural resources management; adapting and mitigating climate change and reducing disaster risks in agriculture, forestry and fisheries; preserving biodiversity through natural capital investment, innovation and public–private partnerships; and reducing the environmental impacts of agrifood systems – including pollution and chemical and plastic wastes – through bioeconomy and socially inclusive and equitable approaches.

The Regional Priority Programme promotes achievement of the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals, especially goals 1, 2, 6, 12, 13 and 15. It also contributes to the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–31 and its four betters.

The Regional Priority Programme offers a regional mechanism to assist countries in accessing climate finance, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), including tools and thematic support to formulate interventions at the nexus of climate change, food security, gender and rural poverty.

The Priority Programme works through three main components:
The Priority Programme leverages four FAO accelerators:
  • Technology: The Regional Priority Programme promotes the most appropriate climate technologies, green technology and local knowledge to enhance evidence-based decision-making and help increase the efficiency and climate-resilience of agrifood systems.

  • Innovation: The Regional Priority Programme supports countries in envisaging a new paradigm on agriculture, fisheries and forestry, helping them promote production while supporting environmental sustainability. Innovation is key to achieving this goal. This Priority Programme aims to make available science-based evidence and frameworks in collaboration with academic institutions.

  • Data: To support the uptake of innovative, climate-smart technologies and policies, it is important that disaggregated data related to climate and environmental impacts be available at the national level. Data collection and dissemination are important for the deliverance of the Priority Programme’s goals across varied subjects, linking to the Hand-in-Hand Priority Programme’s geospatial platform.

  • Complements: The Regional Priority Programme contributes to strengthening national and institutional capacities to develop and assess trade-offs and implement and sustain evidence-based policies and strategies for climate action, natural resources management, biodiversity and bioeconomy.
Featured news
International No Pesticide Use Day: the start of a future free from pesticide effects
05/12/2024

In Central Asia, proper pesticide lifecycle management has been overlooked in past years due to gaps in the legal frameworks and a lack of experience...

From hardship to harvest in Kazakhstan
05/11/2024

In the village of Koram, around 150 kilometers east of Almaty in Kazakhstan, Aishagul's life has been marked by her husband’s debilitating injury and...

From frugal origins to sustainable solutions: Empowering community-led agrifood innovations
04/10/2024

Solving global food and agriculture challenges can start with an act as simple as looking to nature. Imitating nature’s processes and ecosystems can...

Europe and Central Asia accelerating climate action in agrifood sector
25/09/2024

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan, convened a regional...

Strengthening forest data collection and fire management in the Caucasus, Central Asia and Türkiye
16/07/2024

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has provided advanced tools and training in techniques in forest data collection and...

Montenegro positions itself for new approaches in private forest management planning and monitoring
01/07/2024

An ongoing initiative by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is backing Montenegro’s pursuit to improve forest management...

FAO, GCF collaborate to strengthen climate partnerships in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
02/04/2024

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) helped organize the GCF Regional Dialogue with Eastern Europe and Central Asia and...

Seeds and fertilizer bring relief to Moldovan farmers
28/02/2024

The Republic of Moldova is at high risk of drought and extreme weather events, two challenges exacerbated by climate change. Family farmers and others...

Celebrating the dry seeds of life
08/02/2024

There is a growing trend to produce and consume sustainable food motivated both by concerns for health and for the world that future generations will...

FAO supports Kyrgyzstan's shift to more sustainable mountain management
01/02/2024

FAO conducts national training on mountain vulnerability assessment in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Assessing the vulnerability of mountain societies...

Successful conclusion of FISHCap project offers promise for new ventures
22/01/2024

In Central Asia, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture represent significant untapped potential, yet enhancing institutional capacity for increased...

Green technologies enable a better future for Moldovan farmers
21/12/2023

A project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with financial support from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) on mainstreaming...

Biodiversity framework tops agenda as experts on Europe’s forests and forest industry meet
21/11/2023

A joint session of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) European Forestry Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission...

Embedding cross-cutting themes:
  • Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, and poor and vulnerable communities
  • Regional Technical Platform on Green Agriculture

This Regional Priority Programme also contributes to the promotion of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), supporting the acknowledgment of traditional, highly valuable agricultural systems in the region that are examples of heritage to be preserved. The GIAHS programme recognizes these systems as outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems, and valuable cultural heritage. Located in specific sites around the world, these systems sustainably provide multiple goods and services, food, and livelihood security for millions of small-scale farmers.

Events

25/ 11

2024

Batken (Kyrgyzstan), (Kyrgyzstan), 25/11/2024

The Batken oblast, located in the south-eastern part of the Fergana Valley, is characterized by a hot climate in spring and summer and is most...

14/ 11

2024

Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), 14/11/2024

The workshop in Bishkek will be attended by representatives of ministries and departments related to natural resource use (land, water, forest), UNCCD representatives, international organizations and projects, academia, and non-governmental organizations. The objectives of the event are to inform participants about the implementation of the UNCCD in Kyrgyzstan, to present the second phase of th...

10/ 11

2024

30/11

2024

Virtual Event, 10/11/2024 - 30/11/2024

Green Agriculture promotes a holistic approach to greening agrifood systems by adopting sustainable practices, policies, and innovations that focus on efficient use of NR, inputs, and energy, reduction of carbon emissions and pollution, preservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, sustainable consumption practices and reducing food loss and waste. It guides transformation of agrifood systems...

10/ 11

2024

16/11

2024

Ankara (Türkiye), Konya (Türkiye), Eskişehir (Türkiye), Bolu (Türkiye), İstanbul (Türkiye), 10/11/2024 - 16/11/2024

The FAO/GCF project "Carbon Sequestration through Climate Investment in Forests and Rangelands in the Kyrgyz Republic" has initiated an intern...

11/ 11

2024

22/11

2024

Baku (Azerbaijan), 11/11/2024 - 22/11/2024

The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) hosted by Azerbaijan in Baku will take place between 11-22 November. The Conference is a landmark event in the global effort to combat climate change and ensure food security for present and future generations. For FAO, COP29 serves as a platform for collaborative dialogue, knowledge sharing, and decision-making on the unique role of agr...

24/ 9

2024

25/9

2024

Tashkent (Uzbekistan), 24/09/2024 - 25/09/2024

With support from the project “Technical Assistance for Sound Management of Hazardous Chemicals in Uzbekistan”, an FAO workshop will focus on introducing pesticide life-cycle management, identifying gaps in current systems, and developing a roadmap for improvements. Expected outcomes include enhanced collaboration, targeted interventions, and strategies to mitigate pesticide-related risks, ulti...

25/ 9

2024

27/9

2024

Baku (Azerbaijan), 25/09/2024 - 27/09/2024

The three-day regional workshop “Advancing climate action in agriculture in Europe and Central Asia” aims to underscore the critical role of agrifood systems in addressing climate change and implementing climate actions. It will explore the role of the agriculture sector in achieving the goals set by the Paris Agreement, particularly in relation to sustainable food systems, gender-responsive cl...

7/ 10

2024

11/10

2024

Pula (Croatia), 07/10/2024 - 11/10/2024

The Thirty-Second Session of the European Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission (EIFAAC) and a related International Symposium, hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Croatia and the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, will be held in Pula, Croatia from 7 to 11 October 2024. The Symposium will focus on building a sustainable future for inland fi...

29/ 5

2024

31/5

2024

Yerevan (Armenia), Hybrid Event, 29/05/2024 - 31/05/2024

On 29-31 May 2024, FAO is organizing a regional conference in a hybrid format on green agriculture “Advancing on green policies for agrifood systems transformation in Europe and Central Asia”, in the framework of its regional project on scaling up green agriculture in the region.

21/ 5

2024

Virtual Event, 21/05/2024

Since 2015, FAO has supported Members in the Europe and Central Asia region through the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) programme, which recognizes the commendable work of our farmers, herders, fishers and forestry people and serves a tool to protect and conserve the resilient agricultural systems they have built up. The third Regional Dialogue on GIAHS for Europe and C...

22/ 5

2024

23/5

2024

Ljubljana (Slovenia), 22/05/2024 - 23/05/2024

The Government of Slovenia and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organize an International forum for action on sustainable beekeeping and pollination. This biennial event brings together governments, experts, business and civil society to give a regular fresh impetus to the international cooperation on beekeeping and pollination and to align it with the quickly c...

16/ 4

2024

Almaty (Kazakhstan), Hybrid Event, 16/04/2024

In the framework of the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded and FAO-managed project “Lifecycle Management of Pesticides and Disposal of POPs Pesticides in Central Asian countries and Türkiye”, there remediation trials have taken place in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in the past years. Through this international conference, the results of these trials will be presented and explained, while pro...

25/ 3

2024

26/3

2024

Chișinău (Moldova), Hybrid Event, 25/03/2024 - 26/03/2024

FAO is convening a regional workshop in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova from 25 to 27 March 2024 on climate-smart agriculture practices and policies as a way to increase resiliency in the face of current severe natural and human-made crises.

21/ 3

2024

Moscow (Russia), Hybrid Event, 21/03/2024

On the occasion of the International Day of Forests, FAO, in close cooperation with the Russian Federal Forestry Agency, is organizing a scientific and practical conference dedicated to this year’s theme: “Forests and innovation: New solutions for a better world” involving renowned international experts and decision-makers.

27/ 6

2023

Kyiv (Ukraine), Hybrid Event, 27/06/2023

Invited speakers will present the main achievements of the project, review its challenges, and describe further plans and opportunities. The project was a joint initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy a...

21/ 6

2023

22/6

2023

Virtual Event, 21/06/2023 - 22/06/2023

The interlinked climate change and biodiversity-related crises top the charts of short-term and long-term risks the world will face over the next decade. The restoration, conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity are critical to addressing global environmental challenges, building our ...

11/ 4

2023

Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Hybrid Event, 11/04/2023

On Tuesday 11 April FAO is organizing the launch of the FAO-GCF project “Carbon Sequestration through climate investment in forests and rangelands (CS-FOR) in the Kyrgyz Republic”.

24/ 5

2023

Qakh (Azerbaijan), Hybrid Event, 24/05/2023

The FAO Subregional Office for Central Asia is organizing a hybrid event “Nature-based solutions related to apiculture and wild pollinators” on 24 May 2023.

27/ 3

2023

Virtual Event, 27/03/2023

2030 is seven years away and we are far from achieving the SDGs. We are at risk of not achieving in full the targets related to agrifood systems by 2030. Climate change, along with other drivers and crises, is already undermining the recent progress made in promoting sustainable rural livelihoods and fighting against all forms of malnutrition. To continue ensuring food security and nutrition...

13/ 3

2023

17/3

2023

Yerevan (Armenia), 13/03/2023 - 17/03/2023

In the framework of the regional programme on seed system and the project titled “Creating enabling environments for enhanced climate resilience in agriculture”, FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia is organizing a regional training between 13-17 March 2023 Yerevan, Armenia, to strengthen seed system management in South European and Central Asia c...