Project overview

Central Asia’s rich biodiversity is under threat due to deforestation, overgrazing and climate change. As forests degrade and ecosystems become vulnerable, regional water security and endemic species face growing risks. Recognizing these challenges, countries at the first Ministerial Roundtable on Forest Landscape Restoration and the Bonn Challenge in the Caucasus and Central Asia (2018) committed to restoring over 3 million hectares of forest landscapes by 2030 and strengthening regional cooperation. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)-Türkiye Forestry Partnership Programme (FTFP) supports these efforts, driving biodiversity conservation and sustainable forestry across the region.

The “Improving Biodiversity and Sustainable Forestry” project is a transformative initiative designed to drive large-scale biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest management across Central Asia, the Caucasus and Montenegro. By fostering regional collaboration and innovation, the project plays a crucial role in climate change mitigation, adaptation and ecosystem resilience.

Implemented under the FTFP and funded by the Republic of Türkiye, the project spans from Central Asia to the Balkans.

Strategic actions and deliverables

Empowering through knowledge and capacity building:

Training national counterparts and project staff to ensure sustainability.

Facilitating knowledge exchange to integrate cutting-edge practices.

Innovative planning:

Developing pioneering multifunctional forest management plans.

Enhancing protected area management strategies for robust biodiversity conservation.

Policy advancement and regional synergy:

Establishing a dynamic regional network to accelerate

biodiversity conservation and sustainable forestry efforts.

Raising awareness and inspiring action:

Designing impactful outreach campaigns and materials

to drive stakeholder engagement and public awareness.

Transformative impact

Impact:

Advancing large-scale biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest management to build

climate resilience and contribute significantly to global climate change mitigation efforts.

Outcome:

Elevating the capacity of participating countries to lead inclusive and sustainable biodiversity

conservation and forest management initiatives through strengthened regional cooperation.