09 июн

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Climate Advocacy and Environmental Diplomacy: The Role of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, The Founder of Peace and national unity-Leader of the Nation, His Excellency Emomali Rahmon
 
Climate change has become one of the defining challenges of contemporary international relations. Rising temperatures, glacier retreat, water scarcity, and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events affect global stability and sustainable development. Mountainous countries are especially vulnerable to climate-related risks.
Tajikistan, whose territory is more than 90 percent mountainous, is highly dependent on glacier-fed water resources. As a result, environmental protection and water security have become central priorities in the country’s domestic and foreign policy. Under the leadership of President Emomali Rahmon, Tajikistan has actively advanced climate advocacy at regional and global levels.
The purpose of this article is to analyze the institutional and diplomatic mechanisms through which Tajikistan promotes environmental initiatives and to evaluate the President’s role in shaping the country’s climate diplomacy.
Environmental diplomacy refers to the use of diplomatic tools to address transboundary environmental challenges and to promote international cooperation in ecological protection. In the context of climate change, it includes negotiations, international agreements, multilateral initiatives, and normative leadership.
Climate advocacy, in turn, implies proactive political engagement aimed at mobilizing global attention and collective action against climate threats. Small and medium-sized states increasingly use issue-based diplomacy to enhance their international visibility and influence. Tajikistan represents an example of such a strategy.
Tajikistan possesses significant water resources derived from glaciers located in the Pamir and other mountain systems. These glaciers play a crucial role in supplying water to the broader Central Asian region. However, scientific observations confirm accelerated glacier retreat caused by global warming.
The reduction of glacier mass directly affects river flow regimes, agricultural productivity, hydropower generation, and regional water security. Therefore, environmental stability in Tajikistan has both national and transboundary significance.
Under President Emomali Rahmon’s leadership, Tajikistan has initiated several major international water-related initiatives within the United Nations framework. Among them are:
The International Decade for Action “Water for Life” (2005–2015);
The International Year of Water Cooperation (2013);
The International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” (2018–2028).
These initiatives demonstrate Tajikistan’s consistent strategy of elevating water and climate issues to the global agenda.
In addition, Tajikistan proposed the declaration of an International Year for Glacier Preservation and supported the creation of international mechanisms aimed at glacier monitoring and protection. Such proposals reflect a shift from general water diplomacy toward targeted climate advocacy.
Tajikistan is a party to the Paris Agreement and has submitted nationally determined contributions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing climate adaptation.
Although Tajikistan’s share of global emissions is minimal, the country actively participates in international climate dialogue. This approach reflects the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and highlights the importance of solidarity in global climate governance.
President Rahmon regularly addresses climate change issues at sessions of the UN General Assembly and other high-level international forums. His speeches emphasize glacier protection, sustainable water use, and the need for coordinated international action.
Water resources in Central Asia are largely transboundary. The Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins connect upstream and downstream countries, creating interdependence in water management.
Tajikistan advocates equitable and rational use of water resources, emphasizing dialogue and cooperation rather than confrontation. Environmental diplomacy in the region aims to balance hydropower development with agricultural and ecological needs.
By framing water as a source of cooperation rather than conflict, Tajikistan contributes to regional stability and confidence-building measures.
Environmental diplomacy is closely linked to domestic policy reforms. Tajikistan prioritizes renewable energy, particularly hydropower, as a means of ensuring energy security while reducing carbon intensity.
National development strategies incorporate climate adaptation measures, disaster risk reduction, and ecosystem protection. Legislative reforms have strengthened environmental regulation and institutional capacity.
These domestic efforts reinforce Tajikistan’s credibility in international climate advocacy.
The role of political leadership is crucial in shaping foreign policy priorities. President Emomali Rahmon’s consistent focus on water and climate issues has institutionalized environmental diplomacy as a core element of Tajikistan’s international strategy.
Through sustained diplomatic initiatives, Tajikistan has positioned itself as a normative advocate for water security and glacier preservation. This strategy enhances the country’s international reputation and expands opportunities for cooperation with international organizations and development partners.
Climate advocacy and environmental diplomacy constitute essential components of Tajikistan’s foreign policy. The country’s vulnerability to climate change has transformed environmental protection into a matter of national and regional security.
Under the leadership of President Emomali Rahmon, Tajikistan has successfully integrated water and climate initiatives into global governance frameworks. By promoting glacier protection and sustainable water management at the international level, Tajikistan demonstrates how a mountainous developing state can exercise constructive influence in addressing global environmental challenges.
The environment forms the fundamental life-support system that enables both ecological processes and human development. It is made up of interconnected components – air, water, soil, climate and biodiversity. Their regulatory functions, including climate regulation, nutrient cycling, water purification and ecosystem productivity, account for the survival and well-being of societies. The integrity of these environmental systems is therefore indispensable not only for maintaining ecological balance but also for ensuring economic stability, public health and broader social progress. Within contemporary development discourse, sustainability seeks to harmonise economic growth, social equity and environmental protection. Among these three pillars, environmental sustainability is of foundational importance because the sustained viability of human systems is inseparable from the resilience and adaptive capacity of natural ecosystems. Environmental sustainability denotes the judicious use and conservation of natural resources in ways that maintain their regenerative capacity and avert irreversible ecological damage. It emphasizes pollution reduction, biodiversity conservation, low-carbon development trajectories and the regulation of resource use within the planet’s ecological limits. Consequently, the relationship between environment and sustainability is reciprocal and inseparable. Sustainable development cannot occur without a healthy ecosystem.
Water is life,
There is water, land, cultivation and work.
The product of all worlds,
It is due to the existence of grace water.
Indeed, water is the source of existence of all creatures in the world. Water is a great resource that gives freshness, beauty, greenness and freedom to the reality of the world and life. The existence of flowers and plants, animals and plants, plants and humanity, especially peaceful and prosperous life, freedom and prosperity all depend on water. People use water for drinking, cooking, washing houses, cleaning streets, and irrigating land. Also, a person drives boats and ships on waterways and carries all kinds of cargo and passengers. The cascading water drives turbines and generates electricity. With the force of high water, the stone wheel of the mill, the handles of the water dispenser move. No industry can function without water. Water is used in factories and plants for the preparation of dyes, fabric dyeing, leather processing, paper, soap, baking, and various beverages.
Man cannot live without water. Even most of the weight of the human body consists of water. A person uses water in all moments of his life. Water protects a person from dirt and impurity, from diseases and pains. Water is the main source of vegetables, plants and animals that humans always need. Even the moisture of the earth comes from water, without which no plant or flower can grow.
We Tajiks should always be proud of the abundance of our great land. Tajikistan is rich in water resources, it has almost 7000 glaciers, 155 lakes of various sizes, tens of thousands of natural and mineral water springs and many reservoirs. This great resource, which is the basis of man, is water. Life cannot be sustained without water.
Since ancient times, in books, water is considered as the main source of life. Four elements are sacred in life: water, earth, fire, wind, which all beings in the world need.
According to Omar Khayyom:
We are all from fire, water, wind and dust.
If these four things don't happen, we will all perish.
Since we know that water is the basis of life for all living things in the world, then we have a duty to respect this great source as the basis of existence, the light that illuminates, the organizer of the world of existence, keep it clean and tidy, and do not allow anyone to pollute this great miracle, throw garbage or any other it is permissible to act improperly against it, because:
Because of the stream from which the water is clean,
You should not dig stones and soil in it,
Keeping water clean and considering it sacred, honoring every drop of this great miracle is the duty of every cultured person, because water is considered not only as a source of prosperity, but also as a source of light.
Water is a gem more precious than rubies.
The purity of every drop of it is the purity of goodness.
There is water and there is prosperity, they say in tradition. Water is the source of growth and development of all the creatures of the world. It is water that a person breathes even on the verge of death after drinking a drop of it. It is water, from which flowers and plants get their color, smell, freshness and vitality. Life has no meaning without water.
Life is based on the existence of water. Unfortunately, some thoughtless people deliberately pollute the waters. Household garbage is thrown on the banks of rivers and canals and pollutes them. Water is used indiscriminately, which will harm the health of the population and the inhabitants of the planet. Thus, keeping it clean and not polluting every drop of water is considered a sacred duty of every Muslim person.
In short, according to the words of the Great Prophet Rasul Akram, "Water is truly a purifier and the basis of existence, so that nothing can make it impure."
Therefore, water should be taken care of and kept clean.
In order to protect nature, especially water resources, from the negative effects of man and society, the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan under the leadership of the Founder of Peace and national unity - Leader of the nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Honorable Emomali Rahmon, from the first days of coming to power, has been concerned with the environmental protection of the country, the region and the world is showing great interest. Due to the importance of environmental issues, changes and additions have been made to most of the nature protection laws during the years of Independence of the Republic. At the same time, more than 40 laws on ecology and natural resources have been adopted in this direction.
With the initiative and contribution of the Republic of Tajikistan, in March 1993, together with the leaders of the Central Asian countries, the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea was established. In 2002, in order to resolve the issue related to the water and environmental issues of the Aral Sea, a meeting of the Heads of States of Central Asia was held in Dushanbe and at this conference, the chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea from 2002 to 2008 was entrusted to the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Honorable Emomali Rahmon.
Water is the first and inevitable source of satisfying basic human needs, primarily for health protection, safe food supply, cleanliness and preservation of ecosystems on our planet.
In other words, water is the source of life and the main component of sustainable development. Therefore, it is very important to consider water as the most important socio-economic factor and manage it within the framework of today's socio-economic reality.
On December 14, 2022, the General Assembly of the United Nations, with the support of 153 member countries, accepted the 5th international initiative of the Leader of the nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Honorable Emomali Rahmon in the field of water and climate. According to this resolution, 2025 was declared as the International Year for the Protection of Glaciers, and from the beginning of 2025, March 21 will be celebrated every year as World Glacier Day. Also, in accordance with this resolution, the United Nations, under the coordination of the Secretary-General of this organization, establishes a special trust fund, that is, an international special trust fund for the protection of glaciers.
Thus, the Republic of Tajikistan under the leadership of the Founder of Peace and national unity- Leader of the nation, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Honorable Emomali Rahmon, has come up with environmental initiatives of a global character and is making a valuable contribution to the protection of regional and global natural resources.
List of Literature
  1. United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York: UN.
  2. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (2015). Paris Agreement. Bonn: UNFCCC Secretariat.
  3. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  4. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2022). Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  5. World Bank. (2022). Tajikistan Country Climate and Development Report. Washington, DC: World Bank.
  6. Asian Development Bank. (2021). Climate Risk Country Profile: Tajikistan. Manila: ADB.
  7. United Nations Development Programme. (2020). Tajikistan National Adaptation Plan Process Report. New York: UNDP.
  8. Government of the Republic of Tajikistan. (2019). National Development Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan for the Period up to 2030. Dushanbe.
  9. Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan. (2020). National Water Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan 2040. Dushanbe.
  10. Rahmon, E. (2018–2023). Speeches at the sessions of the United Nations General Assembly on water and climate issues. Official publications of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan.
 
Mirzosharifzoda Hangoma Mirzosharif-
Junior  researcher  at the National  Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan.
Institute jf history, arkheology and ethnology  named after by  A.Donish
National  Academy  of  Sciences of Tajikistan.