On 24 of September 2021, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, President of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, H.E. Emomali Rahmon spoke at the general debate at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
In his speech, along with other important issues, the distinguished Emomali Rahmon highlighted the impact of climate change in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals at the global, regional and national levels.
The President noted that “one of the serious consequences of this process is the melting of glaciers. As a result of climate change and unprecedented warming, more than 1,000 of the 13,000 glaciers in Tajikistan’s mountains have completely melted. “Given that the water resources of Central Asia are mainly formed due to the melting of glaciers, this trend can lead to serious consequences in terms of water availability in the region.
Declaring 2025 as the International Year for Preservation of Glaciers. will help to attract more attention of the world community to solving water and climatic problems and melting glaciers. Also, the establishment of the International Glacier Fund under the auspices of the United Nations is another step that can be taken to conduct a comprehensive study and propose effective solutions to this global problem. The President also noted the importance of the steps taken to prepare for the United Nations Comprehensive Mid-Term Review Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028, to be held in New York in 2023 and, as a co-chair, called on all stakeholders to actively cooperation in this process.
