When people think about climate vulnerability, they often picture devastating cyclones and coastlines disappearing beneath rising seas. Yet some of the world's biggest climate risks are unfolding hundreds of kilometers from the ocean. In many landlocked countries, climate change is causing severe changes to the glaciers, lakes and rivers that make life possible.
As temperatures rise, glaciers and lakes that have sustained rivers for generations are retreating, altering the timing and volume of water flowing downstream. This, in turn, profoundly affects agriculture, industry, energy production, public health and ecosystems which depend on that water, leaving communities — and their livelihoods and sustainable development — increasingly vulnerable.
Moreover, because rivers rarely stop at national borders, these changes can ripple across entire regions. A river may begin high in the mountains of one country before crossing several international borders, meaning decisions upstream can affect communities hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away.
To strengthen their resilience to an unpredictable future, countries are giving water an increasingly central role in their national adaptation planning.
This is especially true for landlocked countries where water is crucial for almost every sector of the economy. Many landlocked countries depend on hydropower for their electricity generation. As rainfall becomes more erratic and river flows fluctuate, hydropower generation can become less reliable, reducing electricity production and increasing pressure on already stretched energy systems. This creates a cycle in which water insecurity can quickly become energy insecurity.
Water resources are also essential for food production in landlocked countries which don’t have access to ocean resources or maritime trade. When freshwater resources for irrigation diminish, the impact on agriculture production and food security is felt immediately.
Recognizing these interconnected risks, with support from UNDP and funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Programme, Armenia, the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan have prioritized increasing the resilience of their freshwater resources through their National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes. Read full photo story here.