A Conversation with ADB’s Yasmin Siddiqi on “Glaciers to Farms”
By Yasmin Siddiqi 20 August, 2025
How are Central & West Asia adapting to disappearing glaciers? We ask ADB's Siddiqi about their US$3.5bn project to support agriculture, disaster readiness & water security in the region
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In November 2024, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched the Glaciers to Farms programme to support climate-resilient agriculture in Central and West Asia. Current emissions will result in up to 80% loss of the Hindu Kush Himalayan glaciers by 2100. These glaciers supply freshwater to Central Asia and beyond, so glacial loss will have severe implications on water and food security in the region. We speak to Yasmin Siddiqi – ADB Director for Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development who is leading the Glaciers to Farms programme (G2F) – to learn more.
CWR: Thanks for joining us, Yasmin. Glaciers are not something you generally see financed. Can you tell us how this came about? Why connect farms and glaciers?
Yasmin Siddiqi (YS): As Asia’s water towers, mountain glaciers store ice and snow that melt gradually and provide freshwater throughout the year. They are especially important in Central and West Asia where glaciers found in the Pamirs, Tien Shan, and Greater Caucasus mountains feed about 70% of annual river flows. These rivers are crucial for irrigation for agriculture, which provides food and livelihoods. But glacial area in the region has already decreased by about 30% over the past 50-60 years due to rising temperatures, threatening water supply in a region already facing water scarcity issues.
Glaciers in Central & West Asia have decreased 30% in the past 50-60 yrs…
This is why ADB launched the Glaciers to Farms programme (G2F) – as a response to the impacts of glacier melt and to promote adaptation solutions to communities who will face increased risks of floods, avalanches, mudslides and even heat stress. We aim to promote integrated flood risk management, sustainable land management practices, and climate-resilient agricultural value chains across the region.
One of our main aims will also be to include women, girls and other vulnerable groups, like those living in mountainous regions, into our activities given that they are at highest risk from glacier melt impacts. This will help ensure that food for the region’s over 380 million people remains accessible and affordable despite the impacts of glacial retreat on water availability.
CWR: So how “big” is the Glaciers to Farms programme? What are the key areas of focus? How much financing does the project aim to mobilise?
YS: The programme covers nine countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. We are aiming to mobilizing up to US$3.5 billion from ADB’s resources, and additional financing from other development partners like the Green Climate Fund, governments, and the private sector.
G2F covers 9 countries & aims to mobilise up to US$3.5bn…
The scope is quite broad to cover the varying needs of our developing member countries while ensuring there are regional benefits. To better manage water supply, we’ll support modernised irrigation systems, water storage and recharge solutions, and water-efficient farming practices.
The programme also covers forest conservation and management, watershed protection, and wetland restoration so the soil is better able to retain water, and the risk of floods and landslides is reduced. We are excited to also consider nature-based solutions, like contour bunding and gulley plugging where suitable, as alternatives to hard engineering options.
We’ll support farmers’ training on drought-resistant crops, agroforestry, and improved low carbon livestock management, and integrate social protection measures like conditional cash transfers where relevant. We’ll also support glacier monitoring, hydrological modelling, and establishment of early warning systems to enable communities to better prepare against hazards like droughts and floods. We’ll promote regional cooperation across these areas because the impacts go beyond borders.
CWR: What do you hope to see this accomplish in the next few years?
YS: We are already doing preparatory work on projects in some of the countries, and we hope to have these starting up next year.
One of the exciting features is having communities involved & to ensure they are included in decision making process…
These will involve enhancing glacier monitoring capabilities and early warning systems, restoring critical ecosystems to protect productive land and reduce water stagnation, and modernizing various infrastructure to make them more resilient. One of the exciting features is having communities involved, especially women and girls, in identifying hazards and ensuring they are included in decision making and design development process.
We’re also looking to bring in more development and financing partners, and pilot and scale innovative financing solutions such as disaster risk insurance.
CWR: That sounds exciting but daunting. Especially because there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for upstream and downstream communities who have distinct local needs and different climate risks. What are the biggest challenges you see ahead?
YS: Indeed, different countries are experiencing too much water or too little water at various points in time. With Pakistan, floods are a recurring problem. In Uzbekistan, water scarcity and degrading land quality are intensifying. With more frequent and intensified hazard risks, we really need to do development differently.
ADB is taking different approaches to mobilize more adaptation funding from a wide range of sources and ensure infrastructure is resilient.
Leveraging local community knowledge – especially that of women, girls and other community members at high risk, like the elderly – is vital. They know the local landscape, and even the most technically advanced early warning systems won’t be effective without their participation. This is especially true for women and girls who are at much higher risk to disaster impacts than men.
Glacial melt poses transboundary risks…
…five Central Asian countries agreed to a new water-sharing framework for the Syr Darya & Amu Darya
As I mentioned, accelerated glacial melt poses transboundary risks, but it’s not always easy for countries to share information and collaborate for various reasons. Thankfully there is increasing cooperation among the Central Asian countries – the five Central Asian countries recently agreed to a new water-sharing framework for the Syr Darya and Amu Darya.
We must build on the momentum and continue bringing the countries to the table. ADB has been doing this through the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme, and we’ll continue to use this platform, among others, to inspire greater collaboration particularly on the issue of melting glaciers.
CWR: These challenges not limited to Central Asia but also other communities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region that rely on glacial and snow melt for water. How will the programme impact populations beyond Central Asia?
YS: Glaciers to Farms is part of ADB’s wider effort to help Asia adapt to the impacts of accelerated glacial melt.
We also have the “Building Adaptation and Resilience in the Hindu Kush Himalayas” initiative that is focused on understanding multiple hazard risks and how to develop resilient infrastructure to reduce the impacts on people and development progress.
In monsoonal South and Southeast Asia, ADB is helping to build the resilience of the entire river basin – from source to sea. We are aiming to provide our developing member countries knowledge and financing solutions to address the immediate threats of accelerated glacial melt while building resilience for with the future.
CWR: There is clear need to protect glaciers and we are glad that the conversation has started this year with the first-ever World Day for Glaciers on March 21 as well as the International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation in Tajikistan in May. What were your key takeaways from the conference? Did you come out feeling more hopeful or concerned about the urgent action needed to stop glacial melt?
YS: This has been a defining year for bringing the importance of glacier melt, and its impacts on a vast region of Asia and across the globe, to the forefront. ADB, as the lead development partner, is supporting its developing member countries to respond to the multi-faceted challenges of glacial melt.
We cannot work alone & all need to tackle the impacts jointly
My main takeaways from the events this year include that we cannot work alone. Development partners, like ADB, governments, communities and the private sector (like insurance companies, and private water supply utilities) need to hold hands and tackle the impacts jointly.
Importantly, and perhaps for the first time we are working closely with glacier scientists in partnership with academia. They hold much of the knowledge and expertise in this new topic for ADB – and we have much to learn from the scientific community. I certainly have learned about rock glaciers, GLOFs and the impacts of climate on the cryosphere from the world’s leading glacier scientists – so fortunate to have been learning from them.
Secondly, we need to work harder to bring in the private sector. There is a tremendous opportunity to unlock private sector financing to more readily adapt infrastructure to climate impacts, support risk transfer such as insurance – which for example we are exploring in Kyrgyz Republic – and to support capital markets. For example, ADB can help sovereign, municipal, and corporate issuers raise capital through blue, green, social, and other bond types.
We have for the first time glaciers as our centerpiece in regional cooperation
Lastly, we have for the first time glaciers as our centerpiece in regional cooperation. We know that landslides triggered by increased glacier melt are the same across borders. By applying digital solutions like pressure meters to record land movement and sharing information, we can enhance regional cooperation. G2F as a regional programme is also aiming to share knowledge and best practices beyond sovereign boundaries, to maximize regional positive impacts.
Further readings
- Rivers are Running Dry Today – Rivers are our lifelines; they support cities, food and economies for centuries. This summer they were tested with severe drought/floods – will they fail?
- Reflections On Ice – 5 Hopes & Fears – We are not prepared for the ice-cold truths but we need to be & quickly. Tan & Low share 5 hopes & fears on CWR’s ice journey in the past year from the collapse of AMOC, geoengineering, wildfires to the critical roles China/Asia or even you can play to help Stop the Melt!
- A Conversation with Dr. James Kirkham, Ambition on Melting Ice Chief Science Advisor & Coordinator – We sat down with Dr. Kirkham, Ambition on Melting Ice Chief Science Advisor & Coordinator at COP29 to find out more from their latest report, insider discussions at COP29 & how to mobilise meaningful action to slow down ice loss
More on Latest
- Escalating Extremes: Prepare, Survive & Make Money – 5 Thoughts – For the youth, climate disasters are not “freak” events but are part of their norm. CWR’s intern Williamson shares his hopes & fears on preparing, surviving & making money in a future of escalating extremes
- Melting Mountains: Rethinking Infrastructure and Resilience in the Hindu Kush Himalaya – As deadly glacial disasters in the Himalayas are on the rise, ICIMOD’s Dr. Zhang calls for more resilient infrastructure & better community preparedness
- A Conversation with Meghna Mukherjee on How to Build Rural Resilience – Rural farmers are hit hard by dry spells & heavy rains. Can traditional practices & women’s leadership help them adapt? Gender expert Mukherjee says yes
