United Nations Supports Launch of Regional Ecological Summit 2026 in Astana

The Regional Ecological Summit 2026 (RES 2026) opened today in Astana, bringing together heads of state, senior government representatives, leaders of international organizations, development partners, financial institutions, experts, civil society and youth to advance coordinated responses to environmental and climate challenges in Central Asia.

Hosted by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on 22–24 April 2026 in partnership with the United Nations and other regional and international stakeholders, the Summit serves as a high-level platform to strengthen regional cooperation, align priorities and promote practical solutions across interconnected systems of water, energy, land and food.

Senior United Nations principals participating in the Summit include Mr. Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization; Ms. Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization; Mr. Haoliang Xu, Associate Administrator of UNDP and Under-Secretary-General; Ms. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP and Under-Secretary-General; Ms. Tatiana Molcean, Executive Secretary of UNECE and Under-Secretary-General; and Mr. Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Assistant Secretary-General.

“Global solutions must be rooted in regional realities, and supported by strong international cooperation. Sustainable development remains the pathway to peace, resilience and shared prosperity. This will require renewed commitment and intensive investment to bridge the gap to 2030,” noted Li Junhua, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

The United Nations is a strategic partner of RES 2026 and is supporting the Summit as a platform for advancing regional cooperation on climate and environmental issues. Across the three days, 18 UN entities are involved in organizing 25 panel sessions and 5 seminars, bringing technical expertise, policy guidance and implementation experience across climate adaptation, water management, public health, disaster risk reduction, sustainable development, gender equality, youth engagement and ecosystem resilience.

The Summit comes at a critical moment for Central Asia. The region is facing intensifying environmental pressures, including water scarcity, glacier retreat, land degradation and biodiversity loss. These risks are increasingly affecting economic resilience, food and energy systems, and human security, while many of the underlying challenges are transboundary in nature and require coordinated regional responses.

A key expected outcome of RES 2026 is the adoption of a Joint Declaration by the Heads of State of Central Asia on regional environmental cooperation. The Summit will also announce the Programme of Action for the Implementation of Regional Ecological Initiatives in Partnership with the United Nations for 2026–2030: Shared Vision for a Resilient Future of Central Asia, prioritizing projects in areas including climate and ecology investment, nature-based solutions, regional environmental performance review, circular economy and the regional Green School platform.

By convening political leadership, technical expertise and financing partners in one platform, RES 2026 aims to move from dialogue to implementation and reinforce Central Asia’s collective role in addressing environmental challenges through multilateral cooperation and shared action.