Central Asia
ECHO FACTSHEET
Facts & Figures
Total ECHO Disaster
shortage
Risk Reduction (DRR)
funding for the region
in 2017-2018:
€2.2 million
Total ECHO Disaster
Risk Reduction (DRR)
funding for the region
in 2016-2017:
€3.8 million
Number of
beneficiaries for the
entire region in 20162017: 320,000
Total EU humanitarian
funding to Central Asia
from 1994 to 2016:
€228.4 million
Red Crescent volunteers in Kyrgyzstan participate in a simulation drill of a natural disaster affecting their
village. ©EU/ECHO/Pierre Prakash/Pierre Prakash ©EU/ECHO/Pierre Prakash
Key Messages
 The European Union (EU) believes that strengthening
community resilience to natural disasters is an essential part of
disaster risk reduction efforts in the region.
 Improving the capacity of national institutions to prepare for
and respond to natural disasters is a mainstay of EU funded projects
in Central Asia.
European Civil Protection and
Humanitarian Aid Operations
(ECHO)
B-1049 Brussels, Belgium
Tel.: (+32 2) 295 44 00
Fax: (+32 2) 295 45 72
email:
[email protected]
Website:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo
 The EU supports its humanitarian partners in advocating with
national and regional authorities to develop robust disaster risk
reduction legislation.
 Climate Change Adaptation has become a priority for the EU
Disaster Risk Reduction programs in Central Asia as the region is
increasingly affected by global warming and related climatic hazards.
 Since 1994, the European Commission has provided over €228
million to Central Asian countries, including both for humanitarian aid
related to conflicts and natural disasters, and for the funding of
disaster risk reduction initiatives.
*All the latest ECHO Factsheets:
bit.ly/echo-fs
ECHO Factsheet – Central Asia
May 2017 - Page 1 /3
Humanitarian situation and needs
Natural Disasters
The varied geography of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
and Turkmenistan) which includes vast mountain chains, grasslands, steppes, deserts
and large river systems, compounded by the impact of Climate Change, makes this
region particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. Indeed, most of these countries
regularly experience floods, storms, landslides, mudflows, avalanches and
droughts. The communities located along the Tien Shan and Pamir mountain chains
of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are particularly vulnerable, and therefore the priority
target for DG ECHO Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programs.
However, earthquakes remain the predominant threat. The region spans several
fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active zones in the world where
earthquakes are a frequent occurrence. Major cities in Central Asia, with growing
populations, are especially at risk. While the chances of a powerful earthquake
striking a major city are high, such seismic activity would also trigger secondary
events such as landslides and mudflows, which pose considerable threat considering
almost two-thirds of the entire population of the region live in mountainous areas. In
addition, Soviet-era environmentally-unfriendly industrial practices have left a legacy
of radioactive waste and pollution, particularly in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
There is wide economic disparity among the countries of the region, with Kazakhstan
ranked 56th, and Tajikistan 129th in the Human Development Index 2016. However,
external shocks such as the fall in oil prices and the economic downturn in Russia,
with which all countries in the region have strong economic linkages, have negatively
affected them since 2014. In 2016, all countries were affected by the devaluation of
the national currencies and, in the case of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and to a lesser
extent Uzbekistan, a halving of the remittances from migrant workers in Russia. The
economic growth forecast for the region has fallen to 3.5% - its lowest since the late
1990s.
Regardless of the fact that some countries have more resources than others to deal
with natural hazards, Disaster Risk Reduction measures have become a high
priority across the region. But while much progress has been achieved in the last
years, most countries do not have yet adequate legislative frameworks allowing for
the formulation of comprehensive disaster management plans.
The need to strengthen regional coordination and trans-boundary agreements to deal
with common threats and pulling of resources in case of major emergencies in
Central Asia is of paramount importance. In this regard, the inauguration in 2016 of
the regional Centre for Emergency Situations and Disaster Risk Reduction (CESDRR)
in Almaty, Kazakhstan, is a welcome development. The offshoot of a past DIPECHO
project, the CESDRR will also provide a platform to document and share good
practices on DRR, and follow-up on the achievements of Sendai indicators throughout
the region.
*All the latest ECHO Factsheets:
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ECHO Factsheet – Central Asia
May 2017 - Page 2 /3
Conflict
In Kyrgyzstan, major ethnic clashes broke-out in Osh in June 2010, resulting in the
death of some 1000 and the temporary displacement of one million people. ECHO
provided €5 million to cover the basic needs of those affected (food, emergency
health, shelter, protection and essential house-hold items).
The European Union's Humanitarian Response
Since 1994, ECHO has provided over € 228 million to the Central Asia region, covering
both humanitarian aid in response to conflicts and natural disasters, and funding of
disaster risk reduction initiatives.
ECHO has been present in Central Asia for over two decades. It started its
humanitarian operations in response to the civil war in Tajikistan in 1994, and has
continued its support over the years to address both the impact of outbreaks of
violence throughout the region - such as the assistance to people affected during
inter-ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan in 2010 -, and recurrent natural disasters - such as
the food security crisis that hit Southern Tajikistan in 2012 as a result of a
particularly harsh winter.
In the recent past, small-scale support was provided on several occasions in response
to natural disasters across the region: the avalanches and mudflows in GornoBadakshan Autonomous Region (GBAR) and Rasht Valley Tajikistan in July 2015; the
earthquakes in Osh, Kyrgyzstan (October 2015) and in GBAR, Tajikistan (December
2015); and the floods in Rudaki and Penjikent districts of Sughd Region in Tajikistan
in May 2016.
Since 2003, ECHO has increasingly expanded its disaster preparedness activities in
the region under its flagship Disaster risk Reduction programme, known as DIPECHO.
In total, over 110 projects have been funded, amounting to over €44 million.
DIPECHO’s ninth action plan for
Central
Asia
(2016-2017)
encourages partners to adapt
previously
successful
community-based disaster risk
reduction models to existing
needs
and
contexts,
and
facilitate coordination between
development
partners
and
government agencies to ensure
disaster risk reduction measures
are integrated in local, state
German Red Cross: DRR Workshop in Dushanbe
and national development
plans. It also supports the implementation of programmes related to school safety and
mitigating urban disaster risks.
*All the latest ECHO Factsheets:
bit.ly/echo-fs
ECHO Factsheet – Central Asia
May 2017 - Page 3 /3