International Conference on Mountains, Climate and Health in Central Asia

Mountainous Central Asia is emerging as one of the world’s most climate-exposed regions, with warming rates exceeding the global average and accelerating impacts on: human physical and mental health, food systems, water security, and infrastructure. Rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, glacier retreat, and more frequent extreme events are no longer distant risks; they are already reshaping patterns of illness, mortality, nutrition, and access to essential services across the region.

Mountain regions sit at the frontline of climate–health interaction. They experience climate change earlier, more intensely, and more systemically than many lowland settings, with cascading effects on water security, food systems, infectious disease dynamics, maternal and child health, mental health, and access to essential services. At the same time, mountains concentrate vulnerability and resilience: fragile ecologies, dispersed populations, constrained infrastructure, and limited health-system reach, alongside deep local knowledge and adaptive practices.

Despite this, mountain contexts remain under-represented in global climate and health research, policy frameworks, and financing mechanisms. Evidence generated in urban or lowland settings is often inappropriately transferred to high-altitude, remote, and transboundary regions.

This conference positions mountains not as a sub-case of climate and health, but as a critical lens through which the climate–health nexus must be understood, with Central Asia’s mountain systems offering insights of global relevance.

What makes mountainous Central Asia particularly significant is not only the scale of exposure, but the intersection of climatic stress with constrained systems. Health services, water and sanitation infrastructure, food supply chains, and governance capacities are often fragile, unevenly distributed, and under-resourced – especially in mountain and peripheral regions. As a result, climate impacts are transmitted rapidly and unevenly through social systems, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations.

It is within this context that the University of Central Asia (UCA) convenes the International Conference on Mountains, Climate and Health in Central Asia. As a development university anchored in mountain regions, UCA brings together climate science, public health, policy analysis, and applied research to explore how integrated, systems-oriented approaches can strengthen health resilience in some of the world’s most climate-exposed environments. The conference will provide a platform for researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and development partners to advance evidence, share experience, and shape regionally grounded responses at the intersection of climate change and human health.

Objectives

The International Mountains, Climate and Health in Central Asia Conference will bring together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and development partners from Central Asia and beyond to share emerging evidence, applied research, and case studies at the intersection of climate change and human health.

The conference is expected to generate policy-relevant insights, strengthened research and practice networks, and a small set of regionally grounded recommendations to inform future research, programming, and investment.

Specifically, the conference will achieve this through:

• Sharing and synthesising evidence and practice on climate-related health risks, with particular attention to vulnerable populations, rural and peripheral communities, and mountain ecosystems.
• Examining adaptation and mitigation strategies that integrate health considerations into climate policy, planning, and development programmes at local, national, and regional levels.
• Fostering cross-sectoral collaboration among health professionals, climate scientists, policymakers, and community stakeholders in mountain regions to support integrated and systems-oriented responses.
• Generating actionable recommendations to strengthen health systems, improve preparedness, and inform policy and investment decisions related to climate-related health risks in mountain regions of Central Asia.

The Conference will also serve as an evidence-building and dialogue platform contributing to preparations for the Bishkek +25 Global Mountain Summit scheduled for October 2027, ensuring that health dimensions are fully integrated into global and regional mountain policy discussions.

Thematic Framework: Climate, Health, and Interconnected Systems

The conference is structured around three interlinked system pathways through which climate change affects human physical and mental health in Central Asia. Each pathway will be examined across scales – from household and community impacts to national policy and regional cooperation – with particular attention to mountain regions and other vulnerable contexts.

1. Climate, Food Systems, and Health: This theme explores how climate variability and extreme events affect food availability, nutrition, and health outcomes, particularly in rural and mountain regions. Discussions will examine climate-induced stresses on agricultural productivity, food supply chains, and dietary diversity, and their implications for malnutrition, child health, and long-term human development in mountain regions.
2. Climate, Water Systems, and Health: This theme focuses on the links between climate change, water availability and quality, sanitation, and disease risk across local and transboundary scales. Topics include glacier retreat and seasonal water scarcity; flood and drought impact on settlements and health infrastructure; water-borne and vector-related diseases; and the implications for public health preparedness in both urban and remote settings of the mountain regions.
3. Climate, Air Quality, and Health: This theme examines how rising temperatures, changing atmospheric conditions, and land-use pressures affect air quality and respiratory, cardiovascular and mental health. Particular attention will be paid to heat–air pollution interactions, indoor air quality in cold and high-altitude environments, and the physical and mental health implications of energy, heating, and transport transitions.

Cross-cutting focus: Data, AI, and Decision-making for Climate–Health Resilience: Across all thematic areas, a dedicated cross-cutting strand will explore how data science, artificial intelligence, and digital tools can strengthen climate–health research, early warning systems, and policy decision-making relevant to the mountainous regions of Central Asia. Sessions will showcase emerging applications, examine ethical and governance considerations, and explore how technological innovation can support more anticipatory, preventive, and equitable responses to climate-related health risks.

Participants

The conference will bring together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and development partners working at the intersection of climate change and human health, with a particular focus on Central Asia. In addition to strong regional representation, the conference will deliberately incorporate international comparative perspectives, drawing on expertise from institutions and contexts where climate–health research and practice are well developed.

The conference is expected to welcome participants from Central Asia and beyond, creating a balanced mix of regional experience and global insight.

Conference Mode and Format

The conference will be predominantly in person, with Bishkek serving as the primary venue for discussion and exchange. Limited online participation may be made available for selected sessions to broaden access, particularly for international contributors who are unable to attend in person.

The programme will comprise a mix of keynote addresses, scientific tracks, plenary sessions, poster and media presentations, and networking opportunities, designed to facilitate both high-level dialogue and more focused, interactive exchange among participants. It will also feature a high-level plenary roundtable, From Climate-Health to Policy and Practice: Pathways to Action in Climate-Exposed Regions, drawing on experience from across the Aga Khan Development Network and other international partners to explore pathways from evidence to implementation.

Partners

The conference will be organised by UCA in collaboration with a range of national, regional, and international partners, who will help ensure strong regional relevance, high academic quality, and meaningful policy engagement.

Partnerships may include co-convening sessions, contributing speakers, supporting dissemination, or linking conference outputs to ongoing policy and programme processes.

Registration

Conference registration will be free of charge and will be available through an online registration form below. All costs associated with participation, including travel and accommodation, will be borne by participants unless otherwise specified.

Register