ADB approves $35 million project to reduce landslide risk in Kyrgyz Republic
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $35 million financing package to help reduce landslide risk in the Kyrgyz Republic by deploying advanced technologies and international best practices.
The package consists of a $23.5 million grant and an $11.5 million loan. Under the project, landslide risk to communities and infrastructure will be reduced with landslide mitigation measures, improved monitoring systems, and strengthened landslide risk management.
“This is ADB’s first integrated and preemptive disaster risk reduction project for landslides. It will combine engineering, technology, and nature-based solutions with community-based planning and capacity building for sustainable landslide safety,” said ADB Senior Climate Change Specialist Nathan Rive. “Given that climate change is expected to increase the frequency of landslides through earlier snowmelt, melting permafrost, and more intense precipitation events, this project will be vitally important for protecting rural communities.”
The Kyrgyz Republic, particularly the southern provinces of Jalal-Abad and Osh, is highly prone to landslides because of its rainfall patterns, geology, land cover, and high seismic activity. About 30,000 people in 550 settlements face immediate landslide risks.
ADB’s support will help to reduce communities’ exposure to landslides through engineering measures such as unloading soil overburden, reshaping bulging or cracked areas on hillsides, and draining underground and surface water. Nature-based solutions, including regreening, timber retaining, and drainage structures, will be implemented.
The project will establish a landslide monitoring system that combines on-site monitoring with national-level monitoring using satellite-based radar technology which will be piloted to monitor surface displacements and analyze historical slope movement.
The project will develop a gender-sensitive national landslide risk management road map to guide future landslide risk management interventions. This will be accompanied by government and community stakeholder capacity building for landslide risk assessment, mitigation, and resettlement.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.