The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $35 million financing package to help reduce landslide risk in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization reports.
According to it, the package consists of a $23.5 million grant and an $11.5 million loan.
«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 Jalal-Abad and Osh regions, 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.
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.
