Tajikistan is home to nearly 14,000 glaciers, but more than a thousand have already disappeared.
The country has the largest number of glaciers in Central Asia and sits at the epicentre of regional glacier melt. As the impact grows, Tajikistan is leading the call for action and bringing the issue to the global stage.
On the side-lines of the first high-level International Conference on Glaciers' Preservation in Dushanbe, Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon proposed launching a major study of the country's glaciers and creating a regional research lab.
He also suggested focusing research efforts on the Vanch Yakh Glacier, formerly known as Fedchenko. It is the world's largest continental glacier and has already retreated by more than one kilometre over the past 80 years.
"Considering the fact that more than 60% of the region's glaciers are located in Tajikistan, I propose, in collaboration with development partners and research institutes, to organise a comprehensive expedition to study the glaciers of Tajikistan and establish a regional laboratory for glacier research," the president said.
The International Conference on Glaciers' Preservation gathered more than 2,000 people from more than 80 countries.
Among the high-profile guests were UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Iran's First Vice President Mohammed Reza Arif, Pakistan's Prime Minister Muhammad Shabaz Sharif and other international leaders.
The event marks an important step toward putting the UN's 2025 International Year of Glacier Preservation into action.
