From Awareness to Action: How Climate Education Inspires Activism in Central Asia

by Shoira Olimova, Marzhan Tajiyeva

Members of Climate Alliance on Education on a meeting at CAPS Unlock office to refine the work plan and outline future activities.

“There is an urgent need to transform how climate change and sustainability are taught in classrooms and schools. Learners must grasp the environmental impacts of climate change, how climate change relates to their own context, and what actions can be undertaken and contribute to making societies more sustainable, equitable, just, and climate-resilient.”

UNESCO Education 2030 Report

Climate-related issues nowadays have become very significant due to the increasing impacts of climate change, which disproportionately affect vulnerable communities. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and environmental degradation exacerbate inequalities, as poorer nations and marginalized groups often bear the brunt of the damage despite contributing the least to global emissions. This has highlighted the need for climate justice, which seeks not only to mitigate climate change but also to address the social, economic, and ethical dimensions of its impacts, ensuring that solutions are equitable and inclusive for all.

To address these issues, we have to start learning climate and environmental-related topics early on, integrating them into educational systems to raise awareness and foster responsibility from a young age. By educating students on the science behind climate change, sustainable practices, and the importance of environmental stewardship, we can empower future generations to make informed decisions, advocate for policies that prioritize climate justice, and adopt sustainable lifestyles. This foundational knowledge is crucial for creating a society capable of responding to the climate crisis with innovative, equitable solutions.

In Central Asia, ecological education is gaining attention but remains underdeveloped across the region. Kazakhstan has made the most progress, integrating environmental topics into the school curriculum and benefiting from government initiatives and civil society organizations (CSOs) involvement, although the practical application is still limited. Kyrgyzstan also incorporates ecological topics in subjects like biology and geography but lacks a mandatory, comprehensive ecological education program. In both countries, CSOs play a key role in raising environmental awareness, though rural areas still face significant challenges, such as limited resources and inadequate teacher training.

Infographic on the importance of ecological education.

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan have started incorporating environmental topics into their education systems, but ecological education remains inconsistent and often secondary to other subjects. While international agencies have launched projects to promote environmental literacy — especially in addressing issues like desertification and water scarcity — there is a need for more structured, hands-on ecological education. Across Central Asia, common challenges include underfunded schools, particularly in rural areas, and the lack of dedicated ecological curricula and trained educators to effectively teach environmental sustainability.

Climate Alliance on Education in Central Asia

In response to the need for more structured, hands-on ecological education that also incorporates climate change education, CAPS UNlock, a policy center with a focus on Central Asia, together with the regional office of the UNESCO Almaty Regional Office, initiated the regional Climate Alliance on Education in Central Asia. Climate Alliance on Education in Central Asia includes notable organizations such as Rivers without Boundaries, UNESCO, the Youth Group for Environmental Protection and Little Earth from Tajikistan, the Youth Eco-Center and Move Green from Kyrgyzstan, as well as Uzbekistan’s Ekomaktab and Eco NGO “Zarafshan.” These groups are vital in advancing climate justice within their respective regions.

The International Accountability Project (IAP) is actively participating as a member of Climate Alliance on Education in Central Asia, collaborating with other representatives from regional CSOs and educational institutions across Central Asia. IAP’s involvement centers on advancing climate justice within the Central Asian context. According to Early Warning System (EWS) data, over 730 projects have been launched in Central Asian countries between January 2020 and September 2024. These initiatives, particularly within the sectors of energy (171 projects), industry and trade (148 projects), and infrastructure and agriculture (72 projects), have specifically addressed climate-related concerns. All development projects must prioritize environmental protection, a goal best achieved when those overseeing such projects possess foundational knowledge of the environment and climate.

Programs under IAP such as IAP’s Energy Finance Tracker and campaign on Stop Financing Factory Farming and Investor-State Dispute Settlement in fossil fuel sector have the potential to significantly enhance climate and environmental education by supporting sessions in educational institutions. Within human rights education, IAP also produces Community Action Guides and other curricula to demystify the development process and offer strategies for community-led solutions. These contributions involve providing essential data, ecological protection strategies, global case studies, and fostering a deeper understanding of the need to maintain a clean climate and environment.

Research has been conducted in four countries, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan to determine the focus of Climate Alliance on Education in Central Asia program on climate change education. The research reveals that climate change education is limited in practice, despite its mention in national policies, with curricula focusing more on environmental or disaster preparedness topics. In addition, climate change education lacks coordinated national efforts and funding, with no strong monitoring systems, making progress and accountability weak. There’s a gap between climate policy goals and actual implementation in education, as seen in unfulfilled commitments like those from Kyrgyzstan at COP26.

Climate Alliance on Education Program Implementation

To facilitate the implementation of the climate change education program in Central Asia, the Climate Alliance on Education in Central Asia was established, comprising representatives from civil society, educational institutions, international organizations, and activists from four Central Asian countries.

There have been three rounds of meetings among committee members to refine the work plan and outline future activities. It is important to note that these initiatives will require several years to fully develop and will necessitate further efforts to emphasize the issue’s significance.

During the meeting discussions, it was found out that governments should create a National Forum for climate change education coordination, train officials for effective resource management, and secure sustainable funding. Universities need to integrate climate change education into teacher training and serve as resource centers while collaborating with local CSOs. Schools should support teachers’ professional development, adopt eco-friendly practices, and engage with local organizations. Youth must be included in climate dialogues through councils and provided with funding for local projects. CSOs should participate in decision-making processes and raise climate awareness, while international organizations should facilitate a Central Asian platform for knowledge sharing and support relevant research and monitoring systems.

During the third round of the conference Climate Change Education in Central Asia: Think and Do for a Better Future on August 28–29, 2024, a roundtable was held where members of Climate Alliance on Education in Central Asia and representatives from ministries and agencies working in the fields of education, environmental protection, ecology, and natural resources from the four Central Asian countries discussed opportunities and barriers to cooperation. They outlined approaches to building an effective strategy for advancing climate education in our region.

Related IAP article: Community-Led Approaches for a Just Transition

Launch of the “Turn It Around” Climate Card Contest for Central Asian Youth

One of the current work activities of Climate Alliance on Education in Central Asia will be based on The Central Asia Turn it Around (TIA) deck of the climate cards project. TIA is a collection of cards designed to encourage a re-evaluation of educational responses to contemporary climate and environmental crises. This toolkit features sets of cards created by youth, including school and university students, who express their concerns through unique illustrations and text. The TIA cards serve as a valuable resource for teaching and discussions on climate change, reflecting young people’s aspirations and expectations for climate change curriculum content and aligning with national education policy priorities. TIA project has been carried out in other countries including the United States, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Kenya, South Africa, India, Australia, and Japan.

Example of illustration for Turn It Around climate card project.
Example of Turn It Around climate card project.

In a call to action for young climate advocates, a new contest invites youth across Central Asia to creatively address climate change issues through a unique art and text-based project, the TIA climate card deck. This initiative, spearheaded by CAPS Unlock in partnership with UNESCO Almaty Regional Office and Climate Alliance on Education in Central Asia, encourages youth up to 25 years old from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to submit their artwork or written reflections on a variety of climate-related themes.

The contest opens to entries from November 1, 2024 to January 31, 2025, and aims to engage youth on topics ranging from the impacts of energy production on climate to the effects of climate change on water resources, food systems, and regional ecosystems. Participants can also explore human connections with nature, biodiversity, and youth-led climate activism. Winning submissions will be included in an internationally distributed card deck, designed as an educational tool to foster climate awareness across Central Asia and beyond.

This contest aims to provide a platform for the voices of young people to resonate in the ongoing climate dialogue. Through art and writing, participants can share their visions of a sustainable future and contribute to broader climate education efforts.

Notably, this initiative promotes equal representation among boys and girls and prohibits the use of artificial intellegence in the creation of submissions, emphasizing authenticity and personal expression. Finalists will be awarded international certificates and will see their work featured in a unique deck intended to support climate education in schools and public institutions.

Ecological education is essential for shaping a future in which people live in harmony with nature. By starting in schools, we can instill an ethic of sustainability and ecological responsibility that can create positive, long-term impacts on individuals, communities, and the planet.

For more information about Turn It Around: Central Asian Climate Cards Deck project, please visit the CAPS Unlock website, Instagram, and Facebook.

About the Author

Shoira Olimova serves as the Community Organizer for the South Caucasus and Central Asia at the International Accountability Project (IAP). IAP knows that the impacts of climate change are disproportionately borne by communities that lack political and economic power in the decision-making processes affecting their lands, livelihoods, and environment. Read more about IAP’s actions on Climate Justice internationally. Within human rights education, IAP produces Community Action Guides and other curricula to demystify the development process and offer strategies for community-led solutions.

Marzhan Tajiyeva, is Climate Change Education Coordinator at CAPS Unlock, a Central Asia-focused policy center in the tradition of Europe’s “think-and-do” tanks. CAPS Unlock tracks and anticipates important policy developments and challenges in the region, commission or conduct in-depth analyses, publish critiques and recommendations, and make grants to nongovernmental organizations and others to test policy alternatives and proposed solutions.

--

--

International Accountability Project (IAP)
International Accountability Project (IAP)

Written by International Accountability Project (IAP)

IAP is a human and environmental rights organization that works with communities, civil society and social movements to change how today’s development is done.

No responses yet