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Non -coastal developing countries – climatic alliance in facing risks

The agreement came at the conference currently held in “Awza”, Turkmenistan. This negotiating bloc will work within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, with the aim of upholding the voices of these countries in global climate negotiations, as it is often ignored because of its fragility.

Unpublished climate risks

Non -coastal developing countries* about 12 % of the land area in the world, but they have incurred nearly 20 % of droughts and landslides over the past decade, highlighting the extent of exposure to climate -related disasters.

Because of the absence of direct access to the sea, these countries rely heavily on neighboring transit countries, which increases their fragility in front of climate change.

Although the “Awza Work Program” is not the first global framework that addresses the needs of these countries, for the first time, the action plan includes this strong focus on adapting to climate -related disasters.

An invitation to promote steadfastness and preparation

In an interview with United Nations news, Natalia Alonso Kano, head of the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, indicated that these countries face overlapping risks, the majority of their lands are classified as dry areas, and many of them are located in mountainous or epileptic areas.

She said: “The non -coastal countries generally incur economic losses that are three times the global average, and their death rates during disasters exceed the global average, as a result of complex fragility and improper impacts“.

Limited capabilities and increasing challenges

These countries suffer from a weakness in financial ability, economic dependence on unusual initial exports, and weakness in governance. In 2024, a third of these countries was suffering from disputes or unstable.

For ten years, the new work program aims to support these countries in climate adaptation, sustainable development, and reduce disaster risk.

Ms. Alonso Kano added: “We know that early warning saves lives, this is a fact. When we can inform the affected societies of the occurrence of a disaster and the need to prepare for them – for example – they need to take certain measures. If they know what they must do, this is part of the early warning system. It is clear that it saves lives, and maintains livelihoods as well.“.

She stressed the importance of long -term planning, saying: “We have to take into account what will happen after 10, 20 or 30 years. Climate change will definitely become more severe, and we are sure of that“.

Women and girls in the interface

Women and girls are among the most affected groups in these countries, making the gender a major axis in Thursday’s activities in “Awza”. The Undersecretary of the Secretary -General of the United Nations, Rabab Fatima, opened the “Women’s Leadership Forum”, stressing that sustainable development cannot be achieved without the full participation of women and girls.

Mrs. Fatima, the high representative of the least developed countries, non -coastal, developing countries and small developing countries, pointed to the progress made over the past twenty -five years: women now occupy a third of the parliamentary seats in non -coastal developing countries, compared to only 7.8% in 2000.

She said: “This is higher than the global average“11 out of 54 parliamentary speakers belong to non -coastal developing countries.

Gender gaps

Challenges are still ongoing. “The progress is very varied and slow. Where one of every four women lives in non -coastal developing countries in extreme poverty – that is, nearly 75 million women; Nearly half of them – about 150 million women – faces food insecurity“.

Employment statistics show wide variations between the sexes. While 80% of women in non -coastal developing countries work unofficially, without contracts or protection, the global average is 56%.

A girl from three girls in these countries is married early – that is, nearly twice the global average – and only one in three complements her secondary education. In addition, only 36% of women in these countries have access to the Internet.

For this reason, Mrs. Fatima stressed the importance of industrial and development policies that pursue gender and added: “These policies must be designed in proportion to the national contexts, while priority is given to rural areas, business support, the formal nature of job opportunities, and the promotion of partnerships“.

Digital inclusion of women and girls

It also called for improving access to internet and education for women and girls.

International Telecommunication UnionA United Nations specialized agency, which addresses these challenges, where Dr. Cosmas Lakisin Zavazava, Director of the Union of United Nations Communications Development Office stated that while some areas have achieved the gender equal access to the Internet, non -coastal developing countries are still facing great obstacles.

He added that for this reason, special programs were developed for women and girls in this region, and he said: “Not only does it provide access opportunities, but also includes building programming skills and introducing girls to areas such as robots. Our programs aim to motivate young women and girls to seek jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

From sayings to verbs

With the “Awza” conference approaching the conclusion of its work, the participants are expected to confirm on Friday their political commitment to implementing the “Awaza Work Program”, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2024.

It is time to implement – or as the Semitic actress Rabab Fatima said: “Let’s make this forum a turning point“.


*List of countries classified as a non -coastal developing countries:

Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Swatini, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the People’s Democratic Republic, Lesuto, Malawi, Mali, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

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