$250m GCF boost for ADB’s ‘Glaciers to Farms’ climate plan

The Green Climate Fund has approved $250 million for the Asian Development Bank’s ‘Glaciers to Farms’ initiative, an adaptation program aimed at protecting glacier-dependent communities across Pakistan, Central Asia and the South Caucasus. The grant will complement a planned $3.25 billion ADB investment over the next decade. The package will finance irrigation upgrades, water storage, watershed management and early-warning systems to counter rising risks from droughts, floods and glacial lake outburst events. In Pakistan, the program focuses on the Swat River basin and is expected to directly benefit around 13 million people across roughly 27 million hectares. ADB officials described rapid glacial retreat as a complex regional threat that demands long-term solutions, while GCF representatives said the initiative sets a benchmark for cross-border resilience planning. Beyond infrastructure, the plan will support social protection, health services and access to finance—particularly for women-led agricultural businesses—to strengthen local livelihoods as climate pressures intensify.