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Center for Natural Resources and Sustainability DKU

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  • Strobehn Katrin

    Current challenges in Central Asian water governance and their implications for research, higher education, and science-policy interaction

    Year: 2025

    Collections: Scientific Publications

    Topics: Water, IWRM

    Authors: Gafurov A., Ziganshina Dinara, Assubayeva A., Nodir Djanibekov, Abdullaev Iskandar, Bobojonov Ihtiyor, Dombrowsky Ines, Hamidov Ahmad, Herrfahrdt-Pähle Elke, Janusz-Pawletta Barbara, Ishangulyyev Rovshen, Kasymov Ulan, Mirkasimov Bakhrom, Petrick Martin, Strobehn Katrin

    Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan

    Source: water-ca.org

    Political tensions over water management in the Central Asia region have intensified since the Soviet era, as ecological issues like the drying Aral Sea and seasonal hydropower disruptions impact downstream countries. The paper discusses the region’s water governance challenges, including climate-induced uncertainties, water resource demands, and the limited capacity of local research institutions. While Central Asia’s governments have initiated reforms, including new infrastructure and agreements, resilience in water management remains underdeveloped. The paper also explores the role of higher education institutions in fostering capacity-building for sustainable governance, emphasizing the need for local expertise and regional collaboration. The proposed establishment of a Central Asian water research platform aims to enhance science-policy integration, promote sustainable water governance, and support informed regional cooperation on transboundary water issues.



  • Sükrü Dursun

    Assessing the Efficiency and Role of Duckweed (Lemna Minor) in the Removal of Pollutants from Wastewater Treatment Plant Secondary Clarifier Tanks: A Comprehensive Review

    Year: 2024

    Collections: Scientific Publications

    Topics: Water

    Authors: Abdul Wahed Ahmadi, Sükrü Dursun

    Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan

    Source: https://water-ca.org/

    Aquatic plants, including duckweed (Lemna minor), are increasingly utilized in sewage and wastewater treat-ment to improve pollution parameters and organic matter removal.



  • Sultanbekova A.K.

    Karizes and Current Prospects for Their Use in Kazakhstan.

    Year: 2021

    Collections: Research Paper

    Topics: Irrigation

    Authors: Mitusov A., Sultanbekova A.K., Sagintayev J.M., Azami A.

    Countries: Kazakhstan

    Source: Central Asian Journal of Water Research



  • Susan Legro

    Climate change and health in Central Asia: a literature review

    Year: 2024

    Collections: Scientific Publications

    Topics: Climate

    Authors: Susan Legro

    Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan

    Source: Central Asian Journal of Sustainability and Climate Research

    Countries in Central Asia, which are highly vulnerable to climate change, experience a variety of health-related impacts to which they must adapt. At the same time, climate mitigation interventions in the health sector in the form of reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions may also generate co-benefits. This article briefly outlines current understanding of the relationship between climate change impacts and human health in Central Asia and establishes a scope of inquiry based on climate and health linkages as identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It then identifies and summarizes existing research and reporting on this topic in the region as presented in published literature, country reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and gray literature, including policy literature and documentation of donor-funded development interventions in the region. This review, which attempts to summarize and appraise those efforts, has found that both peer-reviewed and grey literature on this topic must be used with caution. The most frequent problems with peer-reviewed and grey literature resources involved confounding bias, and—to a lesser extent—self-reporting bias. The use of an appraisal framework for grey literature sources can frame these diverse resources in the proper context, identify potential shortcomings, and gain insights into current priorities and future direction for research on climate change and health in the region.



  • Susanne Schmeier

    International Water Law Principles in Negotiations and Water Diplomacy

    Year: 2021

    Collections: Scientific Publications, Review article

    Topics: Water diplomacy Water, Water law,

    Authors: Susanne Schmeier

    Countries:

    Source: American Journal of International Law, 115, 173-177

    International water law (IWL) principles are often called upon to address disagreements and conflict between riparian states to a shared watercourse, with various parties invoking them to guide states’ behavior towards cooperative solutions that benefit the water resources as well as broader regional cooperation and peace. This essay argues that it is particularly important to acknowledge the role IWL principles play in negotiation processes, that is, in an ex ante and non-judicial function, providing a framework for cooperation and contributing to lawmaking, which makes them important tools of international relations and water diplomacy.


    Anchoring water diplomacy – The legal nature of international river basin organizations

    Year: 2018

    Collections: Scientific Publications, Review article

    Topics: Water, Water diplomacy

    Authors: Susanne Schmeier, Zaki Shubber

    Countries:

    Source: Journal of Hydrology

    Water diplomacy needs institutional anchoring. International River Basin Organizations (RBOs) – being the result of diplomatic efforts by riparian states intending to create a framework for cooperation between themselves over shared water bodies – can provide such institutional anchors. RBOs ensure that agreements to cooperate are turned into a long-term commitment by riparian states to jointly manage shared water resources and, in turn, foster mutually beneficial cooperation over time. RBOs have been the subject of detailed examinations of their conceptual core, of their manifold functions, of their effectiveness in achieving their goals and so forth. However, the legal nature of these entities has so far received limited attention notwithstanding its significance in empowering RBOs to act as institutional anchors for water diplomacy.


    Diving into Water Diplomacy – Exploring the Emergence of a Concept

    Year: 2022

    Collections: Scientific Publications, Review article

    Topics: Water diplomacy, Water, Water governance

    Authors: Bota Sharipova, Susanne Schmeier, Rozemarijn ter Horst, Alyssa Offutt, Jenniver Sehring

    Countries:

    Source: Diplomatica, 4(2), 200-221

    Based on a review of academic and policy documents, we analyze the variety of understandings and common patterns in the definition of water diplomacy. We also analyze tools, tracks, and levels through which and at which water diplomacy is conducted or analyzed.


    Reflections on transboundary water conflict and cooperation trends

    Year: 2024

    Collections: Scientific Publications, Review article

    Topics: Water, Climate, Water governance

    Authors: Susanne Schmeier, Alexandra Turgul, Melissa McCracken, Zoe H. Rosenblum, Lynette de Silva, Aaron T. Wolf

    Countries:

    Source: Water International, 49(3-4), 274-288

    This article explores major findings and evolutions in understandings of transboundary water conflict and cooperation over the last three decades, focusing on the trends emerging from the Transboundary Freshwater Diplomacy Database. It is found that since the 1940s, countries tend to cooperate over shared water resources, in contrast to media portrayals of 'water wars'. Water conflicts, which have increased slightly since 2000, are mostly fuelled by water quantity disputes or unilateral infrastructure developments. Institutions play a role in facilitating cooperation and reducing conflict over shared waters, but their growth and adoption have slowed over the last few decades.



  • Susanne Schmeier

    River Basin Organizations in Water Diplomacy

    Year: 2020

    Collections: Books

    Topics: Water, Sustainable Development, Irrigation, IWRM, NEXUS, Water law, Water governance, Water diplomacy, Transboundary Water Resources, Water Security

    Authors: Anoulak Kittikhoun, Susanne Schmeier

    Countries:

    Source: Routledge

    River Basin Organizations in Water Diplomacy explores the role of River Basin Organizations (RBOs) in preventing and resolving conflicts related to transboundary water resources. Through a comparative analysis of international river basins, the book examines how institutional mechanisms, legal frameworks, and diplomatic tools promote cooperation among states and support the sustainable management of shared water resources.



  • Szyzdykova Raushan

    Energy Transition in Central Asia: a Short Review

    Year: 2022

    Collections: Scientific Publications

    Topics: Energy

    Authors: Rokita Dagmar, Sawatzki Rainer, Szyzdykova Raushan

    Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan

    Source:



  • Tabatabaie Tayebeh

    The Effects of Pre-Ozonation on Drinking Water Quality Parameters

    Year: 2021

    Collections: Research Paper

    Topics: Water

    Authors: Masoomi B., Jaafarzadeh N., Tabatabaie Tayebeh, Jorfi S., Kouhgardi E.

    Countries: Iran

    Source: Central Asian Journal of Water Research



  • Taganova J.

    A new strategy for merging the environmental and commerce challenges of the Caspian

    Year: 2023

    Collections: Research Paper

    Topics: Water, Green business

    Authors: Hutson N., Taganova J.

    Countries: Kazakhstan

    Source: Central Asian Journal of Water Research

    Recent geopolitical events have thrust the Caspian region into a time of unparalleled opportunity. Specifically, the Middle Corridor (“MC”) has been presented as a potential savior for trans-Eurasian commerce. At the same time, its success relies on a sea that is in an ecologically precarious state.



  • Taisarinova A.

    Evaluation of transport corridor effects on sustainability: Kazakhstan case study

    Year: 2022

    Collections: Scientific Publications

    Topics: Sustainable Development, Transportation and logistics

    Authors: Taisarinova A.

    Countries: Kazakhstan

    Source: Central Asian Journal of Sustainability and Climate Research

    This research aimed to identify the implementation level of Task 9.1 (Sustainable Development Goal 9) in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The literature review under this study also allowed assessing the degree to which the transport corridors impact the sustainable development of the Central Asian Region. In addition, 97 companies were surveyed and 51 extended interviews were conducted as part of the CILT Central Asia Project to assess the effects of transport corridors on businesses. The study has revealed significant gaps in the SDG9 data collection system, specifically, the need to integrate indicators on the impacts of building new infrastructure in the information collection system for SDG9 evaluation.



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