Year: 2018
Collections: Opinion Paper
Topics: Water, Water law
Authors: Burchi Stefano
Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
Year: 2020
Collections: Scientific Publications
Topics: Water, Water diplomacy
Authors: Harlan Koff, Carmen Maganda, Edith Kauffer
Countries:
Source: Water International
Water diplomacy aims to shift water disputes from zero-sum games into positive-sum cooperation models though actor-driven approaches. Small states are often viewed as facilitators of diplomacy through a commitment to regionalism and consensus, which highlights their influence in international affairs. Responding to the research question, ‘How do “non-decisions” lead to status quo in water diplomacy?’ this article discusses how regional water diplomacy based on influence is weakened by the domestic shortcomings of small states’ political systems, where authorities use non-decision-making to maintain a status quo that guarantees their legitimized power.
Year: 2024
Collections: Policy Briefs
Topics: Sustainable Development, Management
Authors: Usman Muhammad, Liebelt Peter, Catalin Stefan, Klara Dzhakypbekova
Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
Source:
The question of suitable approaches and technologies for more effective and environmentally friendly management of natural resources has great relevance for the countries of Central Asia in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the wide range of natural resources, Central Asia is still facing increasing land degradation and water scarcity. These problems are being accelerated by land-use pressure and climate change, which is particularly severe in Central Asia. The following recommendations are developed together with scientists from international projects on the use of GIS technologies and modelling approaches for more sustainable resource management.
Year: 2024
Collections: Scientific Publications
Topics: Water, Sustainable Development
Authors: Catalin Stefan, Jana Sallwey, Nurlan Ongdas, Mohammad Al-Hosban
Countries: Kazakhstan
Source: https://water-ca.org
MAR remains relatively underutilized in Central Asia despite its potential to address water scarcity issues, particularly those related to seasonal fluctuations in water availability. Thus, the objective of this study was to produce a map depicting the potential suitability of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) implementation in Kazakhstan. Employing a multi-criteria decision analysis framework, five distinct physical criteria were integrated and visualized within a Geographic Information System (GIS) to delineate the intrinsic potential for MAR. To demonstrate the practical utility of the generated map, it was applied to the Zhambyl region in Southern Kazakhstan, an area previously afflicted by water scarcity challenges. The intrinsic MAR potential map was overlaid with remote sensing data identifying potential water sources and water utilization patterns. This overlay facilitated the identification of priority areas with potential for further evaluation for MAR implementation. The map developed for Kazakhstan represents the first spatial representation of MAR potential within the region, serving to raise awareness regarding the feasibility of MAR application. It is anticipated that dissemination of this map will enhance understanding among water management professionals, potentially catalysing the integration of MAR methodologies into regional water management strategies.
Year: 2018
Collections:
Topics: Water, Water law, Water diplomacy, Water governance, Transboundary Water Resources, Water Security
Authors: Charlotte Grech-Madin, Stefan Döring, Kyungmee Kim, Ashok Swain
Countries:
Source: Journal of Hydrology
This article explores how water diplomacy can be strengthened through multi-level governance approaches. Drawing on peace and conflict research, it highlights the importance of political norms, stakeholder engagement, and local-level data in improving cooperation over shared water resources and enhancing the effectiveness of water diplomacy.
Year: 2022
Collections: Scientific Publications
Topics: Climate
Authors: Aliyar Qurban, Collins Neil
Countries: Afghanistan
Source:
Year: 2022
Collections: Scientific Publications
Topics: Water, Irrigation, IWRM
Authors: Conrad Christopher, Usman Muhammad, Kenjabaev Shavkat, Ziganshina Dinara, Kussainova Maira, Nikolayenko Alexandr
Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan
Source:
Management interventions to increase water use efficiency in the irrigation sector of Central Asia were introduced but a scientific control instrument is still missing - The online tool WUEMoCA provides relevant irrigation performance indicators in the Aral Sea Basin from satellite data in combination with additional sources - WUEMoCA-based analysis of water security and water use efficiency showed: o 11 out of 33 provinces in the Aral Sea Basin were below the critical level to supply crop water demands for more than 5 years in 2000-2018. o Irrigation water use efficiency is very low in general (55%-60%) and scientific data hints at missing or failing water management interventions in the Amu Darya and Zarafshan basins. - WUEMoCA can strategically supplement the ongoing digitization efforts of the countries in the water sector. - By utilizing WUEMoCA-like tools, Central Asian governments and water management bodies will have new platforms for steering and assessing current and future strategic interventions in regional water management.
Year: 2023
Collections: Scientific Publications
Topics: Agriculture, Sustainable Development, Management
Authors: Conrad Christopher, Kussainova Maira, Schmidt G.
Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
Source: Central Asian Journal of Sustainability and Climate Research
The increasing demand for food, bioenergy and other agricultural products, as well as the intensification of climate change, pose special challenges for Central Asia’s agricultural sector in terms of implementing sustainable land management. Central Asia is a climate change hot spot. Adaptation measures of agricultural land use to climate change imply new trade-offs in terms of quality and provision of ecosystem services. Based on literature studies, this paper identifies examples of such trade-offs and presents possible solutions. The ecoregions of Central Asia show strong interdependencies. Therefore, a special focus has to be put on the transregional effects of the use of ecosystem services. Against the background of different concepts of sustainable development (ESS, SDG, Global Environmental Syndromes) integrative approaches for sustainable use and design of landscapes are necessary.
Year: 2017
Collections: Research Paper
Topics: IWRM, Water law, Water diplomacy, Transboundary Water Resources, Hydropolitics
Authors: Daria Boklan, Barbara Janusz-Pawletta
Countries:
Source: Environmental Earth Sciences
This article explores the legal challenges of managing transboundary watercourses in Central Asia in the context of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The authors analyze whether existing international, regional, and bilateral legal mechanisms are sufficient for regulating shared rivers such as the Syr Darya, Chu, Talas, Irtysh, Ural, and others.
Year: 2019
Collections:
Topics: Water diplomacy, Transboundary Water Resources, Water Security, Transboundary cooperation
Authors: Martina Klimes, David Michel, Elizabeth Yaari, Phillia Restiani
Countries:
Source: Journal of Hydrology
Why water diplomacy? What does diplomacy have to do with water? Is cooperation over transboundary surface and ground waters the exclusive domain of diplomats and foreign policy experts? Or mainly the purview of water professionals negotiating agreements on shared water resources? Why should non-governmental stakeholders be involved in transboundary water dialogues? These questions lie at the heart of debates and dialogues around the theory and practice of water diplomacy.
Year: 2018
Collections: Research Paper
Topics: Water governance, Water diplomacy, Hydropower
Authors: Denise Michèle Staubli Anoulak Kittikhoun,
Countries:
Source: Journal of Hydrology
The Mekong region, home to one of the world’s great rivers – the Mekong – is also one of the world’s most geostrategic regions, featuring seemingly conflicting interests among regional states including Viet Nam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia and world powers such as China and the United States of America.
For nearly a century, some of the riparian states have developed parts of the basin in their territories – to great benefits and harm – and recently the remaining late developing countries are catching up with water and related resources development plans to dam, withdraw and use the mighty Mekong to fund national progress and alleviate poverty.
World leaders, academics, NGOs, media and even some government officials have warned that the current rush to development is not only bringing a sure death to a great previously untamed river, potentially displacing millions of people, and threatening livelihoods, but would also usher in an era of aggravated tensions and possibly even conflict. The Mekong River Commission (MRC), tasked to manage the river for the sake of the environment and the people, is failing its mission with work that has been ineffective, uninfluential and wasted, critics say.
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