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Pathways to water conflict transformation: Comparing North Crimea Canal and Kabul River Basin

Year: 2025

Collections: Scientific Publications

Topics: Water

Authors:

Countries: Afghanistan

Source: https://water-ca.org

This study explores pathways to transformation through a focus on water relations among states, examining the intersection of water resources management, political conflicts, and historical grievances: (1) Ukraine and Russia regarding North Crimea Canal; and (2) Afghanistan and Pakistan in Kabul River Basin. Using these cases to support water conflict prevention, this study explores water interactions (disputes, arrangements, and agreements) from the time of respective sovereign statehoods: Afghanistan (1919), Pakistan (1947), and Ukraine and Russia (1991) through to 2022. The design of this study incorporates the Transboundary Waters Interaction Nexus (TWINs) framework to assess past water interactions; with the Four Stages of Water Conflict Transformation framework, used to assess 2022 state-level relations to determine collaborative skills to cultivate water transformation. Findings indicate that while Ukraine- Russia water relations are adversarial, and Afghanistan-Pakistan are in the reflective negotiation stage—territorial disputes and political economic dynamics hamper cooperation, though points of leverage (such as neutral third-party mediation, shared environmental and economic interests, and water diplomacy and legal frameworks) exist. This research provides value through broadening preventative and transformative strategies in politically sensitive and geopolitically unstable regions—showing that water can be a catalyst for equity and regional securitization.


Routledge Handbook of Water Diplomacy

Year: 2025

Collections: Books

Topics: Water, Climate, Sustainable Development, Management, Water diplomacy, Water governance Gender, IWRM, Agriculture, Irrigation,

Authors: Shafiqul Islam, Kevin Smith, Martina Klimes, Aaron Salzberg

Countries: N/A

Source: Routledge

The Routledge Handbook of Water Diplomacy is a comprehensive guide to understanding and practicing water diplomacy – a framework for building relationships, negotiating shared interests, and managing complex water challenges across physical, political, and societal boundaries.


Изменения повторяемости атмосферных блокингов над регионами Казахстана в зимние месяцы 1960–2020 гг. и их влияние на температурные режимы

Year: 2025

Collections: Scientific Publications

Topics: Climate

Authors: Наурозбаева Ж. К., Холопцев А.В.

Countries: Kazakhstan

Source: water-ca.org

Изучены особенности пространственной и временной изменчивости повторяемости атмосферных блокингов над территорией Казахстана в зимние месяцы, а также вариаций ее температурного режима для зимних месяцев. При обнаружении атмосферных блокингов в качестве фактического материала использована информация об изменениях над территорией Казахстана среднечасовых значений атмосферного давления, которые приведены к уровню моря, а также аналогичных значений геопотенциала, соответствующих изобарическим поверхностям 850, 500 и 300 гПа. При оценке влияния атмосферных блокингов на термический режим регионов Казахстана как фактический материал использованы результаты его мониторинга, проводившегося на расположенных в них метеостанциях Казгидромета, а также информация из архивов и электронных ресурсов. Предложена методика обнаружения атмосферных блокингов, обобщающая процедуры, которые традиционно используются для решения рассматриваемой задачи, что позволило снизить вероятности возникающих при этом ошибок. Для различных секторов территории Казахстана для всех зимних месяцев оценены средние значения повторяемости атмосферных блокингов за 1960–2020 гг., продолжительность которых не менее 5–10 суток, тенденции ее межгодовых изменений на отрезках времени, соответствующих различным частям современного климатического периода. Определены климатические нормы повторяемости таких блокингов для современного климатического периода и их изменения по отношению к базовому климатическому периоду (1961–1990 гг.). Также изучено влияние рассматриваемых атмосферных блокингов на термический режим различных регионов Казахстана, который характерен для зимних месяцев. Выявлены регионы Казахстана, где в периоды рассматриваемых атмосферных блокингов возникали наибольшие изменения их термического режима.


Sustainable Land Management in Central Asia and Carbon Benefits

Year: 2024

Collections: Policy Briefs

Topics: Climate, Agriculture

Authors: Rieks Bosch

Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan

Source:

The fertility of soil is depending on the minerals

available, the structure of soil, organic matter

in soil, water availability and micro organisms

living in the soil. Together they determine most of the productivity of land.


GIS technologies and modelling approaches for more sustainable management of natural resources

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.


The challenge of doing good: promotion of recycling in Almaty through civic community initiatives

Year: 2024

Collections:

Topics: Climate, Sustainable Development

Authors: Aliya Tskhay, Nazilya Kulpeshova

Countries: Kazakhstan

Source: Central Asian Journal of Sustainability and Climate Research

Recycling is one of the key components in reduction of carbon emissions and improving environmental conditions, especially in the urban context. In Central Asia, the legislation and infrastructure necessary for waste management is still under development. Thus, the knowledge gap and public awareness campaigns are mostly done at the grassroots level. This paper looks at the case of recycling promotion through civic community initiatives that also have a charitable component in Almaty. It explores the ethical considerations that are being entangled with the introduction of recycling culture in the city and is grounded in the literature on civil society, environmental ethics and social entrepreneurship. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with organizers of recycling fairs and NGOs working on recycling. The paper reveals that by appealing to the ethical considerations of people to “do good” and contribute to charitable cause, the organizers of the recycling fair also demonstrate the effects of over-consumerism, ways of doing waste management, and educate about reuse and upcycle culture. The single case of Darmarka in Almaty present a limitation of the study. Therefore, a more in-depth research on the organisation of Darmarka events in other cities in Kazakhstan and CIS, as well as on similar initiatives in other Central Asian countries would be beneficial in the future. This is an important contribution in understanding what challenges and opportunities exist in promotion of recycling in Central Asia, that can be useful to national governments, experts, and international organizations working in this area.


Visible light photocatalytic degradation of HDPE microplastics using vanadium-doped titania

Year: 2024

Collections: Scientific Publications

Topics: Water

Authors: Esther Mbuci Kinyua, George William Atwoki Nyakairu, Emmanuel Tebandeke, Oghenekaro Nelson Odume

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

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

Efficient strategies are necessary to effectively remove microplastics (MPs), which are widely present in the environment. Among various techniques, photocatalysis using visible light has emerged as a promising ap-proach to tackle the growing concerns surrounding microplastic waste.


Low-cost filtering materials for domestic water treatment

Year: 2024

Collections: Scientific Publications

Topics: Water

Authors: Nematullah Fetrat, Ahmad Reza Rostayee, Sai Kala

Countries: Afghanistan

Source: https://water-ca.org

The article investigates certain low-cost filtering materials and their filtration efficiency for open well sources in terms of economic access to clean water in Anakapalle, a suburb of Visa-khapatnam, India, during the pre-monsoon period of 2022. The corresponding research aimed to study a selection of filter materials including coconut shell activated carbon, rice husk ash, manganese modified sand, and graphene oxide, as well as assess their performance against selected physico-chemical parameters of water. Considering the basic idea of slow sand and gravity-based filtration, a setup was arranged with a cartridge filled with layers of filtering materials and a ceramic candle filter. Adsorption turned out the most pronounced removal mechanism that took place when utilizing the aforementioned filter materials. The main focus of the study was to reduce pH, TDS, hardness, alkalinity, chlorides and iron content by applying dif-ferent filtration removal mechanisms. The study results show a significant drop in turbidity, pH, TDS and chlorides, and small reduction in hardness when coconut shell activated carbon and rice husk ash were used as filtration media. Whereas the chemically coated medium – manga-nese modified sand – demonstrated a considerable fall in iron concentrations, graphene oxide sand was observed to reduce alkalinity for any sample source.


Climate Vulnerabilities in Central Asia: Universities and Policy Mainstreaming

Year: 2024

Collections: Policy Briefs

Topics: Climate

Authors: Zhakenova Saltanat, Arsen Tleppayev, Nodir Djanibekov, Viktoriya Krylova

Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan

Source:

Universities and academia in Central Asia play a crucial role in addressing climate change impacts, including rising temperatures, diminishing water resources, and increased frequency of extreme weather events threatening agriculture and livelihoods. Academic efforts must prioritize research on tailored adaptation strategies to foster resilience and sustainability. However, there's an underrepresentation of climate change research from Central Asia, emphasizing the urgent need for expanded research efforts.


The Evolution of Water Diplomacy Frameworks: The Euphrates-Tigris Basin as a Case Study

Year: 2024

Collections: Research Paper

Topics: IWRM, Water law, Water diplomacy, Transboundary Water Resources, Transboundary cooperation

Authors: Ayşegül Kibaroğlu

Countries:

Source: Theorizing Transboundary Waters in International Relations

Water diplomacy encompasses the processes and institutions through which the national interests and identities of sovereign states are represented to one another. It is enshrined in international law, which states use to explain and justify their policies to concerned actors in the international system. States mostly prefer traditional tools of water diplomacy such as negotiation and mediation to resolve disputes in transboundary river basins.


Производство водорода в Казахстане и Транскаспийская транспортировка водорода.

Year: 2024

Collections: Policy Briefs

Topics: Energy

Authors: Кобзев Алексей, Мануэль Андреш, Абылайхан Солтанаев, Нурбек Есетов

Countries: Kazakhstan

Source:

Энергетический переход продолжается с беспрецедентной скоростью и масштабом, требуя новых технологий с низким уровнем выбросов углерода. Зеленый водород рассматривается как часть решения для достижения декарбонизации промышленности, что потребует согласованных действий со стороны промышленности и правительства для того, чтобы Казахстан смог получить выгоды.


High-resolution dynamic downscaling of historical and future climate projections over Central Asia

Year: 2024

Collections: Scientific Publications

Topics: Climate

Authors: Isaev E., Murata Akihiko, Shin Fukui, Roy C. Sidle

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

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

Climate change poses various challenges for agriculture and water management practices in Central Asia (CA). Central to these challenges are cryosphere dynamics, fragile mountain ecosystems, and ongoing natural hazards that highlight the need for robust projections of regional climate change. For the first time, dynamic downscaling was conducted in Central Asia at a spatial resolution of 5 km.


Морфологическая изменчивость сазана Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758) в водоемах Балкаш-Алакольского бассейна

Year: 2024

Collections: Scientific Publications

Topics: Water

Authors: Шарахметов С., Бараков Р.Т., Исбеков К.Б., Нуртазин С.Т.

Countries: Kazakhstan

Source: https://water-ca.org

В статье приведены результаты изучения морфологической изменчивости сазана (Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758) в пределах трех крупных водоемов Балкаш-Алакольского бассейна – оз. Балкаш, оз. Алаколь и Капшагайского водохранилища. По трем выборкам сазана обнаружены морфологические различия по ряду признаков (счетные и пластические). При анализе внешних признаков были изучены 24 пластических и 14 счетных признаков. С применением метода обработки цифровых изображений (MorphoJ) проанализированы различия сазана по форме тела. Применение метода главных компонент (PCA) позволило определить основные нагрузки на изученные морфологические признаки сазана. Выявленные статистически достоверные различия позволяют говорить о том, что формирование морфологических изменений сазана было вызвано длительностью адаптивной радиации, средовыми факторами водоемов и ежегодным искусственным зарыблением молодью.


Water Tales from Turkistan: Challenges and Opportunities for the Badam-Sayram Water System under a Changing Climate

Year: 2024

Collections: Scientific Publications

Topics: Water, Climate

Authors: Aidar Zhumabaev, Hannah Schwedhelm, Beatrice Marti, Silvan Ragettli, Tobias Siegfried

Countries: Kazakhstan

Source: https://water-ca.org

The Badam River, a tributary to the Arys River located in the Syr Darya basin, is a crucial natural resource for ecological, social, and economic activities in the semi-arid region of southern Kazakhstan. The river basin is heavily influenced by manmade water infrastructure and faces water scarcity, particularly during summer, highlighting the importance of understanding its hydrological processes for effective water resource management. In this study, a semi-distributed conceptual hydrological model of the Badam River was implemented using the RS MINERVE hydrological software to evaluate the impacts of climate change on hydrology and to test the resilience of the water system. Connected HBV models were implemented for each of the hydrological response units that were defined as altitudinal zones. The hydrological model was calibrated using daily time steps between 1979 and 2011, and the resulting flow exceedance curves and hydrographs were used to assess the potential impacts of climate change on the basin, using CMIP6 precipitation and temperature scenarios. Future climate scenarios for the 2054 – 2064 period demonstrate that the peak discharge will be shifted to spring/late spring compared to the current early summer with no significant decrease in average discharge per day of the year. The insights gained from this hydrological-hydraulic model can be used to effectively manage the water system and inform future hydropower design decisions and serve as a blueprint for similar studies in the region and elsewhere.


Impact of climate change on migration trends in rural Central Asia

Year: 2024

Collections: Scientific Publications

Topics: Climate

Authors: Nina Miholjcic-Ivkovic

Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan

Source: Central Asian Journal of Sustainability and Climate Research

Central Asia is considered a region highly vulnerable to climate change impact and susceptible to climate-induced migration. Rural populations throughout the region are particularly at risk of experiencing adverse effects of climate variability and (im)mobility due to increased exposure to environmental hazards and distress that can severely affect agricultural productivity. This paper explores how climate change impacts migration trends in rural areas of Central Asia with an aim to contribute to the research on climate mobility in the region focusing on most vulnerable inhabitants. By examining the ongoing region's environmental degradation with increased aridity and retreating glaciers that affect local agriculture, water and food security, this paper suggests possible outcomes of such effects on rural mobility trends across five Central Asian countries.


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