Analysis for spatial-temporal matching pattern between water and land resources in Central Asia

Ying Zhang,Anlei Wei,Dandong Cheng,Jinxi Song,Haotian Sun,Zhengxiao Yan

doi:10.2166/nh.2020.177

Abstract

AbstractCentral Asia, the pioneering place of the ‘Belt and Road’, is under the threat of prominent water issues. Based on the Gini coefficient model and the matching index, the amount of the total renewable water resources and the cultivated land area were introduced to evaluate the matching pattern between the water and land resources in Central Asia. The water problem of Kazakhstan, being the most prominent, shows low water resources per unit area with the highest reclamation rate. The matching degree for the upstream countries of the Aral Sea (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) was better than those of the downstream countries (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan). The Gini coefficient in Central Asia was 0.32, smaller than that of the global average value (0.59). The overall water available for use and the matching cultivated land resources was reasonable. Large differences exist in the matching degree in water distribution and utilization among Central Asian countries. The matching index of water and land resources in Central Asia was 1.25, similar to the matching degree estimated from the Gini coefficient model. Moreover, rational measures are suggested to alleviate the issue of water and land resources matching in Central Asia.

Highlights

Central Asia, located in the hinterland of the Eurasian continent, lacks water resources (Gafurov et al )
The climate in Central Asia is highly arid with annual precipitation generally below 300 mm
The total freshwater in the five Central Asian countries is above 1 trillion m3, but the real available water resources are only 206 billion m3, of which, surface water is 187 billion m3 and the non-repetitive groundwater is 19 billion m3 (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Central Asia, located in the hinterland of the Eurasian continent, lacks water resources (Gafurov et al ). It is one of the regions threatened by serious water problems in the. The economic benefits of water use in Central Asia are lower than those in other areas of Asia (Lee & Jung ). The total amount of water resources is seemingly large in this region, only 24.4% is available for use by humans (Yang et al ). Multiple transboundary rivers exist in Central Asia (Zhupankhan et al ).

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion