Abstract
The Ili River is a transboundary river shared by China, upstream, and Kazakhstan, downstream. The Ili is the main water supplier to Lake Balkhash, the largest lake in Central Asia after desiccation of the Aral Sea. Agreements over water allocation have not been concluded between China and Kazakhstan. This paper investigated water consumption of agriculture and riparian ecosystems in the Ili river basin, to provide information for further debate on water allocation, through the Simplified Surface Energy Balance Index (S-SEBI) approach using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images. The overall water consumption in the Ili river basin was 14.3 km3/a in 2000, 17.2 km3/a in 2005, and 15 km3/a in 2014. In 2000, China and Kazakhstan consumed 38% and 62% of the water, respectively. By 2014, the relative share of China’s water consumption increased to 43%. In China, 80% of the water consumption is due to agriculture. High runoff during the past 10 years enabled increasing water consumption in China and sufficient water supply to agriculture and riparian ecosystems in Kazakhstan. When runoff of the Ili River decreases, as expected for most rivers in Central Asia, then irrigation efficiency has to be further increased in China, and irrigation systems in Kazakhstan have to be restored and modernized in order to reduce water consumption and protect Lake Balkhash and the riparian ecosystems.
Highlights
Central Asia, which extends from the Caspian Sea into Mongolia, is largely dominated by drylands and mountains [1]
When runoff of the Ili River decreases, as expected for most rivers in Central Asia, irrigation efficiency has to be further increased in China, and irrigation systems in Kazakhstan have to be restored and modernized in order to reduce water consumption and protect Lake Balkhash and the riparian ecosystems
The evapotranspiration of agricultural land in the Ili river basin was in the range of other studies from Central Asia, for e.g., from the upper Ili river basin in China [17], Turkmenistan [51], and the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang [36]
Summary
Central Asia, which extends from the Caspian Sea into Mongolia, is largely dominated by drylands and mountains [1]. Central Asia is the region with the worldwide highest number of endorheic or closed river basins, i.e., rivers that do not drain into the sea, but instead drain into an end-lake or inland delta [2]. The most well-known end-lake was the Aral Sea [3]. Following the desiccation of the Aral Sea, Lake Balkhash has become the largest lake of Central. Figure are ininthe ofthat the ET a values c given givenThe forET reed in Table. Between mm and mm, in the pixels that include a substantial substantial amount ofaother vegetation than reed, which appears whitish in the background Landsat amount image. Of other vegetation than reed, which appears whitish in the background Landsat image.
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