Water Management In Central Asia Research Articles

An approach to complex transboundary water management in Central Asia: Evolutionary cooperation in transboundary basins under the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus

Water-related issues in transboundary basins are generally complicated by the challenges of climate change, the historical evolution of the basin characteristics, and the different interests of the riparian countries. Therefore, dealing with water-sharing and water cooperation problems among basin countries needs to be based on multi-factor system analysis in the context of regional water, energy, food (land) resources, and ecosystems. In the present study, the Aral Sea basin in Central Asia, where transboundary water problems are extremely prominent and complex, was selected as the research area. Firstly, the characteristics of the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus of the Aral Sea basin are analyzed. Then, based on the game theory, a multi-objective game model is constructed, and the multi-objective evolutionary game process and evolutionary stable strategies (ESSs) of both the upstream and downstream countries are explored. Finally, the evolutionary stable strategy under the intervention of the basin commission is simulated. The results show that there are obvious reciprocal feedbacks among water, land, energy, and ecosystem in the Aral Sea basin, and the uneven distribution of natural resources, fragile ecosystems, and conflicting demands of multiple actors lead to the unstable evolution of the nexus. Driven by the maximization of upstream and downstream countries’ respective interests, the optimal stabilization strategy of the system cannot be realized. Whereas, the introduction of the basin commission intervention and its restraint mechanism is conducive to promoting cooperation and maximizing the overall benefits of the basin. The incentives and penalties of the basin commission have significant effects on whether the system can reach Pareto optimality, and higher incentive coefficient and penalty coefficient help the system converge to the ideal state more quickly. The evolution of the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus based on the perspective of the whole basin can provide theoretical support for dealing with the transboundary water conflicts, and the cooperation strategy aiming at maximizing the overall benefits of the basin can provide decision-making basis for promoting transboundary water cooperation and synergistic development of the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus.

Ensuring climate resilience in Central Asia through the establishment of a water management education program

Abstract This article is devoted to the issues of sustainable development in the Central Asia region. The authors have performed an analysis of the state of rational use of water resources. Ensuring climate resilience in water management in Central Asia is a critical challenge in today's world. This problem is of interest in connection with its possible impact on the sustainable development of the region. The purpose of this work is to analyze the current state of the rational use of water resources in Central Asia to identify ways to optimize their management. The study used a qualitative and quantitative analysis of data on water use collected from various sources, as well as a comparison method to assess the effectiveness of existing water management practices in the region. The authors revealed that the unbalanced distribution and inefficient use of water resources in Central Asia led to environmental and socio-economic problems. It has also been found that the existing mechanisms for managing water resources are not effective enough.

Anthropogenic activities and the influence of desertification processes on the water cycle and water use in the Aral Sea basin

Study regionThe Aral Sea Basin (ASB) is a transboundary water catchment area in Central Asia, with an area of around 1.8 million km2 and straddled over six countries namely Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Study focusThis research investigated the associated controls of anthropogenic activities and desertification process on the water cycle in the ASB, produced long-term spatial maps, quantified and evaluated the changes in the water surface, volume and water level of the Aral Sea Lake, agricultural water yield and water use efficiency based on multiple streams of state-of-art high-resolution imageries, reanalyzed and in-situ observations during 1986–2022. New hydrological insights for the regionThe main findings of this research are as follows: (i) The Aral Sea Lake was characterized by sharp decline trends in the water surface area, volume and water level with the annual decreasing rates of approximately 1.02 × 103 km2.yr−1, 9.59 km3.yr−1 and 1.14 m. yr−1, respectively; (ii) Agricultural water yield indicated an overall annual decreasing rate of 0.45 mm. yr−1; (iii) Based on the imbalance between agricultural water demand and water supply, these results showed that the ASB has an annual water deficit for agricultural irrigation of approximately 0.071 km3.yr−1 and this water deficit has significantly affected wheat production in Kyrgyzstan and slightly in Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. (iv) The assessment of water threats shows that anthropogenic activities strongly influence the water cycle in the ASB compared to the factors of the desertification process. These results are of great importance and have significant implications for decision makers for future ecohydrological studies and water management in Central Asia and other hotspots of the global drylands.

Foreign Policy Tools for Water Management in Central Asia

This article is devoted to the issue of ineffective and irrational water management in Central Asia. Water management has gained transboundary character, states are divided by their upstream and downstream status and water is perceived as unlimited natural resource which requires new approaches. Author proposes foreign policy tools for water management as constant political dialogue, establishment of permanent body on water management and initiation of projects within China’s Belt and Road imitative, US’s Greater Central Asia and Russia’s Greater Eurasia platform. The vital importance of water as natural resource for life and human development is unquestionable and needs special attention in the context of the climate change and growing population of the Central Asian region. Asian Development Bank has provided three recommendations to Central Asian governments in facing climate change as expanding the supply of water available in the future; increasing the productivity of water; and reducing future demand for water. With predictions of the UN Population Prospects by 2050 Central Asia will have about 100 million inhabitants which undoubtedly will also increase the need for water resources. Taking into acount such factors as climate change and growing population the need for water resources will become only vital in the neearest future and demand for effective and rational water management must be already on the regional agenda.

The Future of Water Management in Central Asia

Central Asia is an increasingly important strategic geopolitical region. During the latest decades, the region has often been identified as close to potential conflict regarding water usage. This includes the sharing of water from the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya in the Aral Sea Basin. The Aral Sea disaster has exposed a complex picture of water needs and potential political conflict. Rapid population increase together with climate change impacts are likely to further aggravate the short- and long-term future precarious situation for water management in the region. This Special Issue focuses on present and future water management issues in Central Asia in view of future climate changes and how these will affect socioeconomic development. Central Asia is, in general, water rich; however, exercising efficient and fair water management will be important in view of future population increase and climate change. At the same time, water and natural resource development is a cornerstone in all the Central Asian republics. Especially, water resources are, to a great extent, shared between all five republics. A common ground for water-sharing is, therefore, of utmost importance.

Water in Kazakhstan, a key in Central Asian water management

ABSTRACTCentral Asia is one of the regions with the highest probability of conflicts over water. Kazakhstan is the main Central Asian economic power and therefore it is important to understand how the country’s water management policy is influencing water availability in the other Central Asian states. Already, the Central Asian economies are developing under increasing water deficiency, resulting in developmental problems. The main reasons for this are increasing political tensions and worsening ecological and socio-economic conditions. Kazakhstan was the first country in Central Asia to develop the pre-requisites for a transition towards integrated water resources management (IWRM). Therefore, Kazakhstan has potential to lead the development of transboundary water integration between all Central Asian states. A scenario for successful regional cooperation on water management in Central Asia involves establishing legal mechanisms for water management following international water law, assistance by international agencies and donors, and integrated social, economic and environmental methodology.

Short Review of Climate and Land Use change Impact on Land Degradation in Tashkent Province.

The paper is a short review about scientific articles, local reports and expert’s opinion on land degradation caused by climate change (in particular temperature and precipitation change) and land use change in Central Asia (CA) with a special interest in Tashkent Province and aspects of regional water management in CA in order to clarify future study activities. Furthermore the paper presents the preliminary analysis of climate and land use changes in Tashkent Province and the author’s opinion about the impact of these changes to potential land degradation. Climate change analysis based on the 0.5° resolution National Centers of Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) weather dataset of the 35 years period from 1979 to 2013 demonstrated the trend of increasing temperature and variable trend of precipitation, but small overall precipitation decrease in the croplands, pasturelands and grasslands of study area. Irrigated agricultural cropland increased to 7.800 ha from 1999 to 2010 in order meet population demand and increase national economy. Therefore, it is very importance to carry out comprehensive study of climate and land use change impacts on land degradation at regional scale using high resolution spatio-temporal remotely sensed data for better assessment of land degradation.

Sustainable Water Management in Central Asia and the Role of Foreign Donors

Sustainable Water Management in Central Asia and the Role of Foreign Donors

Data management for integrated water resources management in Central Asia

Information technologies can act as technical artifacts and can facilitate stakeholder communication, supporting decision making in a complex societal context. The water sector is one such example where limited water resources are threatened by climate change and growing competition for resources between sectors, regions and countries. Attempts to improve water governance and management through information technologies have been made by international, regional and national water agencies for the last 20 years in Central Asia. However, early attempts were focused on collection, systematization and analysis of the generic data related to the water sector in the region. There are still significant gaps (technical, human and financial capacities) for application of such technologies at the lower operational levels of water management, i.e. where the full dimensions of variables, interactions and complexities are observed and, most importantly, everyday politics of water are performed. The aim of this paper is to present practical results on improving water management in Central Asia through the application of better data management tools at the operational level across diverse institutional settings, i.e. transboundary, watershed levels in the region.

Transformation of water management in Central Asia: from State-centric, hydraulic mission to socio-political control

This paper presents the analysis of historical transformation of water management in Central Asia with the specific focus on Uzbekistan. The time frame of the analysis is from the Middle Ages to contemporary times, with different political, social and economic settings in the framework of theory of transformative capacity of institutions. Empirical evidence suggests that the approach of the hydraulic mission has not changed dramatically over the years, but transformed into various forms of control on water management. In recent decades, integrated water resources management paradigms are gaining momentum, while the traditional, State-centric, hydraulic mission approach is losing its attractiveness in the arid Central Asian region. Nevertheless, the State-centric model of water management still persists in the region with clear signs that water management is still more under socio-political control.

What do we know about past changes in the water cycle of Central Asian headwaters? A review

We have reviewed about 100 studies on past changes in climate, snow cover, glaciers and runoff in Central Asian headwater catchments, which have been published in the past 20years. We included studies published by Central Asian researchers in Russian language, which are usually not easily accessible to international researchers.Most studies agreed on general warming trends in Central Asia with acceleration since the 1970s, but varied with regard to seasonal changes and the magnitude of the warming. Most studies also confirmed that glaciers in the Tien Shan and the Pamir continue to retreat and to shrink, though only little is known about mass and volume changes. Only few studies investigated changes in seasonal snow cover, and they suggested a decrease in maximum snow depth and a reduction in snow cover duration. The studies on runoff trends in the high mountain areas of Central Asia indicated a complex response of catchments to changes in climate. It appears that catchments with a higher fraction of glacierized area showed mainly increasing runoff trends in the past, while river basins with less or no glacierization exhibited large variations in the observed runoff changes.We conclude that our knowledge is still incomplete in particular with regard to the magnitude and the spatio-temporal patterns of changes in the water cycle of Central Asian headwater catchments. The limitations in our knowledge are due to (1) the scarcity of reliable and appropriate data sets especially for the glacio-nival zone; (2) methodological limitations of trend analysis; (3) the heterogeneity in both spatial and temporal extent of the available analyses, hampering the synthesis to a regional picture; and (4) the insufficiently understood interactions between changes in highly-variable climate parameters, the cryosphere, and the hydrological response of individual headwater catchments.Finally, there is a need for sound attribution studies linking the observed hydrological changes in individual catchments to particular processes triggered by climatic and cryospheric changes. This research gap needs urgently to be closed as projections of future hydrological changes are of vital importance for water management in Central Asia.

Water sector in Central Asia: slow transformation and potential for cooperation

Since independence, Central Asian nations are going through political, economical and social changes. The transition also has had long-term impact on water sector, once second largest user of the state funds during the Soviet times. After the independence, growing economic crisis, limited funding capacities of national states have reduced inflow of finances into the water sector. This in turn reduced influence and role of water bureaucrats in nation building scene. The reforms in agriculture and other sectors of economy have seriously changed situation in water sector. Two out of five countries have kept Ministry of Water Resources as separate entity, in one country it merged with agriculture but still have separate department, in two countries water management department is part of Environmental Agency. Although those changes in water sector took place at the national level have far reaching impact on regional level. In the last few years, the issues of water management in Central Asia become a political issue. Role of technocrat-water managers reduced from active agenda setters to observers. This paper highlights importance of the integrated approach to water sector reforms which will enhance efficiency of water resources management hence increased likelihood of the cooperation among the region's countries on water management.

Remote Sensing and Hydrological Measurements for Irrigation Performance Assessments in a Water User Association in the Lower Amu Darya River Basin

Irrigation water management in Central Asia is notorious for its inefficiency. We assessed the operational performance of the irrigation scheme in one Water Users Association (WUA), Shomakhulum, in Khorezm district, Uzbekistan, in 2007 to provide recommendations for strategic water management planning. Relative evapotranspiration (RET), delivery performance ratio (DPR), drainage ratio (DR), depleted fraction (DF), overall consumed ratio (OCR), field application ratio (FAR) and conveyance ratio (CR) were used as performance indicators. The components of the water balance were obtained through remote sensing techniques and hydrological field measurements. The surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL) was applied to MODIS satellite data to derive actual and potential evapotranspiration. Inflows and outflows were quantified with field measurements in the irrigation and drainage network using discharge rating curves. Ponding experiments allowed determining canal seepage losses. Water balances at field level were established for application efficiency estimations. The indicator values were then compared to efficiency target values taken from the literature in order to assess the operational capabilities of the irrigation scheme. The general performance of the irrigation scheme is very poor. DPRs exceeding 1.0 indicate that more water is delivered to the system than is demanded. The seasonal DF of 0.4 is lower than the target value of 0.6. Losses during the field application averaged at 57%, which is 24% above target values. Seasonal DR, OCR, CR and RET are 0.55, 0.51, 0.76 and 0.82 against the target values of 0.1, 0.54, 0.84 and 0.75, respectively. We conclude that the distribution mechanism can be considerably improved. Besides improving water distribution (timing and equity) in the network, another recommended intervention would be to increase the DF, particularly by interventions at field level that raise the FAR, which in turn will improve DR and OCR. This can be achieved by introducing modern water management approaches such as laser leveling, double-sided irrigation, and control of inflow through flow-measuring devices installed at farm gates, and adequate water pricing.

The fog problem in Central Asia – Deficiencies in international community research to support water and food security

Central Asian water planning following international policy recommendations and ‘blue prints’ has caused more harm rather than benefiting local communities. International research has not been sufficient to contribute in practical terms to water and food security. This paper reflects potential factors that limit understanding the complexity of water management in Central Asia. Five factors are identified which prevent cross linking of research across international boundaries and within countries. These are: (1) language, (2) access, (3) wikipediarism, (4) smattering and (5) outdating. To change the situation two factors are still missing – a lost generation of local experts and an internal critical review.

Lessons from the past: water management in Central Asia

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 meant that overnight the newly independent Central Asian Republics (CARs) had to assume responsibility for the management and maintenance of a huge, poorly managed and maintained water distribution and irrigation system. Problems emerged almost immediately with lack of funds virtually halting maintenance programmes and the system rapidly deteriorating. Tension over water has also increased with Kyrgyzstan demanding greater access to the water that is generated on its territory. The situation is likely to worsen as government-backed policies, coupled with predicted population increases, mean that resources will become stressed and demand will far outstretch supply. Given the importance of water to this region it is essential that resources are efficiently managed and used to ensure the economic and social well being of the region into the 21st century. It is evident, however, that the current situation is no longer sustainable and new water management strategies must be developed. This paper provides a brief review of former water management strategies and assesses whether Central Asia can draw on its past to provide insights as to how water should be managed in the future.