On 20 February 2024, a regional seminar on “Climate risk assessment and capacity development” was held in Tashkent, dedicated to the launch of a major study on climate risk assessment for five river basins in Central Asia, the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan reports.
Based on the results of the assessment, measures to mitigate the effects of climate change for each of the basins will be proposed:
• Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan: Isfayramsay, Shakhimardan
• Tajikistan and Uzbekistan: Zarafshan
• Turkmenistan: Murgab
• Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan: Chong Kemin/Chu River
Researchers prioritized basins based on: size, water emergencies (landslides, riverbed changes), and data availability (hydrological and meteorological stations).
“The change in the climate cycle causes various changes in nature. In particular, this will have a negative impact on water and agriculture, ecology, economy and the standard of living of mankind as a whole,” said Isomiddin Akramov, head of the UNDP project “Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Central Asia”.
“The main goal of today’s project is to identify climate risks, develop climate change adaptation plans and manage them. It is planned to implement small projects among the population on adaptation to climate change. This will allow people living in mountainous areas to be prepared for climate change in the future,” he added.
Rising temperatures across Central Asia are causing a ripple effect: changing precipitation patterns, melting glaciers, and expanding moraine lakes. These interconnected changes heighten risks of droughts, landslides, and floods, impacting communities regardless of borders.
Recognizing this shared challenge, the Climate Risk Management in Central Asia program (GIZ-implemented) supports regional collaboration and coordinated responses. This includes support for regional platforms for knowledge and expertise exchange, capacity-building activities, work on the establishment of a regional early warning network for hydrological disasters, as well as assessment of climate risks in specific basins and necessary adaptation measures.
The seminar was attended by specialists from the national hydrometeorological services, environmental protection, water management and emergency authorities of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of regional and international organizations. ///nCa, 22 February 2024