On June 13 – 14, a seminar on transboundary water basins is being held in Samarkand (Uzbekistan): the Zarafshan river basin.
The workshop is organized within the “Climate Risk Assessment and Capacity Development” (CRACD) project implemented within the framework of the GIZ programme “Climate Risk Management in Central Asia” in cooperation with the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The assignments were implemented by NIRAS in collaboration with the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC).
The project envisages a series of country-level and transboundary events to define and assess climate risks for each of the selected transboundary water basins, more specifically, for Isfayram-Say (Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan), Shakimardan (Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan), Zarafshan (Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), Chon-Kemin/River Chu (Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan) and Murgab (Turkmenistan).
The seminar in Samarkand is moderated by a national project consultant and CAREC Program Manager “Climate Change and Sustainable Energy” Irina Bekmirzaeva. In addition, she, together with the national project consultant and Director of the CAREC Country Office in the Republic of Uzbekistan Jahongir Azizov, made presentations on the preliminary assessment of the Zarafshan river basin conducted during the analytical review workshop (including hazards, impacts on sectors and services, vulnerable groups) and on the exchange between water basins about existing water resource management practices.
Based on the climate risks assessed for each water basin, the project aims to facilitate shaping climate change adaptation (CCA) measures for each water basin. The Climate Risk Assessment (CRA) follows the GIZ Climate Risk Sourcebook, adapted to the work in transboundary river basins. The following steps are realized: Scoping, data & information collection, risk identification, analysis and evaluation and selection of adaptation measures. Furthermore, the topics of Monitoring &Evaluation as well as Communication will be part of a final CRA basin report.
Workshops on transboundary water basins will promote transboundary cooperation, with a particular focus on identifying and analyzing hazards and vulnerabilities exacerbated by climate change.
Additional information:
Irina Bekmirzaeva, CAREC Program Manager “Climate Change and Sustainable Energy”, ibekmirzaeva@carececo.org
