On June 20, 2025, Tashkent hosted the International Scientific and Practical Conference on “Scientific Approaches to Solving Global Environmental and Water Problems of Central Asia”, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Scientific Research Institute of Irrigation and Water Problems (SRIIWP). The organizer was the Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The conference was attended by more than 200 people, including representatives of higher education institutions, research institutes, as well as delegates from 42 foreign countries.
The project “Climate-resilient integrated water resources management in the Zarafshan River basin”, implemented with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in partnership between Caritas Switzerland and the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC), took a worthy place on the sidelines of the conference.
In Section 1 (Scientific and Practical Solutions for Transboundary Cooperation, Efficient Use of Energy and Water Resources), Oyture Anarbekov, Country Representative of the Consortium and Senior Technical Advisor of the project, made a presentation. His report was dedicated to the main achievements of the project on climate-resilient integrated water resources management in the Zarafshan River basin. The presentation aroused great interest among the participants, especially in the context of regional water interaction and adaptation to climate change.
In the afternoon, within the framework of Section 2 (Efficiency and scientific approaches in water-saving irrigation technologies), Abdurashit Isabaev, Technical Advisor of CAREC, made a presentation on the topic of “Climate-sustainable IWRM in the Zarafshan River Basin: Current Results and Plans”. In his report, he presented the key components of the project, the results achieved and the planned steps to deepen work in the region.
Thus, CAREC and its partners from the Caritas Switzerland consortium successfully used the opportunities of the anniversary conference to highlight the progress of the project, establish expert exchange and raise awareness among national and international stakeholders.