Climate Change - The Times Of Central Asia

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Kyrgyzstan Central Asia Agriculture Climate Change

Kyrgyzstan Responds to Climate Change with Artificial Glaciers

Global climate change, a topic which is always on the minds of scientists around the world, has particularly acute effects in landlocked Central Asia, where water has always been in limited supply, the effects of climate change - a topic increasingly on the minds of people around the world – have been particularly acute. In recent years, the shortage of water in rivers and lakes has had an extremely negative impact on agriculture and livestock farming. With 94% of the country's landmass covered by mountains, Kyrgyzstan feels the negative effects of climate change first and foremost. A harsh continental climate with a wide range of average annual temperature fluctuations (from +40℃ to -40℃) and low precipitation makes livestock farming difficult. In addition, the inaccessible mountainous terrain makes it challenging for local residents to access drinking water - the main source of which is mountain springs. Therefore, artificial glaciers have been created to combat the negative effects of rising temperatures. The first project of its kind appeared in the Republic in 2019 in the village of Jergetal in the Naryn Region. By 2021, the total number of artificial ice deposits had grown to eleven. These numbers continue to grow. In 2022, an artificial glacier was built in the remote pasture of Kara-Dobo in the Jalal-Abad region thanks to the efforts of local residents, and with technical assistance from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and financial support of $5,500 from the UN Peacebuilding Fund. The next year, more villages followed this example to preserve livestock farming in arid areas. The artificial ice in Orozbekov in the Batken Region is expected to help provide sustenance for livestock belonging to the residents of three villages. "Water for the glacier comes from a mountain spring through pipelines,” Chairman of the Pasture Users Committee of the Orozbekov village area, Eminbek Temirbayev explained. “This system works without requiring electricity.” It is believed that the world's first artificial glacier was created in the late 1980s by the engineer, the "Ice Man" Chewang Norphel from the Indian village of Skara in the western Tibetan Plateau. Later, having improved the methods for creating these glaciers, the specialist helped local villagers store and deliver water for fields and pastures. Artificial glaciers are created by freezing a natural spring of water that emerges from a mountain source. Gradually, ice towers of 30 to 50 meters high form around those springs. With warming temperatures, the glacier begins to melt, becoming a prolonged source of drinking water. The relative cheapness of such structures and the simplicity of their design make artificial glaciers a universal means of providing water to residents in arid and hard to access mountainous areas. People only need to install the pipes, and nature will take care of the rest. Given the successful experience with the installations in Kyrgyzstan, the authorities are planning to build four more artificial glaciers in 2024 as part of a joint project in the Batken and Leilek districts of Batken Region. According to the Kyrgyz Zhayity...

Climate Change World Bank aid

World Bank to Help Increase Kyrgyzstan’s Resilience to Climate Change

A $45 million financing package for the Kyrgyz Republic Resilient Landscape Restoration Project, to be implemented until 2029, was approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on February 27th. Complemented by a $5 million grant from the Global Partnership for Sustainable and Resilient Landscapes (PROGREEN) and a $2.4 million grant from the Korea–World Bank Partnership Facility (KWPF), the project aims to increase sustainable landscape management in selected locations in Kyrgyzstan and promote regional collaboration among Central Asian countries on transboundary landscape restoration. “We are pleased to assist the Kyrgyz Republic's Cabinet of Ministers in increasing the resilience of landscapes and communities to climate-induced hazards, and by enhancing the government’s capacity to monitor glaciers, snow cover, and mudflows, implement measures to adapt to and mitigate climate change,” announced Naveed Hassan Naqvi, World Bank Country Manager for the Kyrgyz Republic. “This project is an important step towards building a more resilient future for the people of the Kyrgyz Republic and will also have a positive impact on neighbouring countries.” The World Bank has affirmed that once in place, the project will directly benefit over 50,000 individuals in the most vulnerable, targeted rural areas of Jalal-Abad, Osh, Issyk-Kul, and Naryn, and communities located upstream of transboundary rivers. According to a 2018-19 study by the Central Asian Institute of Applied Geosciences, Kyrgyzstan’s glaciers have decreased by 16% over the past 50 years. The Ministry of Natural Resources earlier warned that many of the country’s 6,500 glaciers — which cover over 8,000 square kilometres and contain an estimated 650 cubic kilometres of freshwater — could shrink by 50% by 2050 and even completely disappear by the end of the century.

France Climate Change

The Senate of Kazakhstan approves an agreement with France on fighting climate change

Kazakhstan has signed an agreement with France concerning issues related to climate change. This agreement helps Kazakhstan to contribute to the fight against climate change, and provides for joint efforts to implement major projects in the field of renewable energy and sustainable development in the country. One of the biggest initiatives envisaged under this agreement is the Mirny project. Its main goal is to create a hybrid power plant with a total capacity of 1 GW, which will operate using wind energy. This power plant is planned to be located in the Zhambyl region, close to the town of Mirny. This project will be vital in developing energy sources that do not harm the environment.

Climate Change

Ambitious Program to Plant 65 Million Trees and Shrubs Launched

As part of the National Program, "Green Country," Tajikistan intends to plant 65 million trees and shrubs on an area spanning over 4,000 hectares by 2025. Special attention will be paid to the planting of fruit trees, rosehip and pine. This ambitious initiative is designed to improve the state of the environment, which has been suffering in recent years due to both natural and human impacts. The program is also aimed at combating global climate change and developing green energy, which will improve the quality of the environment and public health. It is reported that financing in the amount of 129,875,000, somoni ($11.8 million) is to be provided for the implementation of the Green Country program, which will comprise two stages: the first will executed from 2023 to 2025, and the second from 2026 to 2027.

Aral Climate Change

Kazakhstan to Plant Forests on a Million Hectares of Former Aral Seabed

On January 8th, the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan, Erlan Nysanbayev chaired a meeting on the implementation of instructions from the Head of State to plant saxaul shrub plantations on dried up sections of the Aral Sea. It was stated at the meeting that 500,000 hectares of the former seabed have been included in the lands of the state forest fund, and in 2023 afforestation work began on that area. It was also emphasized that as climatic conditions are changing and the frequency and severity of storms increase, wind-borne salt and dust cause significant damage to areas adjacent to the Aral Sea and their inhabitants. Every year, more than 100 million tons of salt, dust and sand are blown from the bottom of the former Aral Sea and mix into the air. Kazakhstan’s part of the Aral is more saline than its Uzbek counterpart. In order to improve the situation, President Tokayev has set the task of planting saxaul shrubs on 1.1 million hectares by 2025. This project has now been provided with the necessary infrastructure for preparing seeds for sowing and cultivation, and the necessary equipment has been purchased, the meeting heard.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="13571" img_size="full" el_class="scond-image" parallax_scroll="no" woodmart_inline="no"][vc_column_text woodmart_inline="no" text_larger="no"]Through joint efforts oy the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the administration of the Kyzylorda region, 544,500 hectares of saxaul have been sown over the past three years. This year, it is planned to plant on another 275,000 hectares. As the decimation of the Aral Sea is a global problem, the Ministry cooperates with international organizations, including the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), the World Bank, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Korean Forest Service. In the summer and autumn of 2021, specialists from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan exchanged their experiences in planting saxaul and other trees on the former Aral Sea, and a memorandum was signed for closer cooperation in afforestation of the region.

Climate Change Water Access

Kazakhstan Seeks to Resolve Water Management Issues with Regional Neighbors

In the modern world, water is as valuable a resource as minerals. For that reason, on September 1st, 2023, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev by decree created the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation. “Water resources are no less important for our country than oil, gas or metals. I believe that the effective development of the water management system should be handled by an independent department,” Tokayev said at the time. Despite the short period of its work, the new Ministry has already had concrete results, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (primeminister.kz) stated in reviewing the country’s economic performance in 2023. In particular, the concept for the development of a water resources management system for 2024-2030 has been developed. It will allow for the area of irrigated agricultural land in Kazakhstan to increase up to 2.2 million hectares, increase the share of water-saving technologies up to 40%, and reduce the loss of irrigation water during transportation down to 15%. The Ministry has also prepared a plan for the development of the water sector of Kazakhstan for 2024-2030. Its implementation will increase the volume of the country's water resources by 3.7 cubic kilometers, reduce losses of irrigation water and increase its volume by three cubic kilometers, provide water to 41 settlements with a population of more than 55,000 people, and also reduce Kazakhstan's dependence on water supplies from neighboring countries by 25%. In 2024-2026, it is planned to begin construction of 20 new reservoirs and reconstruct 15 reservoirs across the country. A total of 339 canals with a length of 3,5000 km will be reconstructed. The Ministry also conducted negotiations with neighboring states on water security. As a result, it is expected that by April 1st, 2024, 11.1 cubic kilometers of water will flow into the Syr Darya River, and 487 million cubic meters of water are expected to be taken through the Dostyk interstate canal. This will allow for the accumulation of the volume of water required for growing season in Kazakhstan’s Turkestan and Kyzylorda regions, as well as sending 1.6 cubic kilometers of water to the Aral Sea.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="13383" img_size="full" el_class="scond-image" parallax_scroll="no" woodmart_inline="no" title="Butakov Bay, Small Aral Sea. Photo: TCA"][vc_column_text woodmart_inline="no" text_larger="no"]An agreement was reached with upstream Kyrgyzstan on the supply of irrigation water to the Zhambyl region in southern Kazakhstan, which experienced a severe water shortage this past summer. The Ministry is also negotiating with upstream China on more than 20 rivers that flow to Kazakhstan, including the Ertys, Ili, and Emel. Today, the two neighboring countries have reached a consensus on a number of issues regarding water distribution. Finally, a draft agreement is being developed on a mechanism for water and energy cooperation between the countries of Central Asia, with the participation of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.