Photo credit: FAO
Central Asia is a region of globally significant ecosystems and shared natural resources. This story is part of a series showcasing work delivered through the GEF partnership across this unique landscape, ahead of the Eighth GEF Assembly in Samarkand.
Countries in Central Asia are bound together not just by their long and storied history but by the environmentally important landscapes they share.
The region’s extensive wetlands and river systems, arid plains, and towering mountain ranges are home to some of the rarest plants and animals on the planet and supply 84 million people with food, water, and income. However, the potential for these ecosystems to support natural, social, and economic prosperity of the region is under pressure from decades of over-extraction, degradation, and the onset of long-term climatic changes.
Protecting and restoring these ecosystems requires collective action. This is why Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have joined forces through the Central Asia Water and Land Nexus (CAWLN) program, supported by $30 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
This collaborative effort takes a science-based approach to strengthening water security, restoring the health of farmlands, curbing deforestation, promoting a landscape-based approach for integrated management of natural resources, from pasturelands to woodlands, integrating climate resilience and biodiversity conservation and improving rural livelihoods in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins.
Amu Darya and Syr Darya – “Darya” means “river” in Persian – are Central Asia’s two principal rivers and the region’s main sources of water. The agriculture and energy generation sectors depend upon them, along with 80 percent of the region’s total population.
A century and a half of heavy demand for agricultural irrigation, coupled more recently with reduced rainfall, has depleted both rivers to a fraction of their original volume. The Aral Sea, once the fourth-largest freshwater lake in the world and the body of water into which they both flow, is now just 10 percent of its original size.
The degradation of these watersheds has had a devastating impact on biodiversity. Many endemic species, such as the white-headed duck and the false shovelnose sturgeon, are now endangered or critically endangered. Desertification is significant and accelerating, with wide-ranging impact on agricultural productivity, rural livelihoods, and quality of life.
Environmental decline is also imposing a heavy economic burden. Recent estimates suggest that the degradation of rangelands, desertification, deforestation, and the abandonment of croplands together cost Central Asia some $6 billion each year.
To help stem the crisis, the GEF- and FAO-supported initiative will promote a nexus approach to land and water management, recognizing that water, agriculture, and natural ecosystems are all interlinked and must be considered and managed together rather than in isolation.
The program will promote dialogue and cooperation across borders, strengthen watershed governance and regulation at the national and regional level, and offer support and training to all stakeholders in the techniques and benefits of integrated management of land, water, and biodiversity.
Participant nations will also gain access to cutting-edge detection tools, including satellite imagery-based monitoring and decision support systems, to help them better manage farmland and watersheds. Among these are early warning systems to reduce the impact of natural disasters and other regional trends such as long-term droughts.
The program includes multiple projects. Three regional efforts will aim to restore key aquatic and terrestrial habitats and ecosystems, protect local species, and improve conditions in rural communities. Four country-level initiatives will address specific environmental priorities in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan along the river basins.
The activities include pilots of new approaches, such as agroforestry and agro-woodland trials in the targeted sub-watersheds of the Aral Sea Basin, demonstrating the benefits of sustainable land management in a concrete way. To strengthen long-term impact, the program promotes cross-border dialogue and cooperation, supports policy alignment, and the sharing of knowledge, technology, and best practices across the region. This will include knowledge hubs and other tools to raise public awareness about the program, with a specific focus on young people.
The Central Asia Water and Land Nexus program stands to transform how the region manages its most vital natural resources. By restoring degraded landscapes, improving water security through restored ecosystem functions for water generation and reducing demand with the application of water saving technologies, and strengthening cooperation, the initiative aims to secure healthier ecosystems, more resilient food systems, and better livelihoods for millions of people across Central Asia.
