„Aral Sea Crisis“ and Khorezm Project

1. Beyond the Aral Sea Syndrome:Economic and Ecological Restructuring of Land- and Water Use in the Region Khorezm (Uzbekistan) Ahmad M. Manschadi, John P.A. Lamers, Iskandar Abdullayev, Christopher Conrad, Asia Khamzina, Bernhard Tischbein, Mehmood Ul Hassan, Gerd Rücker, Paul L G Vlek and many others

2. „Aral Sea Crisis“ and Khorezm Project • Aral Sea Syndrome • “… refers to the problems associated with centrally planned, large-scale projects involving water resource development” • Desiccation of Aral Sea = “the greatest environmental catastrophe ever caused to regional water resources by mankind”

3. (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Aral_Sea.gif) „Aral Sea Crisis“ and Khorezm Project • Desiccation of Aral Sea • Area diminished by 74%;volume by 90% • 10-fold increase in water salinity (from 10 to >100 g -1) • Creation of Aralkum desert • Decimation of native fish species

4. „Aral Sea Crisis“ and Khorezm Project • Desiccation of Aral Sea • Area diminished by 74%;volume by 90% • 10-fold increase in water salinity (from 10 to >100 g -1) • Creation of Aralkum desert • Decimation of native fish species • Initiation of dust/salt storms • Degradation of deltaic biotic communities • Collapse of the fisheries: Loss of livelihood for 60,000 people • Local climate change • Human health problems NASA MODIS Image: May 11, 2007 - Dust Storm over the South Aral Sea

5. stable Significant deficits drought „Aral Sea Crisis“ and Khorezm Project • Aral Sea water balance • Aral Sea Restoration? • average annual discharge in the next 20-30 years = 10 km3 • Restoring size and level to pre-1960s = 46 km3 • Reducing irrigation water use by 50% (~ 50 km3) • 16 billion USD invested in renovation of irrigation network would save 12 km3 • Full restoration appears impossible (Micklin 2007)

6. „Aral Sea Crisis“ and Khorezm Project • Expansion of irrigation: 5 to 7.9 million ha between 1965 and 2000 • Reduction in Aral Sea surface area 5 million ha Khorezm region: 270,000 ha irrigated1.3 million people http://unimaps.com/aral-sea/index.html

7. Khorezm Region – Water Productivity • Agricultural production and rural livelihood rely entirely on irrigation water supply • Major crops: cotton, wheat, rice

8. Khorezm Region – Regional Economy • Cotton (White Gold) plays a key role in the regional economy:GDP ~ 16%; Export from cotton value chain in 2005 • Only 10% of total fibre production is locally processed • Underdeveloped agro-processing industry (Rudenko, 2008)

9. Khorezm Region - Characteristics • Resource use • Enormous, inefficient water use • 5 km3 for 275,000 ha irrigated land (>2000 mm ) • overall irrigation system efficiency ~26% • Low soil quality • 20% of soils bonitet < 40 (24,000 ha marginal land) • Secondary soil salinisation • >50 % of cropland is moderately to highly saline • Inadequate, inefficient and poorly-resourced irrigation management institutions

10. Khorezm Region - Characteristics • State order system • Strong government control of farm-level decision-making constrains the adoption of innovative technologies and concepts • Performance of agriculture sector • Low crop yields, inefficient management and resource use • Underutilised and poorly-developed agro-processing industry • Rural poverty: 27.5% lives below poverty line (1$/day) • Lack of incentives for improving land and water use efficiency

11. ZEF/UNESCO Project • Economic and Ecological Restructuring of Land and Water Use in the Region Khorezm • Project duration: 2001 - 2011 • Donor:German Federal Ministray of Education and Research (BMBF) • Project objectives: • Develop comprehensive, science-based restructuring concepts for sustainable management of land and water resources; • Improve the capacity of regional institutions for implementing the alternative approaches and solutions; • Serve as a model for sustainable development concepts throughout the Aral Sea Basin; • Academic capacity building (M.Sc. and PhD students).

12. Uzbekistan Project • Key research areas; interdisciplinary approach

13. ZEF/UNESCO Project • Overall goal: restructuring concept

14. Degraded Cropland - Afforestation • Biomass production • N fixation • C sequestration and soil fertility • Soil salinity control • Fuelwood supply • Nutritive value of leaf fodder • Financial profitability March 2004 May 2006

15. Productive Cropland • Enhancing water productivity: • Socio-technical improvements in irrigation water distribution and management (concepts, models, GIS/RS-based monitoring systems) • Increasing cropping systems productivity • Conservation agriculture (reduced tillage, residue retention, crop diversification) • Adequate fertiliser application • Optimisation of crop allocation and production inputs • Improving rural livelihoods • Value chain analysis • Agricultural service organisations • Agro-processing industry

16. Productive Cropland • Implementing and adapting innovations with stakeholder groups: “Follow the Innovation” • Transdisciplinary approach

17. Human Capacity Building • PhDs: total 39, completed 19 • M.Sc. Program: 59 M.Sc. • 33 Bachelors at UrDU trained • 12 Post-Docs (6 at ZEF, 1 DLR, 5 in Urgench) • 3 INTAS Post-Docs in Urgench • 2 Uzbek Professorships concluded

18. Scientific Output

19. Project Partners

20. Project Website http://www.zef.de/khorezm.0.html