Groundwater Sustainability in Central Asia: Water Quality, Crop Production and Water Reuse

This session is one of several in our seminar series titled, Groundwater Sustainability in Central Asia: Advancing Institutional Capacity in Karakalpakstan, a Former Aral Sea Region in Uzbekistan
This session covers water quality and crop production in arid regions and water reuse for irrigation.
Speakers:
• Alim Asamatdinov, International Innovation Center for the Aral Sea Basin under President of Uzbekistan
• Daniel Snow, Water Sciences Lab Director at the University of Nebraska
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Freshwater in Central Asia is unevenly distributed and has been severely impacted by historical agricultural production. Yet, agriculture is a way of life for large portions of the citizens of Central Asian countries.
The region of Karakalpakstan in northwestern Uzbekistan was once a thriving area supported by extensive irrigation within the Aral Sea basin. It now suffers from extensive droughts, upstream diversions from the Amu and Syr Darya rivers for irrigation, as well as severely impacted water quality.
Through this project and webinar series, we will:
• Identify agricultural areas within this region with potential for reclamation
• Explore innovative models and tools for:
Ground- and surface-water resources management
Water quality monitoring and reuse
Remote sensing
Land use under irrigated agriculture
• Compare water resources programs
• Develop new research directions and collaborations
•Establish long-term scholar exchanges among participating institutions
Funded by: American Councils for International Education Central Asia University Partnerships Program (UniCEN)
Hosted by: Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Taraz Regional University named after M.K.Dulaty, Kazakhstan