International Symposium On Water and Land Resources in Central Asia

From 9th to 11th October, 2018 the “International Symposium on Water and Land Resources in Central Asia“ took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The scientific conference was organized in the framework of the "Central Asia Water" (CAWa).

Daud Hamidi had a poster session on Integrated surface and groundwater modeling in data scarce region, as an example: Kabul city region, his PEER project research task. 

167 participants from 18 countries attended the conference, which served as an excellent platform to bridge scientific activities of international and regional researchers. During thplinary symposium offered an outstanding environment to present recent scientific achievements and to discuss various aspects of water and land resource management in Central Asia.

Two keynote speakers (Prof. Wilfried Hae three days event, 7 scientific sessions covering traditional geoscientific disciplines, such as climatology, glaciology and hydrology as well as socio-economically relevant topics, such as environmental risk, natural resource management and capacity development, were organized. Both, experienced and early career researchers took the chance, to communicate their results in form of oral and poster presentations.

The interdiscieberli and Prof. Viktor Dukhovny) enriched the conference with their longterm scientific and practical experience.
Prof. Haeberli highlighted global and regional challenges, particularly with regard to shrinking glaciers and associated hydrological changes, which need to be addressed in the context of water related research.
Prof. Dukhovny clearly highlighted future challenges and potential solutions in the field of water management in Central Asia.

A final panel discussion on „Challenges and opportunities in water research and management in Central Asia“ with participants representing international donor organizations (Federal Foreign Ministy of Germany, UNESCO), regional stakeholders (CAREC, AgriTech Hub) and the scientific community (University of Würzburg, National University of Uzbekistan) pointed out the different perspectives on the topic and particularly called for an improved exchange.