scholarly journals Approaches to Optimize Uzbekistan's Investment in Irrigation Technologies

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-147
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Optimal Investment ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Cotton Production ◽  
Amu Darya ◽  
Original Size ◽  
Irrigation Technologies ◽  
Syr Darya

For many decades, Uzbekistan has been one of the largest cotton producers in the world. The irrigation water needed for these high production levels has been delivered by the massive diversion of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, which naturally flowed into the Aral Sea. This diversion for agriculture was the main cause of the rapid decline of the Aral Sea, which is at only 10% of its original size today. The traditional method of irrigation, which relies on simple open canal systems, is highly inefficient for managing the region’s critical and limited water resource. It has been qualitatively estimated, for example, that irrigation water lost to evaporation and system inefficiencies is quite large. With the future availability of water at risk for agriculture in Central Asia, primarily due to the loss of glacial volume from global warming, along with declines in seasonal snowpack, it is clear that new approaches to water management are needed. Any serious efforts to restore the Aral Sea and its ecological services would also reduce supplies of irrigation water for Uzbekistan. While regional conflict over water is unlikely, it must be considered since Uzbekistan is a downstream country among several that rely on the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers for most of their water supplies. To insure against these risks to cotton production and the underlying economy, better irrigation technologies are needed across Uzbekistan. However, these technologies can be quite expensive, especially given that water is still nearly free. In this case study we explore the use of real options analysis (ROA) to look for optimal investment strategies in efficient irrigation technologies in light of variable climate and policy uncertainties.

Application of the Commercial approach

2020 ◽  
pp. 81-102
Author(s):  
S. Nazrul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Colorado River ◽  
River System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Amu Darya ◽  
The World ◽  
Terrestrial Biodiversity ◽  
Syr Darya

Chapter 4 provides a few case studies of rivers to illustrate the consequences of the Commercial approach. These rivers are: the Colorado River of the United States; the Murray-Darling river system of Australia; the Amu Darya and Syr Darya of the former Soviet Union; the Nile River of Africa; and the Indus River of South Asia. It shows that in each case, the application of the Commercial approach has led to river fragmentation and excessive withdrawal of water, leading to exhaustion of rivers, which in turn led to salinity intrusion and erosion, subsidence, and desiccation of the deltas. The ecology of the river basins has been damaged, including loss of aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity. In case of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers, this damage includes the destruction of the Aral Sea, once considered the second-largest inland waterbody of the world. In each case, the Commercial approach has led to conflicts among co-riparian countries.

scholarly journals A novel causal structure-based framework for comparing basin-wide water-energy-food-ecology nexuses applied to the data-limited Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiyang Shi ◽  
Geping Luo ◽  
Hongwei Zheng ◽  
Chunbo Chen ◽  
Jie Bai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Causal Structure ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Amu Darya ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Upstream Reservoir ◽  
Syr Darya

Abstract. The previous comparative studies on watersheds were mostly based on the comparison of dispersive characteristics, which lacked systemicity and causality. We proposed a causal structure-based framework for basin comparison based on the Bayesian network (BN), and focus on the basin-scale water-energy-food-ecology (WEFE) nexuses. We applied it to the Syr Darya river basin (SDB) and the Amu Darya river basin (ADB) that caused the Aral Sea disaster. The causality of the nexuses was effectively compared and universality of this framework was discussed. In terms of changes of the nexuses, the sensitive factor for the water supplied to the Aral Sea changed from the agricultural development during the Soviet Union period to the disputes in the WEFE nexuses after the disintegration. The water-energy contradiction of SDB is more severe than that of ADB partly due to the higher upstream reservoir interception capacity. It further made management of the winter surplus water downstream of SDB more controversial. Due to this, the water-food-ecology conflict between downstream countries may escalate and turn into a long-term chronic problem. Reducing water inflow to depressions and improving the planting structure prove beneficial to the Aral Sea ecology and this effect of SDB is more significant. The construction of reservoirs on the Panj river of the upstream ADB should be cautious to avoid an intense water-energy conflict as SDB. It is also necessary to promote the water-saving drip irrigation and to strengthen the cooperation.

scholarly journals Global cotton production under climate change – Implications for yield and water consumption

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Jans ◽  
Werner von Bloh ◽  
Sibyll Schaphoff ◽  
Christoph Müller
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
The Other ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Cotton Production ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Abstract. Being an extensively produced natural fiber on earth, cotton is of importance for economies. Although the plant is broadly adapted to varying environments, growth and irrigation water demand of cotton may be challenged by future climate change. To study the impacts of climate change on cotton productivity in different regions across the world and the irrigation water requirements related to it, we use the process-based, spatially detailed biosphere and hydrology model LPJmL. We find our modelled cotton yield levels in good agreement with reported values and simulated water consumption of cotton production similar to published estimates. Following the ISIMIP protocol, we employ an ensemble of five General Circulation Models under four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) for the 2011–2099 period to simulate future cotton yields. We find that irrigated cotton production does not suffer from climate change if CO2 effects are considered, whereas rainfed production is more sensitive to varying climate conditions. Considering the overall effect of a changing climate and CO2 fertilization, cotton production on current cropland steadily increases for most of the RCPs. Starting from ~ 65 million tonnes in 2010, cotton production for RCP4.5 and RCP6.0 equates to 83 and 92 million tonnes at the end of the century, respectively. Under RCP8.5, simulated global cotton production raises by more than 50 % by 2099. Taking only climate change into account, projected cotton production considerably shrinks in most scenarios, by up to one-third or 43 million tonnes under RCP8.5. The simulation of future virtual water content (VWC) of cotton grown under elevated CO2 results for all scenarios in less VWC compared to ambient CO2 conditions. Under RCP6.0 and RCP8.5, VWC is notably decreased by more than 2000 m3 t−1 in areas where cotton is produced under purely rainfed conditions. By 2040, the average global VWC for cotton declines in all scenarios from currently 3300 to 3000 m3 t−1 and reduction continues by up to 30 % in 2100 under RCP8.5. While the VWC decreases by the CO2 effect, elevated temperature (and thus water stress) reverse the picture. Except for RCP2.6, the global VWC of cotton increase slightly but steadily under the other RCPs until mid century. RCP8.5 results in an average global VWC of more than 5000 m3 t−1 by end of the simulation period. Given the economic relevance of cotton production, climate change poses an additional stress and deserves special attention. Changes in VWC and water demands for cotton production are of special importance, as cotton production is known for its intense water consumption that led, e.g., to the loss of most of the Aral sea. The implications of climate impacts on cotton production on the one hand, and the impact of cotton production on water resources on the other hand illustrate the need to assess how future climate change may affect cotton production and its resource requirements. The inclusion of cotton in LPJmL allows for various large-scale studies to assess impacts of climate change on hydrological factors and the implications for agricultural production and carbon sequestration.

scholarly journals A novel causal structure-based framework for comparing a basin-wide water–energy–food–ecology nexus applied to the data-limited Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 901-925
Author(s):  
Haiyang Shi ◽  
Geping Luo ◽  
Hongwei Zheng ◽  
Chunbo Chen ◽  
Olaf Hellwich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Causal Structure ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Amu Darya ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Upstream Reservoir ◽  
Syr Darya

Abstract. The previous comparative studies on watersheds were mostly based on the comparison of dispersive characteristics, which lacked systemicity and causality. We proposed a causal structure-based framework for basin comparison based on the Bayesian network (BN) and focus on the basin-scale water–energy–food–ecology (WEFE) nexus. We applied it to the Syr Darya River basin (SDB) and the Amu Darya River basin (ADB), of which poor water management caused the Aral Sea disaster. The causality of the nexus was effectively compared and universality of this framework was discussed. In terms of changes in the nexus, the sensitive factor for the water supplied to the Aral Sea changed from the agricultural development during the Soviet Union period to the disputes in the WEFE nexus after the disintegration. The water–energy contradiction of the SDB is more severe than that of the ADB, partly due to the higher upstream reservoir interception capacity. It further made management of the winter surplus water downstream of the SDB more controversial. Due to this, the water–food–ecology conflict between downstream countries may escalate and turn into a long-term chronic problem. Reducing water inflow to depressions and improving the planting structure prove beneficial to the Aral Sea ecology, and this effect of the SDB is more significant. The construction of reservoirs on the Panj River of the upstream ADB should be cautious to avoid an intense water–energy conflict such as the SDB's. It is also necessary to promote the water-saving drip irrigation and to strengthen the cooperation.

scholarly journals Comparison of Crop Evapotranspiration and Water Productivity of Typical Delta Irrigation Areas in Aral Sea Basin

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Zhibin Liu ◽  
Tie Liu ◽  
Yue Huang ◽  
Yangchao Duan ◽  
Xiaohui Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Spatial Resolution ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
Crop Evapotranspiration ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Amu Darya ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Syr Darya

The intensity of agricultural activities and the characteristics of water consumption affect the hydrological processes of inland river basins in Central Asia. The crop water requirements and water productivity are different between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins due to the different water resource development and utilization policies of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which have resulted in more severe agricultural water consumption of the Amu Darya delta than the Syr Darya delta, and the differences in the surface runoff are injected into the Aral Sea. To reveal the difference in water resource dissipation, water productivity, and its influencing factors between the two basins, this study selected the irrigation areas of Amu Darya delta (IAAD) and Syr Darya delta (IASD) as typical examples; the actual evapotranspiration (ETa) was retrieved by using the modified surface energy balance algorithm for land model (SEBAL) based on high spatial resolution Landsat images from 2000 to 2020. Land use and cover change (LUCC) and streamflow data were obtained to analyze the reasons for the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of regional ETa. The water productivity of typical crops in two irrigation areas was compared and combined with statistical data. The results indicate that: (1) the ETa simulated by the SEBAL model matched the crop evapotranspiration (ETc) calculated by the Penman–Monteith method and ground-measured data well, with all the correlation coefficients higher than 0.7. (2) In IAAD, the average ETa was 1150 mm, and the ETa had shown a decreasing trend; for the IASD, the average ETa was 800 mm. The ETa showed an increasing trend with low stability due to a large amount of developable cultivated land. The change of cultivated land dominated the spatio-temporal characteristics of ETa in the two irrigation areas (3). Combined with high spatial resolution ETa inversion results, the water productivity of cotton and rice in IAAD was significantly lower than in IASD, and wheat was not significantly different, but all were far lower than the international average. This study can provide useful information for agricultural water management in the Aral Sea region.

State and prospects of development of cotton growing in Uzbekistan

2020 ◽  
pp. 9-12
Author(s):  
Renat Nazarov
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Aral Sea Basin ◽  
Grain Crops ◽  
Amu Darya ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Syr Darya

The potential of water resources throughout Central Asia consists of water resources of two rivers-the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, the Aral sea basin, and is 117…123 km3 per year. Approximately half of these water resources, according to intergovernmental agreements with other Central Asian States, are used by the most populous Republic of Uzbekistan in the region, where the area of irrigated arable land today is 3296 thousand hectares. Of these, up to 1137 thousand hectares are allocated annually for grain crops, and about 1033 thousand hectares of irrigated arable land are allocated for cotton.

IRRIGATION SCHEDULE OF LONG-FRUIT CUCUMBERS AND HYDROAMELIORATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRIP IRRIGATION IN PLASTIC GREENHOUSE

2019 ◽  
pp. 307-313
Author(s):  
Rumiana Kireva ◽  
Roumen Gadjev
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Drip Irrigation ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Irrigation Schedule ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Irrigation Technology ◽  
Irrigation Technologies ◽  
Pressure Flows ◽  
Efficient Water Use

The deficit of the irrigation water requires irrigation technologies with more efficient water use. For cucumbers, the most suitable is the drip irrigation technology. For establishing of the appropriate irrigation schedule of cucumbers under the soil and climate conditions in the village of Chelopechene, near Sofia city, the researchеs was conducted with drip irrigation technology, adopting varying irrigation schedules and hydraulic regimes - from fully meeting the daily crops water requirements cucumbers to reduced depths with 20% and 40%. It have been established irrigation schedule with adequate pressure flows in the water source, irrigation water productivity and yields of in plastic unheated greenhouses of the Sofia plant.

scholarly journals Afforestation of Degraded Croplands as a Water-Saving Option in Irrigated Region of the Aral Sea Basin

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1433
Author(s):  
Navneet Kumar ◽  
Asia Khamzina ◽  
Patrick Knöfel ◽  
John P. A. Lamers ◽  
Bernhard Tischbein
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Trade Offs

Climate change is likely to decrease surface water availability in Central Asia, thereby necessitating land use adaptations in irrigated regions. The introduction of trees to marginally productive croplands with shallow groundwater was suggested for irrigation water-saving and improving the land’s productivity. Considering the possible trade-offs with water availability in large-scale afforestation, our study predicted the impacts on water balance components in the lower reaches of the Amudarya River to facilitate afforestation planning using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The land-use scenarios used for modeling analysis considered the afforestation of 62% and 100% of marginally productive croplands under average and low irrigation water supply identified from historical land-use maps. The results indicate a dramatic decrease in the examined water balance components in all afforestation scenarios based largely on the reduced irrigation demand of trees compared to the main crops. Specifically, replacing current crops (mostly cotton) with trees on all marginal land (approximately 663 km2) in the study region with an average water availability would save 1037 mln m3 of gross irrigation input within the study region and lower the annual drainage discharge by 504 mln m3. These effects have a considerable potential to support irrigation water management and enhance drainage functions in adapting to future water supply limitations.

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