Water resources, both in terms of water quality and water quantity, are of critical importance in planning for sustainable development in Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in other parts of the world. This NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), entitled "Risk Assessment as a Tool for Water Resources Decision-Making in Central Asia", was conducted on September 23-25, 2002 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The ARW addressed methods and approaches by which risk assessment methodology that has been developed in the United States, Europe and elsewhere can be applied to environmental and water resource problems in Central Asia. The stated goals of the ARWwere: • to assess the existing state of knowledge in the context of potential applications of risk assessment tools to water resources and other environmental issues in Central Asia; • to identify research gaps and directions for future research in the area of water resources which may be addressed through the application of risk assessment tools; • to promote closer working relationships between the scientists and technical experts from Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as the scientists and technical experts from the United States and Europe. Based on historical experiences of Central Asian scientists and their colleagues in other parts of the world, there is a demonstrated need in the region to provide education, training and technical assistance on environmental decision-making tools, including risk assessment.

Water resources, both in terms of water quality and water quantity, are of critical importance in planning for sustainable development in Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in other parts of the world. This NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), entitled "Risk Assessment as a Tool for Water Resources Decision-Making in Central Asia", was conducted on September 23-25, 2002 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The ARW addressed methods and approaches by which risk assessment methodology that has been developed in the United States, Europe and elsewhere can be applied to environmental and water resource problems in Central Asia. The stated goals of the ARWwere: • to assess the existing state of knowledge in the context of potential applications of risk assessment tools to water resources and other environmental issues in Central Asia; • to identify research gaps and directions for future research in the area of water resources which may be addressed through the application of risk assessment tools; • to promote closer working relationships between the scientists and technical experts from Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as the scientists and technical experts from the United States and Europe. Based on historical experiences of Central Asian scientists and their colleagues in other parts of the world, there is a demonstrated need in the region to provide education, training and technical assistance on environmental decision-making tools, including risk assessment.

This book outlines the current status of water resources management in Central Asia countries, and provides a review of the history, policies and transboundary cooperation regarding water resources in the region. Particular attention is given to the water-energy-food-environmental nexus, and to the application of the UNECE Environmental Conventions in Central Asia. Readers will also learn about the US and German environmental policies applied in Central Asia, and will discover specific case studies on water resources policies in Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. Together with the companion volumes on Water Bodies and Climate Change in Central Asia and Water Resources Management in Central Asia, it offers a valuable source of information for a broad readership, from students and scientists interested in the environmental sciences, to policymakers and practitioners working in the fields of water resources policy and management, international relations, and environmental issues.

The Central Asian republics and neighboring countries are currently experiencing problems related to the availability and efficient/equitable distribution of freshwater. This book contains papers from a NATO-sponsored Advanced Research Workshop that was organized to address these concerns. It addresses the myriad of issues involving shared freshwater among the countries in this region, discussing ecology, law, economics, politics, water policy and integrated water management.

Climate change, non-sustainable land management and the insufficient participation of the local population leads to land degradation problems in parts of the Altai Region, which includes China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and the Russian Federation. This book presents important aspects of environmental security and sustainable land use in general and in particular for Central Asia, i.e. the environmental consequences of climate change; sustainable land use and regional development; sustainable development in mountain and steppe regions; beyond borders: Transboundary Biosphere Reserve "Altai" as an approach for regional development; landscape planning as an integrative tool for sustainable development; challenges and threats for environmental stability in Central Asia. A final recommendation in the area of sustainable development and land use as well as the proceeding efforts towards the establishment of the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve "Altai" and the implementation of landscape planning were set in the book as some of the main results of the meeting.

This book (the research outcome of the EU-INCO FP6 research project Jayhun: Interstate Water Resource Risk Management: Towards a Sustainable Future for the AralBasin) focuses on and discusses the results of research done on the risk assessment levels associated with relevant regional variables in the Aral Basin and develops a strategy for an improved management of the region’s water resources. The book provides current and reliable information on the rate of glacial retreat in Central Asian and the implications for future water resources in the region. The impact of global changes on annual precipitation is assessed. The rates of reservoir siltation are established by hydrographic surveys, and analyses of wastage and effectiveness of water usage in the large irrigation massifs are conducted. Water resources models are used to analyse existing and newly generated data. These are calibrated with existing data and subsequently used for simulating various possible future scenarios. The book thereby provides a risk analysis for water resources management in the Aral Basin and identifies sustainable options for improved management of the region’s water resources.

Confronting Climate Uncertainty in Water Resources Planning and Project Design describes an approach to facing two fundamental and unavoidable issues brought about by climate change uncertainty in water resources planning and project design. The first is a risk assessment problem. The second relates to risk management. This book provides background on the risks relevant in water systems planning, the different approaches to scenario definition in water system planning, and an introduction to the decision-scaling methodology upon which the decision tree is based. The decision tree is described as a scientifically defensible, repeatable, direct and clear method for demonstrating the robustness of a project to climate change. While applicable to all water resources projects, it allocates effort to projects in a way that is consistent with their potential sensitivity to climate risk. The process was designed to be hierarchical, with different stages or phases of analysis triggered based on the findings of the previous phase. An application example is provided followed by a descriptions of some of the tools available for decision making under uncertainty and methods available for climate risk management. The tool was designed for the World Bank but can be applicable in other scenarios where similar challenges arise.