Rural vulnerability to environmental change in the irrigated lowlands of Central Asia and options for policy-makers: A review

Aleksandrova, Mariya; Lamers, John P. A.; Martius, Christopher; Tischbein, Bernhard

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2014.03.001

Cited by 41 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The explored adaptation scenario targeted the districts with the poorest agro-environmental conditions. A differential approach to adaptation planning which considers the spatial differences could be a feasible pathway to initiate adaptation, given constraints in the region such as state production quotas and the need for substantial investments in the irrigation infrastructure (Aleksandrova et al 2014), while contributing to a more equal development. Bekchanov et al (2010) already discussed the importance of equal water distribution in improving low water productivity in the tail-end districts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Small areas of the irrigated land are also used for livestock rearing, horticulture and gardens. Aleksandrova et al (2014) previously summarized the determinants of regional climate change vulnerability for the study area, to which we refer here and summarise below.…”

Section: System Of Agro-ecological and Socio-economic Indicators For mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, national policies affect the resilience in the region through frequent land reforms, state land tenure and production quotas for cotton and wheat (Aleksandrova et al 2014). Cotton and wheat farming is dominant, whereas the agricultural diversity varies within the districts of Khorezm.…”

Section: System Of Agro-ecological and Socio-economic Indicators For mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sensitivity of the agricultural systems in Khorezm is determined by several factors such as: (i) the dominance of high water demanding crops, mainly cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and rice (Oryza sativa), and to a lesser extent wheat (Triticum aestivum); (ii) the high dependence on irrigated agriculture; and (iii) the low diversification of farmers' income; (iv) the high percentage of the rural population which accounts for 67% of the total population (Aleksandrova et al 2014). …”

Section: System Of Agro-ecological and Socio-economic Indicators For mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A total of nine researchers participated, with backgrounds in agricultural economics, water management, environmental monitoring, agronomy and afforestation. Building upon the survey findings (Table 1), focus group recommendations and previous research results (Aleksandrova et al 2014), the proposed vulnerability assessment method for agricultural systems was operationalized upon data availability. The final set of selected indicators is listed in Table 2 (details are provided in Supplement 2).…”

Section: System Of Agro-ecological and Socio-economic Indicators For mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Assessing agricultural systems vulnerability to climate change to inform adaptation planning: an application in Khorezm, Uzbekistan

Aleksandrova

Gain

Giupponi

2015

Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change

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Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change. The current vulnerability assessments through traditional fragmented sectoral methods are insufficient to capture the effects on complex agricultural systems. Therefore, the traditional methods need to be replaced by integrated approaches. The objective of this study is to propose a holistic vulnerability assessment method for agricultural systems. By aggregating both agro-ecological and socio-economic information, we develop an agricultural systems vulnerability index (ASVI) which allows for: (i) a classification of geographical units according to their vulnerability level; (ii) an identification of key determinants of vulnerability for each unit; (iii) an assessment of adaptation policy scenarios considering their effects on the sustainability of the analysed systems. The proposed method is applied in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan -a representative irrigated agricultural region in the Lower Amu Darya river basin. A decision support tool is used to facilitate multi-criteria decision analysis, including the computation of the index and performing sensitivity analysis of the results. The assessment for Khorezm reveals significant spatial differences of vulnerability levels due to a variation of contributing factors, e.g. natural resources, water productivity, rural-urban ratio. It reveals also that feasible land and water management policies could reduce the vulnerability in Khorezm, particularly in the districts with the poorest agro-ecological conditions. Overall, the proposed method could support national and local authorities in the identification of sustainable adaptation policies for the agriculture sector.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: System Of Agro-ecological and Socio-economic Indicators For mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: System Of Agro-ecological and Socio-economic Indicators For mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: System Of Agro-ecological and Socio-economic Indicators For mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: System Of Agro-ecological and Socio-economic Indicators For mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Assessing agricultural systems vulnerability to climate change to inform adaptation planning: an application in Khorezm, Uzbekistan

Aleksandrova

Gain

Giupponi

2015

Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change

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Annual Irrigation Dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains Derived from Landsat Satellite Data

Deines

Kendall

Hyndman

2017

Geophysical Research Letters

112

113

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Sustainable management of agricultural water resources requires improved understanding of irrigation patterns in space and time. We produced annual, high‐resolution (30 m) irrigation maps for 1999–2016 by combining all available Landsat satellite imagery with climate and soil covariables in Google Earth Engine. Random forest classification had accuracies from 92 to 100% and generally agreed with county statistics (r2 = 0.88–0.96). Two novel indices that integrate plant greenness and moisture information show promise for improving satellite classification of irrigation. We found considerable interannual variability in irrigation location and extent, including a near doubling between 2002 and 2016. Statistical modeling suggested that precipitation and commodity price influenced irrigated extent through time. High prices incentivized expansion to increase crop yield and profit, but dry years required greater irrigation intensity, thus reducing area in this supply‐limited region. Data sets produced with this approach can improve water sustainability by providing consistent, spatially explicit tracking of irrigation dynamics over time.

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Adaptation to climate change in the mountain regions of Central Asia: A systematic literature review

Saidaliyeva,

Muccione,

Shahgedanova

et al. 2024

WIREs Climate Change

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The mountains of Central Asia support many environmental functions and ecosystem services. The mountain environments and their services are affected by climate change and climate change adaptation (CCA) actions are required to increase resilience of regional communities. This paper is a systematic review of the English and Russian‐language literature published between 2013 (IPCC AR5) and May 2021 (IPCC AR6) focusing on CCA in the Central Asian mountains. In all, 52 publications have been reviewed. Criteria defining incremental and transformative adaptation were established and the reviewed studies were assigned to one of these approaches. The relatively low number of publications shows that the extent of CCA knowledge represented in academic literature is limited in comparison to other mountainous regions. There is a disparity between the growing body of publications addressing climate change and limited and decreasing number of academic publications focusing on adaptation in the region. Only 11 publications reported transformative adaptation actions. Most of the reviewed papers (55%) focus on water resources and future water availability; 15% focus on land degradation, 10% on changes in vertical zonation of plant species, 7% on loss of plant species, 3% on impacts of hazardous events, and 10% on multiple impacts of climate change. The awareness of the importance of CCA among the regional actors should be improved through closer collaboration between researchers, international organizations focusing on sustainable development and adaptation which have recently become more active in the region, practitioners, and local communities and co‐production of knowledge on the development and implementation of CCA.This article is categorized under: Trans‐Disciplinary Perspectives > Humanities and the Creative Arts Trans‐Disciplinary Perspectives > Humanities and the Creative Arts Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Institutions for Adaptation Assessing Impacts of Climate Change > Observed Impacts of Climate Change

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Rural vulnerability to environmental change in the irrigated lowlands of Central Asia and options for policy-makers: A review

Cited by 41 publications

References 22 publications

Assessing agricultural systems vulnerability to climate change to inform adaptation planning: an application in Khorezm, Uzbekistan

Assessing agricultural systems vulnerability to climate change to inform adaptation planning: an application in Khorezm, Uzbekistan

Annual Irrigation Dynamics in the U.S. Northern High Plains Derived from Landsat Satellite Data

Adaptation to climate change in the mountain regions of Central Asia: A systematic literature review

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