PROJECT TITLE Promoting Cooperation to Adapt to Climate Change in the Chu-Talas
Transboundary Basin
BACKGROUND
OBJECTIVE
Contracting
Authority
BUDGET
START DATE
Climate change may threaten livelihoods, economic development, human health, water resources, and thus security. Water resources will be directly affected by climate change through changes in the hydrological cycle. Moreover such impacts on water resources will have a cascading effect on other sectors such as agriculture
(decreased availability of water for irrigation, coupled with increased demand), energy (reduced hydropower potential and cooling water availability), recreation
(water-linked tourism), fisheries and navigation.
Central Asia is very vulnerable to climate change and most impact assessments predict a reduction in water availability due to glacier melting. Climate change impacts are already visible now. Moreover, water resources in Central Asia are mostly transboundary so water security is closely linked with political and economical implications (hydropower productions vs. irrigated agriculture) that establish a direct link between changes in hydrological regimes and water availability and regional security. The transboundary nature of water in the Central
Asia region also means that risks and challenges are shared and that solutions need to be coordinated. Transboundary cooperation in the development of adaptation strategies is necessary to ensure that measures decided on unilaterally do not have unintended effects in neighbouring countries thereby increasing vulnerability and causing controversy over water use. Without cooperation there is the risk that adaptation strategies and measures chosen in different riparian countries might be diverging or even contradictory, with security implications. Cooperation on adaptation can therefore prevent conflicts. Moreover it can also bring numerous benefits through the pooling of knowledge and resources.
This project will increase the adaptive capacity of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and of the Chu-Talas Commission to ongoing and future climate change impacts, ensure coordination of adaptation actions in the Chu-Talas basin and thereby help to prevent possible negative effects on regional security.
The project aims to improve the adaptive capacity of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, to support dialogue and cooperation on the needed steps to design an adaptation strategy in the transboundary context and thereby prevent controversy on the use of water resources.
The specific objectives of the project are:



Modelling of the possible changes in water resources of the Chu-Talas basin associated with climate conditions and elaboration of joint scenarios,
Preparation of joint vulnerability assessment, focusing on selected areas/sectors of importance for the work of the Commission,
Development of a package of possible adaptation measures and relevant procedures for the Commission, which may contribute to decreasing potential tensions over changing hydrological regimes. Such procedures and measures will be built into the regular Commission’s operations and policies, where appropriate.
UNDP, UNECE
225 000 Euro
Jan.2010

COMPLETION
DATE
IMLEMENTING
COMPANY
BENEFICIARIES
TARGET
GROUPS
ACTIVITIES
EXPECTED
Dec.2012
UNDP, UNECE, OSCE


Kazakhstan: Committee of Water Resources, Ministry of Agriculture
Kyrgyzstan: State Committee of Water Resources and Melioration
Secretariat of the Chu-Talas Commission
The pilot project will be carried out as part of the overall programme of projects aimed at implementing the Guidance, which is part of the workplan 2010-2012 of the Convention and partly funded and implemented by ENVSEC. This will allow sharing experience with other similar projects in other parts of the UNECE region.
As a first step, a baseline study will be conducted to identify and assess already ongoing or completed projects and national and international initiatives as well as existing data and impact assessments. This will be done through interviews with officials, initial data collection, contact with other previous and ongoing projects etc. Depending on the results of the baseline study, subsequently, the collected data and information will be processed and used as a basis for developing an agreed upon impact assessment, based on joint scenarios and modelling. Based on the results as well as further information, a vulnerability assessment will be carried out in order to identify the most vulnerable areas, economic activities, ecosystems and population groups. The focus of the vulnerability assessment will be designed taking into account the work of the Chu-Talas commission.
Based on the results of the vulnerability assessment, adaptation measures and their financing and implementation will be planned jointly with the riparian states, including financing aspects. If possible, contacts to relevant donor institutions will be established. At the same time, the opportunity and options for adapting the
Commission’s procedures to allow coping with climate change impacts will be discussed and agreed upon so to integrate project findings into the regular commission activities.
The project will be executed in two main phases as described below.
Inception phase – data collection and getting all partners on board, contacts with other initiatives and donors, proposals on modelling and content of vulnerability report/scenarios. Starting modelling activities (depending on available data and other conditions).
Implementation phase - all detailed technical operations (such as modelling and scenario development). Based on the agreed scenarios, vulnerability assessment will performed following already developed outline. Relevant Commission procedures will be worked out, adaptation strategies and their implementation/financing will be discussed and, if possible, agreed among all key stakeholders and potential donors.
Sharing experience – relevant experience will be shared with other basins and countries and built in into water-related state operations. This will be done throughout the project.

OUTCOME(S)
OUTPUTS
PERFORMANCE
INDICATORS
CONTACTS
The following deliverables will be developed:
- Common scenarios and models agreed upon by the riparian countries assessing the expected climate change impacts on water resources;
- Joint vulnerability assessment for the respective basin, including environmental, social and economic vulnerability and the security implications;
- Proposal for the procedures to be employed by the Joint Commission to tackle uncertainty related to climate change and maintain needed level of cooperation and benefits sharing;
- Proposal for coordinated measures to be taken in the specific basin enabling climate change adaptation, including cost-benefit assessment and environmental impact assessment.
Ms. Natalia Alexeeva,
Water Programme Coordinator for Central Asia in UNDP Almaty office
Address: 67 Tole bi str. 050000 Almaty Kazakhstan
Telephone: +7 727 258 26 43 (ext. 1551) natalia.alexeeva@undp.org
Ms.
Sonja Koeppel
Associate Environmental Affairs Officer, UNECE
Tel.: +41 22 917 12 18
Fax: +41 22 917 0107 sonja.koeppel@unece.org