Archive 2009
Launch of a Water Allocation Model for improving irrigation efficiency and water productivity in the Khorezm region
On October 09, 2009, a water allocation and distribution model jointly developed by the Scientific Information Centre of the Interstate Commission on Water Coordination of Central Asia (IC-ICWC), the ZEF-UNESCO project and the Canal Management Organisation (CMO) for the Shavat-Kulavat canal system in the Khorezm region, was launched in a collaborative workshop held at the Urgench State University in Uzbekistan. High ranking officials from the Basin Water Organization (BWO) of the Amudarya river, representatives of the CMO of the Shavat-Kulavat, which is one of the major irrigation channels of the Khorezm region, regional water head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (MAWR) of Uzbekistan, scientific staff of SIC-ICWC, and the project coordinators as well as senior scientists of ZEF/UNESCO project participated in this event. Mr. B. Kdirniyazov, the head of BWO of the Amudarya river, inaugurated the workshop.
The objectives of this workshop were to (i) familiarize the participants with the capabilities of this model, and (ii) explore its potential use by local water managers to improve water distribution and hence irrigation efficiency in an integrated water resources management (IWRM) framework. The representatives of the Shavat-Kulavat canal system found the model useful in planning and evaluating water allocation and distribution amongst the water users associations and will appoint in due time at least two of their employees to participate in a training workshop on the daily use of the software.
In addition, the workshop participants collaboratively agreed on a plan of action not only for further skill development of staff, but also on upgrading hardware infrastructure of CMO to facilitate adoption and refinement of the model. A team of project scientists will undertake further model development in close collaboration with ICWC and model users at CMO.
It was also decided that this participative model evaluation and adoption process will be closely monitored as part of project’s “Follow the Innovation, FTI” component. Mr. Mehmood Ul Hassan, project’s FTI facilitator, and his team was specifically assigned to facilitate the close collaboration with Shavat-Kulavat management and coordinate the adaptation and adoption processes.
Awards and prizes to project participants
Dr. Ihtiyor Bobojonov is the winner of this year´sPrize for the best Doctoral Thesis at ZEF
Award of Uzbek professorship
Dr. Nazar Ibragimov was awarded an Uzbek Professorship in the field of agro-chemicals by the Uzbek Academy of Science. The official ceremony was held on July 1. Dr. Ibragimov has been working as a Senior Researcher in the ZEF/UNESCO project in Khorezm for six years now. He is located in Urgench.
IPSWAT Scholarship
Three PhD students of the project have been awarded a scholarship by the BMBF stipendprogram IPSWaT (International Postgraduate Studies in Water Technologies). We congratulate Elena Kan, Anisiya Kudryavtseva and Gunther Schorcht on their successful application. Whereas Anisiya and Gunther are working for ZEF Elena Kan will be affiliated to the University of Hohenheim.
Robert Bosch Junior Professorship 2009 awarded to ZEF Researcher
Asia Khamzina can be called a happy new Junior Professor now, after receiving the prize by the Robert Bosch Foundation at an official ceremony in Berlin on March 6 2009. The Junior Professorship for “Sustainable Use of Natural Resources” is awarded annually by the Robert Bosch Foundation since 2007. Ms. Khamzina is therewith the second prize holder. The selection procedure is chaired by Klaus Töpfer, former Director of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).
Asia Khamzinas research topic is “Competing claims on land use: Opportunities for climate change mitigation through afforestation of degraded croplands in Central Asia”.
Photos © Robert Bosch Foundation
