The online conference "Training based on modern tools for data processing, hydrological and climate forecasting" took place on June 18, 2020. The event was organized by the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC) as a part of the "Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB)," funded by the World Bank.
The main objectives of the event:
• Discuss the current needs for improving academic and research potential in the region.
• Get acquainted with modern tools and methodologies, as well as some research results of the data processing
• Identify the next steps and ways to strengthen cooperation between foreign and national educational and research institutions in building academic and research potential in Central Asia.
Mrs. Irina Bekmirzaeva, CAMP4ASB manager, conducted the welcoming speech. She emphasized that "the strong academic potential of a new generation of young specialists is necessary for timely response and adaptation to climate change in the region." She also emphasized that "the increase of academic potential with in the CAMP4ASB project occurred through the introduction of innovative technologies, promotion of scientific research, development of skills and competencies." Considering these needs, the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia actively supports various platforms and provides training seminars to exchange knowledge and experience. The exchange of knowledge and experience was the purpose of the conference.
Presentations of the speakers
Anastasia Lobanova, a spokeswoman for the University of Potsdam, told the participants of the conference about the University's building capacity experience in Central Asia.
Anastasia paid particular attention to the statistics of climate change at the global and regional levels. Based on the data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Ms. Lobanova emphasized that the rate of climate change in Central Asia is approximately two times higher than the global one. This fact is a matter of concern in the region. For this reason, it is essential to assess the climate change rate in Central Asia.
The University of Potsdam has been working in Central Asia under the CAMP4ASB project for the past two years. The activity of the University is divided into three components: climate change, capacity building, and additional modules for universities.
"At first, we analyzed the needs of local stakeholders to develop a continuing education course. As a result, two workshops were developed. One was related to climate change scenarios. The other one was dedicated to hydrological modelling. The participants were representatives of hydrometeorological centers from Central Asian countries." Afterwards, there was an online course developed, which is devoted to climate change and hydrometeorological forecasting.
Also, video lectures developed within the cooperation are available on the CAREC Youtubechannel HERE.
Mr. Sanjay Giri also talked about his experience in the region. Sanjay Giri is a representative of Delaters. He prepared a presentation "Modern tools for water resources management and forecasting hydrological and channel processes."
Deltares is an independent institute of applied research in water resources and infrastructure. Mr. Sanjay Giri told the conference participants about the main approaches used within Deltares. He noted that the institute is trying to apply an integrated approach and explore the problems comprehensively. To provide a better understanding of the work of Deltares, he gave several specific examples, including the use of a tool called Delft-FEWS, which is the leading forecasting system in the world. Mr. Geary cited the Deltares Academy case study as an example of capacity building activities.
Regarding our region itself, the speaker shared an example of an express analysis of a dam break and flooding at the Sardorba reservoir in Uzbekistan. This analysis demonstrated how we could monitor the water resources situation directly from home.
It should also be noted that Deltares with CAREC is conducting a project to train personnel on hydrological modelling of reservoirs for forecasting and assessing the hydropower potential.
The next speaker was Mr. Denis Aibulatov. He presented a remote learning program in hydrometeorology, implemented at the geography faculty of Moscow State University. The program's goal is to provide training on meteorology, hydrology, hydrogeology, channel studies, oceanology, geoecology, and natural energy processes. Mr. Aibulatov shared the main components of the program with the participants.
The representative of the University of Potsdam, professor of the department and climatology Axel Bronstert, also shared his experience in improving academic potential. There are currently two types of programs available in this direction at the University: the master's program in geoecology, the master's program "Climate, Earth, Water and Sustainability".
The professor spoke about the features of teaching geoecology at the University of Potsdam. He also emphasized that today environmental issues are of great interest among German youth.
Representatives of the leading research organization in the field of climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Mrs. Svetlana Krakovskaya, made a presentation "Features of Climate Financing in the Central Asian Region" also addressed the participants of the online conference.
Svetlana briefly told the participants about the webinar on the history of the IPCC. You can find out more on the official website - HERE.
Notably, the IPCC's primary role is to provide decision-makers with the necessary information on climate change. The IPCC is currently working on the Sixth Assessment Report. Each report presents a literature assessment cycle on climate change, which has been published over this period.
For the 6th evaluation period, three reports have already been prepared: "Global warming by 1.5 C", "Climate change and land use," "Ocean and the cryosphere."
In her presentation, Svetlana told how the reports are prepared and shared on how to take part in the IPCC activities.
Unfortunately, Svetlana also noted that the region remains a "blank spot" on the map of climate research. That is why academic building capacity is of great importance specifically for our region. Without reliable data on hand, we cannot make realistic forecasts about what awaits us in the future.
For this reason, increasing academic and research potential is the paramount task. It is necessary to exchange experience and continuously improve your knowledge, learn new tools, and strengthen cooperation with international institutions.
You can find the webinar recordings and speaker presentations HERE.
Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin
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Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin
