Transboundary Irtysh River Basin Cooperation for Adaptation

The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Institute published a study examining transboundary cooperation in the water-food-energy nexus for the Irtysh River Basin and recommending concrete policy actions to enhance climate adaptation.

• Study scope and key findings: The study analyzes the Irtysh River Basin (an international river of 4,248 kilometers, basin area about 165×104 km2, supporting around 15 million people) using a two-step climate modeling and regional comparative analysis approach; it examined 20 years of hydrological data, 288 monthly climate samples (2000–2023), found an average temperature increase of 0.65°C since 2000, identified downstream water scarcity and severe irrigation losses, and highlighted droughts in 2022 and 2023. Core study sites are the Altay region (upstream, Xinjiang, PRC) and East Kazakhstan (downstream) with contrasting adaptations (upstream: shift to less water-intensive crops, increased wind/solar; downstream: continued reliance on hydropower, low adoption of water-saving tech).

• Implementation details and policy recommendations: The paper recommends enhancing water-saving technologies, promoting green energy investments, deepening agricultural trade, and establishing a data-sharing platform between upstream and downstream states; it references mechanisms including payments for ecosystem services, EU water/energy/food policies, Integrated River Basin Management, PRC’s Pilot Implementation for Water Resource Tax Reform, Kazakhstan’s New Water Code, the River Chief System, and the Belt and Road Initiative as frameworks or tools for implementation. No specific financing amounts or timelines for implementation are provided in the article.