On September 22, 2020, an online regional seminar "Hydrological reservoir forecasting" was conducted for institutes for water resources management in Central Asia.
The event was organized by the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC) jointly with the Deltares Institute within Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin (# CAMP4ASB) and with financial support from the World Bank. The seminar was attended by representatives of government agencies, including the Committee on Water Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Gosvodkhoznadzor of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Uzbekgidroenergo JSC, the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan, Barki Tojik, as well as the Turkmen Water Management Institute.
Zhanna Babagalieva, Specialist of the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Program of the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC), delivered a welcoming speech to the participants. Zhanna noted that: “The training program is aimed at enhancing the capacity and qualifications of water management institutions, in particular in hydrological forecasting, as well as improving the efficiency of reservoir management through the integration of new methods and approaches, considering the climate change trends.”
On behalf of the partner - the Dutch Institute Deltares, Mr. Sanjay Giri, an expert on channel processes and hydraulic structures of the Deltares Institute, spoke about the consortium and specialists involved in the project "Training and research of hydrological reservoir modeling for forecasting and assessing hydropower capacity".
Deltares is an independent institute for applied research water resources (surface and underground) and infrastructures. The organization develops and utilizes innovative technologies for water problems and infrastructure, conducts research and provides recommendations based on the research.
In the second part of the webinar, representatives of state departmental institutions for water resources also shared the results of their activities. Countries noted the need to integrate new tools to improve the quality of monitoring river water availability for more efficient water use planning.
Deltares presented a training module during the seminar and elaborated on new tools that improve the quality of forecasting inflows into reservoirs and optimize reservoir management work.
To carry out research work and adapt new methodologies, it is necessary to investigate pilot river basins. During the meeting, the pilot river basins, previously proposed by representatives of the hydrometeorological services of Central Asian countries, were discussed. The departmental institutions approved most of the proposed rivers of the region.
Zhanna Babagalieva, a CAREC specialist, noted the importance of inter-institutional and regional cooperation, namely the joint work of water institutions and hydrometeorological centers of Central Asia diverted towards improving water resources management quality in reservoirs.
Concerning further plans, regional meetings with representatives of the hydrometeorological services will be scheduled soon. Future meetings will be aimed at increasing the capacity and improving the hydrometeorological forecasts in the region.
Stay tuned for further updates and read about upcoming events!
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