Country

Uzbekistan

Explore historical and projected climate data, climate data by sector, impacts, key vulnerabilities and what adaptation measures are being taken. Explore the overview for a general context of how climate change is affecting Uzbekistan.

Adaptation

Uzbekistan is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and has identified agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, energy, health, and water resources as the most vulnerable sectors. Uzbekistan submitted its Third National Communication to the UNFCCC in 2016. The country’s climate change adaptation planning is executed by the Centre of Hydrometeorological Service (Uzhydromet), under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan has adopted a number of documents and strategies associated with the regulation of actions and implementation of measures for vulnerable areas and has realized success towards the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol mechanisms. The country has established 15 Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) projects, registering 14 million tons (tCO2e) of Certified Emission Reductions (CER), placing Uzbekistan first among CIS and Eastern European countries in the number of CDM projects. In late 2016, the Government of Uzbekistan reached out to UNDP to request support on the formulation and implementation of a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Process. Assessments and development of the country’s NAP development process is ongoing.

Key Adaptation Policies & Reports

Adaptation Options for Key Sectors

  • Implementation of an integrated water resources management system, irrigation systems, the improvement of irrigation-drainage systems, the introduction of drought-resistant plant species, changes in cropping cycles, and monitoring for potential natural hazards.
  • Enhance drought, flood, pest, and soil salinity management in Uzbekistan.
  • Research and extension services to enhance the capacity and delivery of information to the agricultural sector, with particular reference to climate change and the implementation of adaptation options.
  • Improvements to the weather monitoring network and associated weather information systems, including the publication and distribution of agriculture-specific weather forecasts on a frequent basis (e.g. short-term and seasonal forecasts, the monitoring of drought, etc.).
  • Strengthen capacity to generate new forms of empirical knowledge, technologies and agricultural support services that meet emerging development challenges arising from increased climate change and variability.
  • Information on climate variability and projected climate change should be provided to public utilities and energy generating facilities to enhance decision making and long-term resilience.
  • Improve energy systems' capacity to sustain cumulative impacts such as the redundancy at peak periods, the sensitivity of regulators to climate change pressures on infrastructure and the possible need for redundant capacity, demand management and energy conservation strategies.  
  • Strengthen the legal framework for the renewable energy sector to increase energy efficiency and improve institutional capacity.
  • Strategic planning at the national level is a high priority, whereby special attention should be given to competitive and less climate change dependent energy generation methods.
  • Upgrade health-care infrastructure to support systemic climate change resilience. Capacity needs to be built to support adaptation to extreme weather events and develop necessary response capacities. 
  • Reduce social vulnerability in underserved populations living in both urban and rural areas to support development and increase resiliency .
  • Improve climate and health monitoring and surveillance systems to allow the observation of trends and forecasts to direct interventions against climate sensitive diseases.
  • Improve procedural controls for quality of drinking water and foodstuffs during the hotter periods of the year.
  • Uzbekistan is developing a legal framework to strengthen the material and technical basis of the country’s healthcare sector, including the development of an electronic database/ health informatics system to cover population health.  Specifically, focus is on the introduction of medical warning systems in relation to heat waves and the physiological stress. 
  • Reduce system losses in water distribution networks and in treated wastewater reuse in industrial sectors, especially for large utilities, irrigation networks and shortage-prone areas.
  • Structural and non-structural initiatives regarding water resource management and use in the agricultural sector should be combined to improve water use efficiency.
  • A 50% reduction in the use of low-quality cropland for cotton production has been discussed as a water-saving measure.  Existing estimates suggest that eliminating marginal areas (soils with low productivity) from the irrigation plan could save 15–20 % surface water.
  • Improve efficiency and access to water resources, including water saving technologies and implementing increased mechanization and atomization of water distribution in river basins and irrigation districts, specifically in settled areas.

Gaps and Needs

  • Gain a better understanding of the timing and magnitude of incidence of important indicators of climate change in the future, as well as the key vulnerabilities, development impact, and possible adaptation responses.
  • Improve science-based understanding of the nature and magnitude of physical and biophysical climate change impacts under different scenarios.
  • Widen the participation of the public, scientific institutions, women and local communities in planning and management, accounting for approaches and methods of gender equity.
  • Strengthen environmental monitoring capabilities for improved and more effective environmental management.
  • Improve observational data through additional weather stations and hydrometeorological instrumentation.
  • Improve technical capacity to analyze hydromet data and project impacts across sectors.
  • Establish institutional capacity for operating early warning systems.
  • Develop early warning systems about dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena and climate risk management, specifically for riverine networks.
  • Improve knowledge, skills, technologies and infrastructure, including updating existing irrigation networks, for improved efficiency use in agriculture and long-term groundwater management.
  • Define cost of inaction and key actions across water resources, energy, agriculture, forestry, transport, and health sectors to provide compelling economic arguments and a broad-brush “road map” and the next steps for climate-smart actions.
  • Establish a National Steering Committee on Climate Change to ensure the integration of low-carbon climate-resilient considerations into development planning by providing overall guidance, political support, and leadership, ensuring adequate resource allocation and monitoring the results related to the national efforts to address and adapt to climate change.
  • Establish or use an existing mechanism for a Regional Central Asian Steering Committee on Climate Change, comprising high-level representatives from the five Central Asian countries. The committee’s main responsibilities would be to provide overall guidance, political support, and leadership and to serve as a platform for continuous coordination of regional efforts to address and adapt to climate change.
  • Implement regional-scale cooperation among countries in Central Asia and emphasize the benefits of collaboration and institution building in the region.