On 28th March researchers and practitioners from the FutureDAMS consortium including IWMI (the International Water Management Institute) presented their water-energy-food-environment planning & design framework to a group of Central Asia water and energy practitioners. The event showcased the analysis tool set, including an open source river basin and energy simulation model, to regional actors and sought to receive their feedback on its utility and possible regional use cases. The Water Security themed event, organised by IWMI’s Central Asia office in Tashkent, attracted multiple relevant stakeholder organisations including government agencies and international and bilateral organisations from several Central Asian countries.
Amu Darya
The event followed an intense 3 months of work during which IWMI and UoM FutureDAMS staff applied the FutureDAMS ‘Pywr’ river basin simulation model to the Amu Darya river basin in Central Asia. This initial work has shown the analysis tools developed by FutureDAMS, including open source simulators, has potential and relevance for organisations and governments outside of the UK. The IWMI Central Asia (CA) office with assistance from FutureDAMS have created a coarse-scale river basin model of the Amu Darya which they hope will create momentum for future ‘nexus’ work in the region.
Handover
The event could be seen as an informal ‘handover’, as the FutureDAMS project is coming to an end and ‘Nexus Gains’, a new project co-led by CGIAR and IWMI, begins. In addition to IWMI CA and regional stakeholders, Julien Harou (FutureDAMS research director) and Simon Langan (Head of Digital Transformation at IWMI) attended.
Oyture Anarbekov, IWMI Central Office Director, being interviewed by national news channel
Oyture Anarbekov, IWMI Central Office Director, being interviewed by national news channel
Press Coverage
All the major news outlets in Uzbekistan covered the conference including with interviews on the importance of joint river basin and energy system investment analysis; and how it can provide economic, social and political benefits to its users.
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