Search

Remittances are a crucial part of economic expansion, especially in Central Asia. Nevertheless, it is not possible to ignore its environmental damage. This paper is a pioneer in investigating the association among CO2 emissions, remittances, energy consumption and economic development in Central Asian countries (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) spanning the period of 1995–2022. As a methodology, the FMOLS estimator is applied to check linear impact and long-run association as well. Panel threshold regression model and 2SLS method are applied to examine potential non-linear relations among the studied variables. Hausman–Taylor and Amacurdy estimators are employed to control the endogeneity issue among the variables of interest. The results suggest the existence of a long-run relationship among the studied variables. Precisely, applying the FMOLS method, remittances negatively impact CO2 emissions in the long run. The relationship between CO2 emissions and remittances is distorted when the endogeneity issue is considered with the Panel threshold regression model, 2SLS method, and Hausman–Taylor and Amacurdy estimators. This distortion validates the linear impact of remittances on CO2 emissions in CA. The Dumitrescu–Hurlin causality test shows that all independent variables have a causal effect on the dependent variable, validating the effect of the studied variables. Consequently, decision-makers should facilitate remittances towards more environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions to prevent the detrimental effects of remittance inflows on carbon emissions in Central Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central Asia is an area characterized by complex tectonic and active deformation, largely due to the relative convergent motion between India and Arabia with Eurasia. The resulting compressional tectonic regime is responsible for the development of significant seismic activity, which, along with other natural hazards such as mass movements and river flooding, contributes to increased risk to local populations. Although several studies have been conducted on individual perils at the local and at national levels, the last published regional model for the whole Central Asia, developed under the EMCA project ("Earthquake Model of Central Asia"), is almost ten years old. With the goal of developing a new comprehensive multi-risk model, that is uniform and consistent across the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, the European Union, in collaboration with the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), funded the regional program SFRARR ("Strengthening Financial Resilience and Accelerating Risk Reduction in Central Asia"). The activity was led by a consortium of scientists from international research institutions, from both the public and private sectors, with contribution from experts of the local scientific community. This study presents the main results of a probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) conducted as part of the SFRARR program to develop the new risk model for Central Asia. The proposed PSHA model was developed using state-of-the-art methods and calibrated based on the most up-to-date information available for the region, including a novel homogenized earthquake catalog compiled from global and local sources and a database of active faults with associated slip rate information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Central Asian Journal of Art Studies is the property of Central Asian Journal of Art Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores the determinants of tourist arrivals to Central Asia using traditional gravity models and panel data analyses of 108 countries for the period 2008–2018. The research focuses on relevant variables such as income, relative price, travel costs, or the so-called economic determinants. The results reveal that tourism in Central Asia is considered to be more distance elastic and price inelastic. Tourists from North and South America regions are more travel costs elastic compared with Asia and the Pacific. Sharing a common language and border greatly increases the volume of tourism in Central Asia. The political instability in the destination has a negative effect on tourism flows. Conversely, political instability at the country of origin in the case of Asia and the Pacific significantly increases outbound flows especially to Central Asia, suggesting a different reason for travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals are some of the environmental pollutants that have a serious impact on the environment. The analysis of hydromacrophytes growing in small rivers of the south of Kazakhstan with different contents of heavy metal salts revealed that the morphometric indicators of the same plant species differ significantly, depending on the level of total mineralization of the aquatic environment in different rivers of the Turkestan region. It has been established that two plant species can be used to bioindicate the content of lead ions in the aquatic environment: Azolla caroliniana Willd. and Veronica beccabunga L., which must be introduced into the tested aqueous solutions in the amount of 1.0 kg/m³ and 1.5-2.0 kg/m³, respectively, to fully cover the water column at different depths. The first morphological changes in plants, in the form of destruction of the structure of chloroplasts along the edges of unfolded leaves in A. caroliniana Willd. and slight withering of the lower underwater leaves in V. beccabunga L., occur already at a 1.5 mg/l Pb2+ content in water, and a further increase in the content of lead ions in water to 600.0-800.0 mg/l leads to the death of plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of analyzing the data on strong М ≥ 5 earthquakes in Central Asia for 1901–2013 are presented. A statistical method for studying the influence of the strongest earthquakes in the region on the occurrence probability of seismic activation in a certain seismically active zone in Uzbekistan is used. Based on this method, the statistical significance of the difference between the fraction of strongest earthquakes in the region that fall within the alarm intervals of the studied seismically active zone and the fraction of cumulative time of alarms in this zone is assessed. It is established which seismically active zone in the Uzbekistan territory is most likely to manifest seismic activation if a strong earthquake occurs in the Central Asian region. A mathematical model is developed for the deformation of the Central Asia lithosphere, the lateral margins of which are being subjected to lateral compression. The proposed model is used to analyze changes in background stresses in the crust of Central Asia caused by strong earthquakes in the territory bounded by the geographical coordinates from 36° to 46° N and from 56° to 76° E. A numerical experiment is carried out by solving the inverse problem of elasticity theory to determine the background stress in the lithosphere. By sequentially selecting the boundary stresses and varying the physical elasticity parameters, we have constructed the stages of crustal stresses conforming to their empirically known values. The earthquake source is simulated in kinematic dislocation with subdivision into types: a concentrated dipole with a moment (type I), a concentrated double dipole without a moment (type II), and a singular volume. The numerical results of the model have shown that that the variations in stresses caused by a strong earthquake are largely determined by the proximity of orientation of displacement of the strong earthquake source and the axes of crustal structures affected by wave perturbation. In regions where stresses in the crust are close to critical, the stress increment can trigger seismic activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmers face increased risks and vulnerability to the effects of climate change and land degradation on crop production due to the lack of information and impact assessment. This is especially true in the Khorezm, an irrigated agricultural region near the Aral Sea Basin (Uzbekistan) which represents eight million of irrigated land in Central Asia. Water scarcity requires research and introduction of alternative crops into a common winter wheat–cotton rotation. Mung bean (Vigna radiata) is considered as a drought-tolerant crop that could be implemented in Khorezm and other similar drought prone areas. The main objective of this study was modeling the triple rotation sequenced the winter wheat (WW), summer mung bean (MB) and cotton (C) as a single cropping system. Specific objectives were to (1) update the parameterization of the irrigated winter wheat and cotton modules in CropSyst to identify the key variables impacting the triple rotation (WW–MB–C) on overall crop yield; (2) to parameterize and validate the developed (CropSyst-based) model using controlled triple rotation data and (3) carry out scenario analyses to capture the influence of soil fertility levels and irrigation water shortage on crops growth, development and yields. The results revealed, for the first time, the impact of different soil-ecological factors such as high soil fertility (HSF) and low soil fertility (LSF) varying levels of irrigation water availability on crops in the triple crop rotation. Compared to LSF simulated yields of winter wheat and cotton under HSF were increased with 0.58 Mg ha−1 for WW grain and 0.21 Mg ha−1 for cotton while mung bean grain yields were not affected by different soil fertility levels. Scenario analyses showed the possibility of reduced (by 20%) irrigation for triple crop without the effect on yield. However, compared to full irrigation scenario, reduction of irrigation for 40 and 60% could decrease the rotation crops yields up to 33% and 40%, respectively. The developed model could be useful to increase the understanding of the nexus of food, energy and water in Khorezm and comparable regions of Central Asia, and to inform decision-making about sustainable use of available water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents materials on the species diversity of essential oil species of Turkestan semideserts flora. The ecological and coenotic patterns of their distribution are analyzed, the resources of promising essential oil plants are identified. Reserves of 10 essential oil-bearing species of Turkestan semi-deserts flora of the Republic of Kazakhstan are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited or no tillage with residue retention on the soil surface has had mixed success in irrigated agricultural systems. The effects of tillage and crop residue management on soil properties and crop yields were studied on a silt loam soil using a rotation ofwinter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) for 2 yr, followed by cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) for 2 yr. Permanent beds (PB) with limited reshaping and conventional tillage (CT) were compared, each with both 25% residue retention on a mass basis (R25) and 100% residue retention (R100). There was greater soil compaction and consolidation in the 0.2- to 0.3-m depth with the PB system regardless of residue retention practice. Compared with the CT system and the PB+R25 treatment combination, the PB+R100 treat- ment combination increased the amount of water-stable macroaggregates, however only in the fourth year. The soil organic C in the 0-to 0.4-rn depth increased at 0.70 Mg ha-1 yc1 in PB+R100 vs. 0.48 Mg ha-1 yr-1 in CT+R100. Poor earlyplant growth and reduced plant population in PB caused decreased water use efficiency (WUE) and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) of maize and cotton grown consecutively in 2006 and 2007. Generally, R100 improved IWUE and WUE, except for cotton in 2007. For PB+R100, cotton seed-lint IWUE in 2008 increased to 0.59 kg m-3 from 0.41 earlier. Smaller maize and cotton plant populations and cooler soil temperatures at cotton emergence in PB+R100 decreased crop productivity during the first 3 yr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use and agricultural practices can result in important contributions to the global source strength of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). However, knowledge of gas flux from irrigated agriculture is very limited. From April 2005 to October 2006, a study was conducted in the Aral Sea Basin, Uzbekistan, to quantify and compare emissions of N2O and CH4 in various annual and perennial land-use systems: irrigated cotton, winter wheat and rice crops, a poplar plantation and a natural Tugai (floodplain) forest. In the annual systems, average N2O emissions ranged from 10 to 150 μg N2O-N m−2 h−1 with highest N2O emissions in the cotton fields, covering a similar range of previous studies from irrigated cropping systems. Emission factors (uncorrected for background emission), used to determine the fertilizer-induced N2O emission as a percentage of N fertilizer applied, ranged from 0.2% to 2.6%. Seasonal variations in N2O emissions were principally controlled by fertilization and irrigation management. Pulses of N2O emissions occurred after concomitant N-fertilizer application and irrigation. The unfertilized poplar plantation showed high N2O emissions over the entire study period (30 μg N2O-N m−2 h−1), whereas only negligible fluxes of N2O (<2 μg N2O-N m−2 h−1) occurred in the Tugai. Significant CH4 fluxes only were determined from the flooded rice field: Fluxes were low with mean flux rates of 32 mg CH4 m−2 day−1 and a low seasonal total of 35.2 kg CH4 ha−1. The global warming potential (GWP) of the N2O and CH4 fluxes was highest under rice and cotton, with seasonal changes between 500 and 3000 kg CO2 eq. ha−1. The biennial cotton–wheat–rice crop rotation commonly practiced in the region would average a GWP of 2500 kg CO2 eq. ha−1 yr−1. The analyses point out opportunities for reducing the GWP of these irrigated agricultural systems by (i) optimization of fertilization and irrigation practices and (ii) conversion of annual cropping systems into perennial forest plantations, especially on less profitable, marginal lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The wetlands of the Amudarya River delta in Uzbekistan provide valuable ecosystem services to the local human population which has suffered severely from the loss of the Aral Sea, desertification and the post-soviet socio-economic transition. The region is also particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change as a recent severe drought has shown. In this contribution, we assess the potential and implications of incorporating environmental flows into management of the Amudarya River for improving the provision of wetland ecosystem services and enhancing resilience of the social-ecological system to river runoff uncertainty. Our assessment is based on analyses of 1) the current vulnerability of deltaic wetlands to years of low water availability, 2) expected regional climate change and its impact on water flows to the wetlands, and 3) alternative water use options to enhance environmental flows under a changing climate. The results provide a ranking of these options with respect to their benefits for the provision of environmental flows and implications for agriculture. Their realization, however, poses challenges that cannot be tackled by technical interventions of redistribution and efficiency increase alone but call for institutional changes and moves towards multi-purpose water use. The diversification of impacts and livelihood options would allow enhancing the resilience of the social-ecological system to climate or socio-politically induced changes in water flow. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Simulated wheat yields increased by on average 12% in response to climate change. [•] Climate change induced temperatures increase was the single most important factor. [•] In some areas climate change will involve hotter temperatures during flowering. [•] An increased risk of flower sterility and reduction in yield is the consequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Rainfed and irrigated agricultural systems have supported livelihoods in the five Central Asian countries (CAC) for millennia, but concerns for sustainability and efficient use of land and water resources are long-standing. During the last 50 years, resource conserving technologies were introduced in large parts of the rainfed areas while the irrigated areas were expanded largely without considering resource conservation. In more recent years, the use of conservation agriculture (CA) practices has been reported for the different agricultural production (AP) zones in CAC, albeit centering on a single AP zone or on single factors such as crop yield, implements or selected soil properties. Moreover, conflicting information exists regarding whether the current practices that are referred to as ‘CA’ can indeed be defined as such. Overall information on an application of CA-based crop management in Central Asia is incomplete. This discussion paper evaluates experimental evidence on the performance of CA and other resource conserving technologies in the three main AP zones of CAC, provides an overview of farmer adoption of production practices related to CA, and outlines technical and non-technical challenges and opportunities for the future dissemination of CA practices in each zone. Agronomic (e.g. implements, crop yields, duration, and crop residues), institutional (e.g. land tenure) and economic (e.g. short vs. long-term profitability) perspectives are considered. At present, adoption of CA-based agronomic practices in the rainfed production zone is limited to partial crop residue retention on the soil surface or sporadically zero tillage for one crop out of the rotation, and hence the use of single CA components but not the full set of CA practices. In the irrigated AP zones, CA is not commonly practiced and many of the pre-conditions that typically encourage the rapid spread of CA practices appear to be absent or limiting. Further, our analysis suggests that given the diversity of institutional, socio-economic and agro-ecological contexts, a geographically differentiated approach to CA dissemination is required in the CAC. Immediate priorities should include a shift in research paradigms (e.g. towards more participatory approaches with farmers), development of commercially available reduced and no-till seeders suitable for smaller-scale farm enterprises, and advocacy so that decision makers understand how different policies may encourage or discourage innovations that lead towards more sustainable agricultural intensification in the CAC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]