International Summer School

Sustainability Assessment of the Water–Energy–Food Nexus for Irrigated Agriculture: Interdisciplinary Approaches for Central Asia (WEFCA)

The Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) invites applications for International Summer School that will take place during 29 April – 5 May 2019 in Tashkent (Uzbekistan).

Applications are invited from highly-motivated doctoral (PhD) and post-doctoral (Post-doc) researchers who want to become familiar with advanced research methods for conducting sustainability assessment of the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus, integrating the notions of ecosystem services, resource use efficiency, long-term soil quality maintenance, human health and economic viability using empirical examples from Central Asia and Afghanistan.

The WEFCA Summer School provides a panorama of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary methods and experiences in social and natural sciences, relevant to the study of WEF nexus.

The course language is English. The maximum number of participants is 35.

Dates and Venue

TIIAME entrance, by Khojiakbar Khasanov

29 April – 5 May 2019

Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (TIIAME)

Kary-Niyaziy str. 39

100000 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Objectives

Agriculture remains an important sector in the economy of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). The sustainable use of agricultural land is therefore essential to economic growth, human well-being, social equity, and ecosystem services. However, salinization, erosion, and desertification cause severe land degradation which, in turn, endanger human health and ecosystem services. Soil salinization is a major threat that is leading to declining crop production and deteriorating environmental services. Moreover, population growth along with emerging climate change problems (e.g. increased temperatures) have resulted in rising water demand for both, energy and irrigated agriculture. The conflicting interests between water for energy (numerous power plants are newly built or planned in the area) and water for irrigation have been complicating water resource management there, including efforts to meet the increasing food demands of a rapidly growing population. These issues have resulted in a decline in the production of agricultural crops in the region. The Summer School intends to reflect on the environmental, social and economic features of important agricultural land and water use systems and the possibilities for broader diffusion. The specific objective is to apply interdisciplinary approaches for advancing scientific knowledge in the areas of water, energy, and food in Central Asia.

Downloads

Programme

You may download the final programme.

All presentations, made available by lecturers, and selected photos are posted on the website (log in required).

Full information about Summer School WEFCA 2019

You may download the full information about Summer School WEFCA 2019. 

Organizers

The Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), organizer of this Summer School, has long-term research experience on addressing issues related to water, energy, soil, and sustainable agriculture. In particular, it is well-known for its interdisciplinary group of scientists who employ theoretical as well as advanced methodological tools in analyzing natural resource use.

The Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (TIIAME), hosting institution of the Summer School, is well-known agricultural and water-related university in Uzbekistan. TIIAME mostly educates specialists in agriculture with focus on water and land management, hydro-melioration, environmental conservation, soil salinity, and energy management.