CAWa - Central Asian Water

(Chair: Michael Hagenlocher, United Nations University)

Central Asia is highly exposed and vulnerable to a range of natural hazards. These include earthquakes and their secondary effects (e.g. landslides and glacier lake outburst floods) as well as meteorologically triggered events, such as riverine and pluvial floods, mudflows or droughts. Both, exposure and vulnerability are expected to further increase as a result of environmental (incl. climatic) and societal change, leading to an increase in disaster risk. In order to address environmental hazards and associated risks in Central Asia, governments and the international community have undertaken an increasing number of initiatives. However, many of these efforts are constrained by a lack of data and a limited understanding of underlying processes.

This session invites researchers and practitioners to discuss the current state and scientific progress as well as persistent challenges in the field of risk assessment, disaster risk reduction, risk transfer and adaptation in Central Asia. Contributions regarding (1) the drivers and dynamics of disaster risk associated with different hazards (e.g. floods, landslides, slope failures, earthquakes and droughts) at different spatial and temporal scales, as well as (2) on innovative solutions for disaster risk reduction, risk transfer (e.g. through risk insurance) and adaptation are welcome.