Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.3390/w7073486
Title (Primary) Science-based IWRM implementation in a data-scarce Central Asian region: experiences from a research and development project in the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia
Author Karthe, D.; Hofmann, J.; Ibisch, R.; Heldt, S.; Westphal, K.; Menzel, L.; Avlyush, S.; Malsy, M.
Source Titel Water
Year 2015
Department ASAM
Volume 7
Issue 7
Page From 3486
Page To 3514
Language englisch
Supplements https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/7/7/3486/s1
Keywords IWRM; data scarcity; Mongolia; Central Asia
UFZ wide themes RU2;
Abstract

Mongolia is not only a water-scarce but also a data-scarce country with regard to environmental information. At the same time, regional effects of global climate change, major land use changes, a booming mining sector, and growing cities with insufficient and decaying water and wastewater infrastructures result in an increasingly unsustainable exploitation and contamination of ground and surface water resources putting at risk both aquatic ecosystems and human health. For the mesoscale (≈15,000 km2) model region of the Kharaa River Basin (KRB), we investigated (1) the current state of aquatic ecosystems, water availability and quality; (2) past and expected future trends in these fields and their drivers; (3) water governance structures and their recent reforms; and (4) technical and non-technical interventions as potential components of an integrated water resources management (IWRM). By now, the KRB is recognized as one of the most intensively studied river basins of the country, and considered a model region for science-based water resources management by the Mongolian government which recently adopted the IWRM concept in its National Water Program. Based on the scientific results and practical experiences from a six-year project in the KRB, the potentials and limitations of IWRM implementation under the conditions of data-scarcity are discussed.

Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=16301
Karthe, D., Hofmann, J., Ibisch, R., Heldt, S., Westphal, K., Menzel, L., Avlyush, S., Malsy, M. (2015):
Science-based IWRM implementation in a data-scarce Central Asian region: experiences from a research and development project in the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia
Water 7 (7), 3486 - 3514