Ecosystem-based Adaptation to climate change in high mountain regions of Central Asia (EbA)

Climate fluctuations influence water resources in semi-arid landscapes, where water supply is provided by snowmelt, permafrost and glacier runoff from high mountain catchment areas, as in Central Asia, e.g. in the Pamir Mountains. In many cases, a change within the hydrological regime due to climate change influences the water availability from such catchments. Changes in precipitation and temperature, permafrost and glacier degradation as well as land use changes have an impact on both - the temporal availability and the volume of water for irrigation and settlements. Discipline-oriented research usually only takes a hydrological, glaciological or meteorological view. With this project we aim at interdisciplinary applied research based on combined physical modelling of all components aiming at the projection and planning of future water resources. The project aims at the creation of a planning toolbox based on integral physically based modelling approaches, with a graphical user interface (GUI), which should enable trained personnel to provide projections of future water resources for management and regional consulting.