Science-Based IWRM Implementation in a Data-Scarce Central Asian Region: Experiences from a Research and Development Project in the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia

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 infrastruc...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Daniel Karthe, Jürgen Hofmann, Ralf Ibisch, Sonja Heldt, Katja Westphal, Lucas Menzel, Saulyegul Avlyush, Marcus Malsy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2015-07-01
Series:Water
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/7/7/3486
id doaj-75e37f3efe334e18b508b60ec2a83c5d
record_format Article
spelling doaj-75e37f3efe334e18b508b60ec2a83c5d2020-11-24T22:15:47ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412015-07-01773486351410.3390/w7073486w7073486Science-Based IWRM Implementation in a Data-Scarce Central Asian Region: Experiences from a Research and Development Project in the Kharaa River Basin, MongoliaDaniel Karthe0Jürgen Hofmann1Ralf Ibisch2Sonja Heldt3Katja Westphal4Lucas Menzel5Saulyegul Avlyush6Marcus Malsy7Department Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis and Management, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Magdeburg 39114, GermanyDepartment Ecohydrology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin 12587, GermanyDepartment Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis and Management, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Magdeburg 39114, GermanyDepartment of Urban Water and Waste Management, Duisburg-Essen University, Essen 45141, GermanyDepartment Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis and Management, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Magdeburg 39114, GermanyDepartment of Geography, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg 69120, GermanyInstitute of Geography-Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar 15170, MongoliaCenter for Environmental Systems Research, Kassel University, Kassel 34109, GermanyMongolia 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.http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/7/7/3486IWRMdata scarcityMongoliaCentral Asia
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Daniel Karthe
Jürgen Hofmann
Ralf Ibisch
Sonja Heldt
Katja Westphal
Lucas Menzel
Saulyegul Avlyush
Marcus Malsy
spellingShingle Daniel Karthe
Jürgen Hofmann
Ralf Ibisch
Sonja Heldt
Katja Westphal
Lucas Menzel
Saulyegul Avlyush
Marcus Malsy
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
IWRM
data scarcity
Mongolia
Central Asia
author_facet Daniel Karthe
Jürgen Hofmann
Ralf Ibisch
Sonja Heldt
Katja Westphal
Lucas Menzel
Saulyegul Avlyush
Marcus Malsy
author_sort Daniel Karthe
title Science-Based IWRM Implementation in a Data-Scarce Central Asian Region: Experiences from a Research and Development Project in the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia
title_short Science-Based IWRM Implementation in a Data-Scarce Central Asian Region: Experiences from a Research and Development Project in the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia
title_full Science-Based IWRM Implementation in a Data-Scarce Central Asian Region: Experiences from a Research and Development Project in the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia
title_fullStr Science-Based IWRM Implementation in a Data-Scarce Central Asian Region: Experiences from a Research and Development Project in the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia
title_full_unstemmed Science-Based IWRM Implementation in a Data-Scarce Central Asian Region: Experiences from a Research and Development Project in the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia
title_sort science-based iwrm implementation in a data-scarce central asian region: experiences from a research and development project in the kharaa river basin, mongolia
publisher MDPI AG
series Water
issn 2073-4441
publishDate 2015-07-01
description 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.
topic IWRM
data scarcity
Mongolia
Central Asia
url http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/7/7/3486
work_keys_str_mv AT danielkarthe sciencebasediwrmimplementationinadatascarcecentralasianregionexperiencesfromaresearchanddevelopmentprojectinthekharaariverbasinmongolia
AT jurgenhofmann sciencebasediwrmimplementationinadatascarcecentralasianregionexperiencesfromaresearchanddevelopmentprojectinthekharaariverbasinmongolia
AT ralfibisch sciencebasediwrmimplementationinadatascarcecentralasianregionexperiencesfromaresearchanddevelopmentprojectinthekharaariverbasinmongolia
AT sonjaheldt sciencebasediwrmimplementationinadatascarcecentralasianregionexperiencesfromaresearchanddevelopmentprojectinthekharaariverbasinmongolia
AT katjawestphal sciencebasediwrmimplementationinadatascarcecentralasianregionexperiencesfromaresearchanddevelopmentprojectinthekharaariverbasinmongolia
AT lucasmenzel sciencebasediwrmimplementationinadatascarcecentralasianregionexperiencesfromaresearchanddevelopmentprojectinthekharaariverbasinmongolia
AT saulyegulavlyush sciencebasediwrmimplementationinadatascarcecentralasianregionexperiencesfromaresearchanddevelopmentprojectinthekharaariverbasinmongolia
AT marcusmalsy sciencebasediwrmimplementationinadatascarcecentralasianregionexperiencesfromaresearchanddevelopmentprojectinthekharaariverbasinmongolia
_version_ 1725793126232096768