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Fast Facts
Land management
Water management
Sustainable energy systems
Country
Kyrgyzstan
Funding period
01.08.2019 - 31.01.2023
Funding volume
860.000 €
Funding reference number
01LZ1802A-F
Contact

Coordinator: Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Angewandte Physische Geographie und Aueninstitut Neuburg

Contact: Prof. Dr Bernd Cyffka

Address: Ostenstraße 14, 85072 Eichstätt, Germany

Tel.: +49 8421 93-21392

E-Mail: bernd.cyffka(at)ku.de

Project partners in Germany:

  • Technische Universität München
  • Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt
  • Hochschule für Nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde
  • ÖKON – Gesellschaft für Landschaftsökologie, Gewässerbiologie & Umweltplanung mbH, Kallmünz
  • CitrinSolar GmbH Energie- und Umwelttechnik, Moosburg

 

Project partners in Kyrgyzstan:

  • Naryn State University, Naryn
  • Kyrgyz State University for Construction, Transport and Architecture, Bishkek
  • World Agroforestry Centre, Central Asia Office, Bishkek
  • Eco-Consult LTD, Naryn
  • Kyrgyz Soil Science Society, Bishkek
  • Municipalities of Aktal and Emgek-Talaa
  • Forest Administration of Naryn and Aktalaa

 

ÖkoFlussPlan

Preservation of Selected Ecosystem Services in the Floodplains of the Naryn River (Kyrgyzstan)

The conservation of alluvial forests along the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan is the focus of the international and interdisciplinary project titled "ÖkoFlussPlan". The three-year project involves partner institutions from Germany and Kyrgyzstan and has the objective of maintaining the alluvial forests of the Naryn and providing and implementing sustainable energy resources for the local population. In order to reduce the current utilisation pressure, alternatives are being developed for harvesting wood from alluvial forests. In addition, modern technologies for the production of renewable energies and the efficient use of energy are being applied.

Preservation of natural ecosystems and sustainable energy production

The alluvial ecosystems along the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan are still in a largely natural state. A natural drainage regime ensures high dynamics with high biodiversity of the alluvial forests. For the local population, they provide important ecosystem services, such as the provision of firewood and grazing land, recreational areas or protection against erosion. However, the use of forests as a timber supplier and grazing is threatening the survival of forests. In addition, a barrage hydropower cascade is planned on the upper reaches of the Naryn that is endangering the natural dynamics of the river system and its biodiversity. There is therefore a trade-off between securing the energy supply of the local population, developing the country through hydropower development and preserving natural ecosystems, their services to humans and their biodiversity.

The overall goal of ÖkoFlussPlan is to preserve the alluvial forests along the Naryn and to offer and implement sustainable solutions for the local population. For this purpose, the alluvial forests are being gathered in a work package and their condition will be analysed in order to identify areas particularly worth protecting and possible development potential. In order to reduce utilisation pressure, alternatives are also being systematically developed for harvesting wood from alluvial forests. On the one hand, short rotational plantations (planting of fast-growing trees) will be established, which can be a substitute for the wood from the forests, and on the other, modern technologies for the production of renewable energies and the efficient use of energy will be applied.

©Florian Betz, Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt: Wild river landscape on the Naryn, Kyrgyzstan.
© Florian Betz, Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt: Wild river landscape on the Naryn, Kyrgyzstan.

Project implementation with strong partners

The project is sub-divided into six work packages:

  • Project management
  • Hydrology
  • GIS & remote sensing
  • Ecology
  • Renewable energy
  • Environmental education, capacity building & stakeholder dialogue

Some partners are involved in several of these work packages, thereby strengthening the networking of the packages. The Hydrology, GIS & remote sensing and Ecology work packages will determine the current state of the ecosystems, identify disruptive factors and develop forecasts for the developments. Recommendations for sustainable land and water management can be derived from this. The Renewable energy, Environmental education, capacity building & stakeholder dialogue and GIS & remote sensing work packages will implement short rotational plantations and lighthouse projects with innovative sustainable technologies. After identifying the potentials of replacing unsustainable fuels, recommendations can be made for efficient and climate-friendly energy generation. The dialogue with the stakeholders, for example during a workshop and a summer school, will guarantee close involvement of the local population from the beginning and implement the exchange of knowledge between the German and Kyrgyz partners. The results from environmental research and the identification of alternatives will be summarised in "Recommendations for the Sustainable Management of the Energy Supply and Environmental Resources" and handed over to relevant stakeholders in a closing event.

Sustainable environmental management after the project is complete

After the end of the project, the existing plantations can continue to be operated by the local forestry authorities and new plantations can be created with the findings.

©Florian Betz, Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt: An updated forestry map generated with modern remote sensing methods will be handed over to the forestry authority
© Florian Betz, Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt: An updated forestry map generated with modern remote sensing methods will be handed over to the forestry authority.

In addition, ÖkoFlussPlan will evaluate the potential for the use of technical facilities for the generation and efficient use of renewable energies, identify market opportunities for their development and communicate the results to the relevant decision-makers. In the longer term, this can pave the way for the establishment of technical facilities in the project region and open up market potential. All results will help the authorities to align their activities towards sustainable development. The research on the floodplain ecosystems will collect basic data, which will form the basis for further monitoring and scientific investigations and be indispensable for environmental management against the backdrop of planned barrages. In addition to the training of scientists during the project period, a network will be established that can survive beyond the project's lifetime. In addition, the authorities will be given recommendations for future sustainable drainage management of possible barrages in order to be prepared for future developments. All scientific knowledge can contribute, among other things, to an improved understanding of the natural dynamics of large rivers and thus their protection and opportunities for renaturation in Europe as well.

 

ÖkoFlussPlan: Start of Construction Works For “Real Lab” in Kyrgyzstan to Showcase Use of Solar Energy and Sustainable Insulation Materials

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RealLab Ökoflussplan
The construction of “Real Lab” has been begun – a community house, to demonstrate the use of sustainable energy solutions, and impact of sustainable insulation material in high-altitude and cold climatic region of rural Kyrgyzstan.

ÖkoFlussPlan: Kyrgyz village develops own strategies to protect alluvial forest

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Gruppenfoto
In freezing temperatures, a stakeholder workshop was held in December 2021 in the village of Ak-Tal, Kyrgyzstan. The participants from different local interest groups discussed controversially the condition and protection of their alluvial forest area. Thanks to the Conservation Standards method, a coherent picture of the situation emerged and consensus strategies were formulated.

ÖkoFlussPlan: Sequential roadmap to reduce residential space heating demand of rural Kyrgyz house

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Picture showing a Kyrgyz landscape and the logos of ÖkoFlussPlan and THI
Based on the on-site household survey assessment performed in February 2020 within the framework of the project ÖkoFlussPlan, Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI) investigated the roadmap to reduce the space heating demand of rural Kyrgyz houses. The simulation-based results show that the proposed suggestions help to save a considerable amount of space heating demand.

ÖkoFlussPlan carries out quantitative household survey in Kyrgyzstan

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Auswahl eines Hauses für das Interview (links) und Forschungsdatenerhebung durch Befragung des Hausbesitzers (rechts)
In February researchers from the Ingolstadt University of Technology (THI) and the University for Sustainable Development Eberswalde (HNEE) in cooperation with the Kyrgyz partner university Naryn State University (NSU) conducted a quantitative household survey in the municipality of Ak-Tal. The research group was able to collect important data for the next steps in the project.

ÖkoFlussPlan kick-off in Kyrgyzstan

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Die Flussaue des Naryn
On 30 September 2019, the CLIENT II project ÖkoFlussPlan was officially launched. Nearly 50 German and Kyrgyz stakeholders met for the kick-off in the city of Naryn.