NEWSLETTER #7 _ December 2023

Dear Reader,

In the December edition of the Hydro4U Newsletter, we are happy to share valuable insights into ecological impacts of hydropower and their mitigation as a necessary precondition for planning and implementation within the demonstration sites in Shakimardan and At-Bashi.

In addition, this year's Summer School welcomed a total of 15 students from various countries to experience and learn more about the tremendous hydropower potential in Kyrgyzstan and find out more about environmental impacts. 

Simultaneously, a new study was conducted to showcase the potential of open-source data in driving evidence-based decisions in various global contexts.

Furthermore, one of the main steps to implement sustainable Small Hydropower is the identification of target aquatic key-species to be protected, having high importance for the protection of wildlife biodiversity. Collected field data on fish diversity, taxonomy and ecology of more than 50 river catchments in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have allowed to identify for the first-time main key fish species in upstream sections of Central Asian Mountain rivers.

Besides that, Hydro4U project partner TIIAME NRU met with representatives of the German Ministry of Education and Research on October 17, discussing the state and prospects of cooperation in the field of scientific and potential development.

Similarly, Hydro4U project partner CARTIF will be participating in two other Horizon Projects, focusing on the improvement of the EU hydropower sustainability.

For further information on upcoming conferences and exhibitions on water management and smart solutions, please have a look at our events section.

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We hope you enjoy reading!

Bertalan Alapfy
Hydro4U Coordinator
Technical University of Munich
Chair of Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering

Authors: Matthias Schneider (SJE), Tobias Siegfried (hydrosolutions), Daniel Hayes (BOKU), Pieterjan Verhelst (EV-INBO), Bakhtiyor Karimov, Erkin Karimov, Otabek Omonov (all TIIAME)

Ecological sustainability is crucial part of small-scale hydropower in Central Asia. Ecological impacts of Hydropower are e.g. hindered migration, altered flow regimes or changed river morphology. Mitigation of these impacts is precondition for the planning and implementation of Hydropower and demonstrated in the demo sites Shakimardan in Uzbekistan, and Atbashy in Kyrgyzstan.

The Koksu River in Shakimardan is influenced by a natural dam created by a rockslide. Its discharge shows a minimum monthly flow of 1.25 m³/s in spring and a maximum of 16 m³/s during summer. The river's annual sediment load is low due the upstream dam, and it remains unfrozen throughout winter. Atbashy river’s mean discharge is 16.6 m³/s, characterized by a nivo-glacial and strongly seasonal regime, with higher flows in warm months and lower flows, and ice cover in winter.

The Pamir and the Tien Shan, two major Asian mountain ranges, cover 860,000 square kilometers including the demo sites Shakimardan and Atbashy. The remote mountain areas with mostly unaffected ecology are biodiversity hotspots. Human impact on these ecosystems has to be thoroughly assessed before implementation of Hydropower. In order to protect the diversity of fish key species and other aquatic organisms a special focus has been laid on the required habitat conditions. Collected field data in more than 50 river catchments in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have allowed to identify for the first-time main key fish species in upstream sections of Central Asian Mountain rivers:

Snow trout (Schizothorax sp.) belongs to the most important fish species in Central Asia. They are adapted to high-sloped mountain rivers. Reaching up to 60 cm in length and 4 kg in weight, they feed on algae, detritus, macroinvertebrates, and smaller fish. They reach sexual maturity at 3-4 years and spawn between April and September. Habitat preference studies of Schizothorax eurystomus in Shakimardan revealed important information on the distribution range of the species and baseline data for environmental flow assessments.

Additionally, habitat use of Schizothorax eurystomus in Shakhimardan, has been investigated using radiotelemetry delivering information on seasonal migration patterns. These data suggest that the planning of small HPP needs to take into account the life cycle of snow trout. This is not only crucial for the Shakhimardan enclave but can help future planning of river regulating structures in fish-ecologically, similar places in Central Asia.

The information for target species Schizothorax eurystomus has been used in Shakimardan for finding seasonally adapted E-Flow providing fish habitats in adequate quality and availability and to integrate state-of-the-art fishways and a bypass installations adapted to their requirements. In Atbashy the modernized irrigation weir, equipped with a shaft turbine, will also integrate upstream- and downstream migration facilities. The findings from these studies together with the results from the foreseen monitoring will deliver information for the adaptive management as part of the EIA in the demo sites, but also support the future planning of sustainable small hydropower in Central Asia.

Main key fish species in upstream sections of Central Asian Mountain rivers (Photo credits: Jennifer Clausen)

2023 HydroKG Summer School in Kyrgyzstan

The 2023 Summer School took place from the 14th to 31st of August 2023, with a total of 15 students from Germany, India, Pakistan and the Kyrgyz Republic participating in this year’s Summer School. Furthermore, participants were able to experience the incredible potential of hydropower in Kyrgyzstan, and also learn about the environmental impacts and sustainability associated with ecology and hydromorphology.

Harnessing open-source datasets for global Water–Food–Energy–Climate Nexus analysis, demonstrated in Central Asia

The Water–Food–Energy–Climate Nexus (WFEC Nexus) approach is pivotal for transparent decision-making across the globe, especially in regions grappling with data scarcity. To this aim, a new study identified sixty unique datasets spanning six thematic categories, showcasing the potential of open-source data in driving evidence-based decisions in diverse global contexts, as demonstrated by Central Asian examples from the Hydro4U project.

Connecting fish and people: Protection of Fish Biodiversity in Mountainous areas of Central Asia

Small-scale hydropower (SHP) is not extensively exploited in Central Asia despite considerable potential to satisfy unmet electricity demand. The Mountains of Central Asia hotspot consists of two of Asia’s major mountain ranges: the Pamir; and the Tien Shan with the total area covered of about 860,000 square kilometers. Much of the biodiversity and natural ecosystems are in the remote mountain areas and have still to be better studied.

Protection of Fish Biodiversity in mountainous areas of Central Asia

One of main steps to achieve sustainable SHP is the identification of target aquatic key-species to be protected, having high importance for the protection of wildlife biodiversity. Collected field data on fish diversity, taxonomy and ecology of more than 50 river catchments in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have allowed to identify for the first-time main key fish species in upstream sections of Central Asian Mountain rivers.

Hydro4U partner TIIAME NRU meets with the delegation of the German Ministry of Education and Research

On October 17, Hydro4U project partner TIIAME NRU met with representatives of the German Ministry of Education and Research, discussing the state and prospects of cooperation in the field of scientific and potential development aimed at solving current problems of the world and the region.

Hydro4U project partner CARTIF participates in two Horizon Projects focussing on the improvement of the EU hydropower sustainability

The first project called iAMP-Hydro: “intelligent Asset Management Platform for Hydropower” will focus on enhancing the digital operation of existing plants through the development of new digital sensors and services, while the second project D-HYDROFLEX, “Digital solutions for improving the sustainability performance and FLEXibility potential of HYDROpower assets” addresses the development of a toolkit of digital tools for digitally 'renovating' the existing hydro-electric power plants.

WE-ACT project demonstrating a Next-Generation Decision Support System (DSS) for Climate-Resilient Management in Central Asia's Transboundary Rivers 

The WE-ACT project will change the game in transboundary water allocation and management by introducing a revolutionary Decision Support System (DSS) that optimizes shared benefits and enhances resilience in the face of a rapidly changing climate. The overarching goal is to assist decision-makers in transboundary rivers in achieving equitable allocation of transboundary water among various sectors and users.

• Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development 2024, 20 - 23 February 2024, Bangkok, Thailand
• 8th Annual International Congress and Exhibition: Hydropower Central Asia and Caspian, 13 – 14 March 2024, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• RENEXPO INTERHYDRO  21– 22 March 2024, Salzburg, Austria

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