On 20 November 2020, UNDP Uzbekistan provided equipment for desalinating and purifying drainage water to residents of the Kok Suu community of Karakalpakstan’s Bozatau district. This delivery was completed within the ‘Enhancing the climate resilience of rural women in the most drought prone communities of the Aral Sea region through application of conservation agricultural practices’ project, as funded by the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives.  

The provided equipment for desalinating and purifying drainage water, operating through reverse osmosis and with a 6m3/h capacity, can support drip irrigation for 2 to 6-hectare areas. The equipment which retains 98% of mineral salts and impurities, thereby creating water fit for organic-biological farming and also for drinking, has been practically demonstrated in trainings on innovative methods of farming and improving soil fertility.

The northern part of Karakalpakstan, where the Bozatau district is located, contends with frequent droughts and soil degradation worsened by the impacts of climate change. These challenges complicate farming and other agricultural activities, diminishing crop volume and quality, and creating negative socio-economic consequences for communities.

Kok Suu is one of the region’s most remote and vulnerable communities, with a population of 3,955 (including 1,678 women), and with most income coming from animal husbandry and household plots. Access to irrigation and drinking water remains a serious problem, especially during dry years. Residents use water from the KS-1 collector and drainage network – its high salt content of more than 3.8g/1 increases soil salinity, degrades arable land, and impacts community health.

During the handover ceremony for the reverse osmosis equipment, deputy Khokim of the Bozatau district Kurbanaly Mambetniyazov noted the importance of work being undertaken to improve community resilience to climate change impacts. Ceremony participants received the manual ‘On the use of organic farming on household lands in the northern regions of Karakalpakstan’, which details methods of saving irrigation water, increasing plant resistance to stress factors, controlling pests and plant diseases, the best uses of fertilizer, and other critical information.  

The ‘Enhancing the climate resilience of rural women in the most drought prone communities of the Aral Sea region through application of conservation agricultural practices’ project, funded by the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives, works to improve the economies and health standards of rural communities in the Karakalpakstan region. It seeks to introduce climate-resilient farming practices in an area where climate change’s impacts are exacerbated by the negative influences of the Aral Sea crisis, causing increased droughts, land degradation, and other consequences.

This project focused on the Aral Sea region is being implemented within the broader ‘Developing climate resilience of farming communities in the drought prone parts of Uzbekistan’ project of UNDP, Uzhydromet and the Adaptation Fund. This umbrella project works nationwide to improve rural community access to safe irrigation and drinking water, strengthen soil fertility, and promote organic farming methods as a means to negate climate influences.