In 2024 – 25, the IAUNRC organized a multi-part lecture series titled “Environments in 21st Century Central Eurasia.” This series began this Fall 2024 semester and will conclude at the end of the Spring 2025 semester. This Fall environmental topics in Uzbekistan, Finland, Tibet, and the Uyghur region were addressed by our guest speakers. Presentations included subjects as diverse as over-irrigation and the Aral Sea environmental disaster, the challenges of sustainability in Finnish cities, contested narratives of land degradation on the Tibetan plateau, and the impacts of unsustainable development in the Uyghur region. This Spring our series will continue with presentations on environmental issues in Mongolia, Turkey, Hungary, Iran and Estonia.
“Irrigation water in Central Asia – Market or Distribution?”
The first speaker of this year’s lecture series Environments in 21st Century Central Eurasia was Yusop Kamalov, who spoke on the impacts and challenges of the Aral Sea disaster. Yusop Kamalov serves as Chairman of the Union for Defense of the Aral Sea and Amu Darya and as a senior scientist at the Karakalpakstan Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In his presentation, Kamalov first covered the history of the Aral Sea in the region dating back to its formation. Even before the 20th century, the history of the Aral Sea basin is a story of vanishing and shifting waterways. However, these issues have been exacerbated with the intensification of cotton production and agriculture in the region from the 20th century onwards. Under the Soviet Union cotton production in Central Asia increased and there were extensive irrigation projects, such as the Karakum Canal, which limited the water from the Amu Darya reaching the Aral Sea. When discussing the current situation, Kamalov detailed the challenges which the states of the Aral Sea basin face in cooperating to confront the region’s overuse of its water resources. Kamalov argued that despite collective interest in addressing the Aral Sea disaster, the struggle is being waged against the symptoms of the crisis, such as over salination and drought but not the root cause - overuse of water resources. Although each country of the region has a stake in solving the crisis, there remain obstacles regarding the cost and responsible allocation of water resources from the Amu Darya and Aral Sea. This entails disagreement between downstream and upstream countries over water rights and usage. Kamalov proposed that nature itself should be considered an economic partner in water distribution in the region. Rather than attempting to claim ownership over water resources, legislatures of Central Asian states should recognize rivers as the property of nature. In this scenario states could allocate a portion of their profits from water exploitation to help restore the rivers of the Aral Sea basin in an effort to safeguard the ecological security of the region.
“The Challenge of Sustainable Cities: Climate Action and Carbon Footprints in Finland”
Dr. Sanna Ala-Mantila, the second speaker of our Environments in 21st Century Central Eurasia shifted our attention to Finland with her lecture on the challenges which sustainable cities face in Finland regarding climate change adaption and mitigation. Dr. Ala-Matila is an Assistant Professor at the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS) & Ecosystems and Environment research program and a member of the faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Helsinki. Finland has long held a positive reputation for its urban planning efforts mitigating the effects of climate change by cutting down on carbon emissions. Dr. Ala-Mantila covered how Finnish cities mitigate climate change while also highlighting how these policies can exacerbate cost of living expenses and also outsource their carbon footprint to other parts of the globe. She stressed that social sustainability must be taken into account when considering environmental sustainability to ensure practices which remain viable in the future. Sometimes practices meant to address climate change mitigation can lead to gentrification. For example, one aspect of Finnish cities’ strategy for mitigating their carbon footprint relies on denser urban planning with greater access to public transportation. When neighborhoods receive easier access to public transportation, their property values rise increasing the cost of living, which forces out the original residents. Dr. Ala-Mantila argued that while Finnish cities have made important progress in mitigating and adapting to climate change, in the future urban development must not only minimize environmental impacts but also prioritize the well-being and quality of life for all residents. Furthermore, attention needs to be paid to how cities sometime outsource their carbon footprint across the globe. While cities in Finland have made progress in their effort to mitigate and adapt to climate change, there is still more work to be done in the future.
“Contested Narratives of Land Degradation and Climate Change on the Tibetan Plateau”
On November 14th the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center hosted our third speaker in our lecture series “Environments in 21st Century Central Eurasia.” Dr. Huatse Gyal, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Rice University gave a guest lecture, “Contested Narratives of Land Degradation and Climate Change on the Tibetan Plateau.” Dr. Gyal discussed indigenous responses to shifting landscapes and the changing environment in Tibet. His talk focused on how local Tibetans perceive climate change in the region. He also shed light on how efforts of the Chinese state bolster conservation interfere with Tibetan practices which have historically prevented desertification. For example, the state has attempted to limit the lands where Tibetans allow their herds to roam to prevent overgrazing. This has been accomplished by dividing up grazing lands through the introduction of barbed wire fencing. However, Dr. Gyal revealed that this policy interferes with how livestock such as the yak transport grass seed in their fur and their manure across the pasture. Yaks, as “eco engineers,” are instrumental in providing plant diversity across Tibetan pastures – 43 different plant species are known to grow in Yak dung. Furthermore, seeds are caught on Yak hair when they roll in grass. This also allows seeds to be distributed as they migrate to different pastures. Another important aspect of Dr. Gyal’s lecture was his focus on how local Tibetan perceive climate change. Dr. Gyal stressed that for the Tibetans he spoke to, climate change was not an abstract concept necessarily associated with changing temperatures. Instead it was something they saw daily in the “scars of the land,” and connected to past efforts of the Chinese state to increase irrigation in the region. During the 1960s and 1970s people were forced to dig 2000km of ditches to improve irrigation on the Tibetan plateau. Many people died in this endeavor. Accordingly, the irrigation ditches carry heavy connotations and were seen as “scars upon the land.” Overall, Dr. Gyal’s lecture was incredibly informative on both shedding light on the role of the Yak on the Tibetan plateau and highlighting the disconnect between state and indigenous efforts to promote land conservation in the region.
“Impacts of Intense Development and Unsustainable Land Use on the Ecological Environment in the Uyghur Region”
On December 11, the Inner Asian and Uralic Resource Center hosted our final lecture, for the Fall Semester, of our series “Environments of 21st Century Central Eurasia.” We were pleased invite Dr. Payzulla Zaydun to give his presentation “Impact of Intense Development and Unsustainable Land Use on the Ecological Environment in the Uyghur Region” during Uyghur Week at Indiana University. Dr. Zaydun was born and raised in Korla, and attended Xinjiang University where he studied environmental science. In 1986 he graduated with honors and began teaching at Xinjiang University for the next 12 years. However, in 1998 he moved to Japan where he received his Doctorate in Environmental Science from Rissho University. In 2006 he moved to the United States, changed professions, and began working as an engineer. In 2014 he joined JLG Industries where he now works as a Senior Supply Chain Engineer. Although he has moved away from Environmental Science, Dr. Zaydun has continued to remain up to date on developments within the field.
In his lecture, Dr. Zaydun focused on the environmental challenges which are threatening the Uyghur region in China. Over irrigation coupled with global warming and increased migration to the region has created an unsustainable strain on water resources. Since the 1960s and 70s, the surface area and volume of glaciers in the Uyghur region have decreased by 14%. It is believed that with rising temperatures, the Urumqi Glacier, one of the largest in the region, will have melted completely by 2050. The vast majority of the region’s freshwater relies upon its glaciers. Dr. Zaydun noted that between the 1950s and 1980s the surface area of the region’s lakes decreased by 51%. Lop Nur, once the largest lake in the region was dried out by dams and over-irrigation of its rivers by 1964.
The strain on the regions water resources is the result of an increasing population from migration as well as an effort to create more arable land with irrigation. However, Dr. Zaydun emphasized that this trajectory will ultimately be unsustainable once the region’s water resources are depleted. Dr. Zaydun’s presentation was extremely informative on the delicate environmental situation in the Uyghur region.