Community of Practice

Siltation has a significant impact on the productivity and storage capacity of reservoirs. Experts estimate the global volume of reservoirs declines almost one percent per year due to sedimentation. However, the sediment that accumulates in reservoirs has social and economic value. For agriculture, sediment can be added to soil to increase moisture retention. For construction, sediment can replace diminishing global supplies of sand to build concrete foundations.

In this context, WEFE Nexus lecture 21 will look at Central Asian case studies from the Tallimarjan (Uzbekistan) and Tuyamuyun (Turkmenistan) reservoirs, which have both been recently assessed for sedimentation build up over the course of operation. The silt in these reservoirs has been found suitable for agriculture, afforestation and landscaping, and thus may provide these countries with an economic opportunity to harvest and sell that material in the private sector. However, the process for harvesting and selling the silt has not yet been established and requires reflection and planning.

This lecture will be delivered by two distinguished guest speakers:

• Lyudmila Kiktenko, Environment Management Programme Manager, CAREC
• Malika Ikramova, Head of "Integrated use of water resources" laboratory, Scientific and Research Institute of Irrigation and Water Problems under the Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan