In the Republic of Karakalpakstan, the supply of drinking water is severely restricted and declining owing to a mix of upstream water diversion and long-term climate change. The lack of water for both drinking and farming purposes has been recognized as the most immediate environmental danger in the districts and for the Karakalpakstan as a whole.
This risk profile identifies the factors which reduce the population’s climate resilience in the GGGI Aral Sea GRIP’s four target districts Bozataw, Chimbay, Karauzyak, and Kegeyli. The report draws six key conclusions:
- The key climate change-induced risks are poor water and air quality and soil salinization.
- Agricultural production, food security and health are particularly sensitive to climate change.
- 76% of residents live below the poverty line, particularly young women (84%) and dehkans (86%). This situation limits their adaptive capacity against climate change.
- The formal finance interest rates are prohibitively high.
- Only 2% of respondents have obtained farm managerial skills through formal training.
- More than 50% of dehkan and homestead landowner groups lack strategies to deal with climate change.
The GGGI Green Rehabilitation Investment Project for Karakalpakstan Republic to Address Impacts of the Aral Sea Crisis (Aral Sea GRIP), funded by KOICA, used the recommendations to develop awareness-raising training and a campaign for disaster risk reduction. The awareness-raising measures will be implemented throughout 2023.