Almaty, Kazakhstan – 20 September 2025: At the Silk Road of Knowledge Conference, the Department of Geoecology at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) led an interactive session entitled “Strengthening Drought Resilience in Central Asia: A practice-oriented session on the Droughtmap-ASB tool”. The session was led by Prof Dr Christopher Conrad and Dr Muhammad Usman, who both acted as keynote speakers.
Central Asia is one of the regions most affected by climate variability and water scarcity, with droughts posing a growing threat to agriculture, ecosystems and the livelihoods of millions of people. During the session, participants were given an introduction to the online tool Droughtmap-ASB, which was developed as part of the Green Central Asia initiative. This initiative is funded by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and coordinated by GIZ Central Asia in cooperation with the regional hydrometeorological services. The platform, based on open satellite data, provides near real-time information on drought indicators in the Aral Sea Basin and bridges the gap between scientific knowledge and practical decision-making.
Over the course of 1.5 hours, participants were guided through the development process and how the dashboard works, learnt how to subscribe to drought bulletins, and participated in interactive exercises to assess user-friendliness. The discussions also highlighted potential applications of the tool for irrigated agriculture, land and water resource management, urban and regional planning and disaster risk reduction. The session invited scientists, policy makers, practitioners and media representatives to actively engage, share expertise and explore ways to strengthen drought resilience and water diplomacy in Central Asia.
The session was well received by the audience and emphasised the importance of science-based tools for promoting regional cooperation and building resilience to climate change.
