Climate change trends, impacts, and adaptation in Kara Kulja District, Southern Kyrgyzstan
Conference “Mountains and Climate”, Bishkek, December 10-11, 2012
Abstract
Climate change impacts are key drivers in resource availability yet national climate change information is limited and local information is nearly non-existent in Kyrgyzstan. While the country’s rural mountainous communities are increasingly familiar with the flooding, heat, winds, and drying associated with regional climate change trends, they lack locally relevant, science based information for adaptation efforts. This climate change analysis aims to fill this information gap in Kara Kulja district in Osh oblast. The research combines climate science, meteorological data (1940-2010) from two weather stations, hydro data (1970-2010) from two rivers stations, and community focus group discussions in all sub-districts to identify climate change trends, impacts, and adaptation measures. The purpose of the analysis is to generate locally relevant information for use in designing adaptation plans and activities that reduce climate change vulnerability. Findings demonstrate that the multiple data sources closely align. There are significant trends in temperature, precipitation, and river flow and associated impacts. All villages in the region have suffered losses related to increasing magnitude and frequency of flood and/or drought and drying conditions. With little to no understanding of climate change, many people have begun adaptation efforts.
© PRUNELLA Publishers
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, photocopying, elctronic, recording, etc. without the prior written permission of the publisher, PRUNELLA Publishers - RNDr. Marián Janiga, CSc., Vavra Šrobára 1524/6, 03401 Ružomberok, Slovakia, IČO: 30 525 764. Permission requests for creating new collective works, for resale, for advertising or promotional purposes, or for general distribution, should be addressed to the publisher as mentioned in the Slovak Copyright Law. Free submission of an article for publication entails the author(s) irrevocable authorization of the publisher to collect any sums or considerations for copying or reproduction payable by third parties, as mentioned in the Slovak Copyright Law. EV 3492/09.
