The Central Asian countries may become exposed to risks of food insecurity by 2050, Eldor Aripov, the Director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan (ISRS), said at the Central Asia 2030: Visions of the Future expert meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on Friday (January 20), media reports.
‘Experts claim that air temperature increases year by year. What can this lead to? Now we are witnessing the problem of land desertification and the shrinking of glaciers in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. These glaciers are the key water source for the region’, Eldor Aripov emphasized.
ISRS Director emphasized that by 2050 Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers would suffer from lower water levels.
‘Water flow may decline by 15% in the Amudarya river basin and by 5% in the Syrdarya river basin. This could lead to a slowdown in agricultural productivity growth. According to the same estimates, by 2050, agricultural productivity may decline by 30%. This could result in food insecurity. That is, several ecological threats or problems of climate change and water consumption are urgent issues that require our solution,’ Eldor Aripov concluded.
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