CAWAMNET – Central Asian Water Conflict and Migration Network

Empirical evidence on the linkages between climate change, water scarcity as well as water conflicts – or cooperation – in Central Asia is scarce and virtually nothing is known about how this affects migration in the region. In addition, international academic exchange among researchers from the region is largely lacking. Together, this hampers drawing conclusions on causal linkages between climate change, conflict and migration. Further, this knowledge gap highlights the need for developing and fostering scientific collaborations and exchange within and outside Central Asia on lessons learned and best practices to obtain an analytically sound and politically relevant understanding of this topic.

CAWAMNET will develop an international and interdisciplinary network to discuss and understand the role of climate change and governance in water conflicts and human migration. Through a cross-country perspective we aim to understand whether and how governance regimes matter in water resource cooperation, conflicts and migration in Central Asia. CAWAMNET will facilitate collaborations between researchers, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Research visits for graduate researchers from the target region are planned as well as two workshops with representatives from civil society, scientific and donor community, and policymakers being active in Central Asia.

Partners

• Central Asian Regional Environmental Center (CAREC) Website