Water resources and sustainable development in Central Asia: Roles of risk assessment and risk management

This paper discusses the current status of Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) in Central Asia. Systematization and characterization of the risk sources in the Central Asian water sector for human health and biota are given. Possible ways of implementing the ERA on national and regional levels in the Central Asian countries are discussed. These include the coordination of efforts of various sectors of water management; the development of the environmental management methodology, including insurance mechanisms and environmental risk indicators; stimulation of research on modeling of economic development, taking into account environmental risks; and the development of risk assessment systems based on the Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies.