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On 9–10 April 2026, researchers from the University of Freiburg organised a two-day online workshop on hydrological instrumentation, measurements and data processing, bringing together hydrologists and technical experts from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

From a governance session in Geneva in 1960 to mountain stations on the roof of Central Asia, the architecture behind the weather has always been about far more than weather.

Water in Central Asia does not stop at borders and neither do the challenges of managing it. While access to drinking water has improved, governance gaps, climate uncertainty and competing demands continue to shape everyday decisions in transboundary basins. This piece reflects on UNESCAP’s assessment of SDG 6 progress and on how WE-ACT, as part of the UN SDG platform, is working to bridge the gap between global goals and local water realities.

On 25 November 2025 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan agreed on a coordinated approach to managing water and energy resources. By aligning winter electricity supply with summer irrigation needs, the agreement marks a practical step toward more predictable and resilient cooperation in Central Asia.

BISHKEK & OSH, KYRGYZSTAN — 12–15 November 2025. Across the rapidly changing landscapes of the Syr Darya basin, where glacier retreat accelerates and seasonal flows grow increasingly unpredictable, the WE-ACT Cooperation Week brought together the region’s leading institutions for a week of intensive, technically rigorous collaboration.

In our last two videos, we introduced Together We Flow — a serious game designed to simulate the challenges of sharing water across borders. You saw the game in action, and you heard directly from its creator, Meadow Poplawsky, about what it’s like to moderate and play. But what happens when you look at the results more closely? That’s exactly what Meadow and her colleagues at the University of Twente explored in their paper, “Prioritizing water values for decision-making in transboundary river allocation: A case study of the Syr Darya river basin.”

An international research consortium is helping Central Asian countries tackle one of their most pressing climate and development challenges: how to share …

On June 19, WE-ACT participated in a vital workshop titled “Sustainable and Efficient Water Use in the Context of Small Rivers of Central Asia”, hosted by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in collaboration with Hydro4U, NEXUS, and ISTC.

Gautamee Baviskar, a PhD candidate at the University of Twente, is collaborating with the TRANSCEND project team at Manchester University to enhance research initiatives within the EU-funded projects WE-ACT and TRANSCEND. Working with the AquaCrop-OS model, this partnership focuses on advancing sustainable practices and improving water management strategies across different regions.

Water challenges demand collaboration and innovation. Projects like WE-ACT, RETOUCH NEXUS, and TRANSCEND exemplify how combining expertise, stakeholder engagement, and EU support can address water scarcity, improve governance, and foster sustainable solutions. Together, these initiatives set a new standard for managing one of our planet’s most critical resources.

Ensuring the sustainable management of water resources is a pressing challenge, particularly in regions like Central Asia where water availability and allocation are critical for communities and industries alike. The WE-ACT project is taking bold steps to address this challenge by enhancing hydro-meteorological monitoring in Kyrgyzstan.

Today, WE-ACT is hosting the “Water Allocation Simulation and Tariffs in Central Asia” Workshop in Tashkent. This event will bring together stakeholders to deepen collaboration and address key challenges in transboundary water governance and irrigation efficiency. Continuing the momentum of previous workshops, the goal is to foster understanding and shared solutions between the participants.