Workshop series “WEFE Nexus in the Amu Darya River Basin”

On 6-7 October 2025, the SIC ICWC Regional Training Center hosted foresight workshop series titled "WEFE Nexus in the Amu Darya River Basin" at both regional and national levels. The workshops were organized by the University of Oulu (Finland), with the support from the Academy of Finland. The SIC ICWC served as a co-organizer of the events.

These workshops were held as part of the international research project “Integration of Water Balance and Energy System Models to Improve Benefit Distribution in Transboundary River Basins (TU-Nexus)”, supported by the Academy of Finland. The project aims to enhance regional cooperation and promote the sustainable management of the Amu Darya River Basin through the development of future scenarios involving stakeholders and fostering dialogue between science and policy.

Key areas of focus included:

• Joint development of future scenarios for the Amu Darya Basin;
• Strengthening cooperation among scientists, government agencies, and water sector professionals;
• Building a shared understanding of the interconnections among Water, Energy, Food, and the Environment (WEFE Nexus) in Central Asia.

The workshops brought together representatives of regional and national organizations involved in water management, energy, and hydrometeorology. During the workshops, participants developed exploratory scenarios for the development of the Amu Darya Basin over the next five years, highlighting potential trends and challenges in managing water and energy resources.

As a result of the group work, four future scenarios for the basin’s development were formulated. These will serve as the foundation for building a WEFE Nexus model. The outcomes are expected to contribute to a deeper understanding of the interlinkages among water, energy, food, and ecosystems and to support stronger regional cooperation on sustainable transboundary resource management.