Water security in the face of climate change TU Braunschweig supports international conference in Tashkent

How can water security be guaranteed in the face of advancing climate change? The ‘Water Security and Climate Change Conference’ (WSCC), which will take place from 8 to 10 October 2025 in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), brings together representatives from science, politics and society to discuss solutions for a water- and food-secure future. As a long-standing partner, Technische Universität Braunschweig is once again involved in shaping the content and organising the conference. This year, the Leichtweiß Institute for Hydraulic Engineering (LWI) is contributing three key topics: from the early detection of extreme water events and impact assessments to strengthening social resilience.

Droughts, heavy rainfall and other climate-related extreme events are increasingly threatening the availability and quality of water and ecosystems, and thus also food security. This makes international cooperation all the more important for sharing data, models and strategies. Against this backdrop, the Water Security and Climate Change Conference aims to build bridges between scientifically sound findings and concrete approaches for action.

“Water security is one of the key issues for the future. It determines the nutrition, health and stability of societies. That is precisely why it is so important for us to have been involved in shaping the WSCC for years,” emphasises Professor Julia Gebert, Head of the Waste and Resource Management Department at the Leichtweiß Institute for Hydraulic Engineering at TU Braunschweig. “The conference gives us the opportunity to network our research with international partners and jointly develop answers to challenges that no country can solve on its own.”

From forecasts to resilience

In its contributions to the conference, the institute team addresses the entire spectrum of adaptation to climate-related water crises. In one part of the conference, the team will look at various models, techniques and instruments for predicting climate-related extremes. “A reliable forecasting system forms the basis for effective response strategies that can significantly reduce damage to life and property,” says Professor Andreas Haarstrick from the Leichtweiß Institute for Hydraulic Engineering, who is co-organising the WSCC.

In another session, the researchers will discuss the impact of extreme events on key sectors such as water, agriculture, energy and mobility, and explore solutions to meet these challenges.

In addition, the LWI team is focusing on strengthening social resilience. One of the sessions is dedicated to climate resilience – from the perspective of rural and urban structures, governance models and individual coping strategies. “It is our responsibility to eliminate the causes of climate change on the one hand and to effectively counter the challenges of drought, ocean warming and flooding on the other,” says Professor Haarstrick. “Measures must be taken now to make areas of life more resilient to climate extremes. There is no time left; the future is already upon us.”

Background: Water Security and Climate Change Conference

The WSCC is an initiative of the programme ‘University Competence in Development Cooperation – exceed’. The conference was originally launched under the auspices of the network ‘Sustainable Water Management in Developing Countries’ (SWINDON, TU Braunschweig) and the Centres for Natural Resources and Development (CNRD, TH Köln) in close cooperation with the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT, Bangkok). The scientific and organisational committee has been continuously expanded and now also includes the Food Security Centre (FSC, University of Hohenheim). The WSCC has already taken place in Thailand, Germany, Kenya, Mexico, Vietnam and Ecuador. Since 2016, the Department of Waste and Resource Management at the Leichtweiß Institute of TU Braunschweig has been involved in the content design and organisation.

This year’s conference is being hosted by the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanisation Engineers (TIIAME-NRU) and the SDGnexus Network.

Further information:
https://watersecurity.info/