Features | Environment | Central Asia

Can a Network of Miniature Sponge Cities Help Central Asia Curb Climate Change?

In lieu of decisive regulatory action and funding, much of the work of adapting to new climate realities falls on individual gardeners and cooperatives.

Condos in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, often use scarce potable water to support non-native plants such as roses.

Can gardens act as a network of miniature sponge cities to have a positive impact on climate change in Central Asia? A preponderance of aesthetic decisions and other barriers hold back the adaptation of Central Asia’s cities, but individuals and local authorities can make a difference.

Kyrgyzstan, and Central Asia more broadly, are experiencing stress on available groundwater reserves. As Dr. Eric Rudenshiold noted in an article for the Caspian Policy Center last year, “Driven by regional temperature increases, the region’s glaciers are melting at a rate four times faster than the global average and far faster than anticipated.”

Central Asia’s glaciers feed rivers and streams throughout the year. One can easily imagine a future in which rivers run dry and entire cities are required to use only water gathered from rain that falls in just a few short months of the year. In a future like this, having the ability to retain water in place could mean the difference between thriving and ceasing to exist. Stronger storms, floods, droughts, deadly heatwaves, and mass migration are putting pressure on policymakers to follow through with plans to update infrastructure.

An empty canal in Bishkek. Water from rain and glacial melt is directed through and away from the city to evaporate downstream. (Photograph by Walt Ohnesorge)

What Can Central Asia Learn from Sponge Cities?

During a public lecture in 2003, architect Kongjian Yu coined the term “sponge cities” while outlining a set of urban planning principles developed to manage water in flood-prone regions of China. Sponge cities have since been enshrined in Chinese public policy by the Chinese Communist Party as a regulatory framework for development in the country.

Kyrgyzstan has been interested in China’s governance model as a way to alleviate poverty, but its development and domestic urban planning initiatives offer other lessons. Time is running out for risk-prone areas of the world to make lasting, meaningful changes in the face of climate change, and some adaptation ideas may have been overlooked in parts of Central Asia.

This oversight is evidenced by the colossal loss of green space in Bishkek since the Soviet era. While Kyrgyzstan’s cities have lost greenery, China has mandated the construction of climate-resilient urban spaces. Adopting a strong approach to state funding and regulation of green spaces is likely to create jobs in the industry and holds potential, where green spaces are fruit-bearing, to reduce food insecurity. Both of these outcomes could reduce poverty in Kyrgyzstan, and Bishkek’s own Green Cities Action Plan acknowledges the need for climate resilience and adequate green spaces.

However, in lieu of decisive regulatory action and funding, much of the work of adapting to new climate realities falls on individual gardeners and cooperatives. Climate change has a disproportionate impact, both geographically on specific regions of Kyrgyzstan, and particularly on marginalized communities. As members of the El-Too foundation point out, “at the municipality and political level, women are not included in the decision-making processes; all issues related to land are discussed with the participation of men mainly… The situation is especially difficult for women that are employed as invisible forces in agriculture and have no other source of income.”

Miniaturizing Sponge Cities

While researching this topic, we were struck by a lack of sources for community-lead gardening initiatives in Kyrgyzstan. We discovered that Bishkek has no immediately identifiable grass roots collectives piloting alternative or sustainable agriculture inside the city. Even a cursory glance at New York City yields several sources and projects, and the same is true for other global cities. It is far easier to identify the challenges, like existing attention to inefficient practices, than attempts at solutions. The scale of new development in Bishkek is profound, dwarfing initiatives to create a greener city, preserve green spaces, and retrofit existing spaces for greater efficiency. With that in mind, we considered what it might look like if individuals in Bishkek took it upon themselves to implement better water preservation systems. 

Homemade drip irrigation feeds an area near a condo in Bishkek, where residents improvise to utilize water efficiently during summer months. (Photograph by Walt Ohnesorge)

One dacha owner, Asel, shared that she has never thought of climate change when managing her garden. She planted species that her landscape designer recommended, who was guided by beauty rather than water management or other climate change concerns. The same could be said about the managed gardens of some condominium buildings. Bakyt, a groundskeeper at one such building, said, “We plant roses here and use drinking water to water them.” 

Another dacha owner, Zarina, said she’d never seen a list of plants recommended for the local climate, but expressed interest in such a  list. This interest leads us to believe that, given a coordinated campaign to make information and tools available, individuals might be easily motivated to shift their habits toward more sustainable gardening practices.

A small container garden near a condo in Bishkek reflects a local desire for more green spaces. (Photograph by Walt Ohnesorge)

As Walt Ohnesorge, an artist and designer (and one of the authors of this piece) observed of many condos in Bishkek, “they could attach a catchment system to the gutter and plant perennial, food bearing plants to save drinking water, supplement tenants’ groceries, and utilize rain water for a more efficient system.”

Nuraiym Syrgak, Kyrgyzstani social researcher and ecologist, and former executive........

© The Diplomat