New Kazakh-German institute to tackle Central Asia’s climate risks
Almaty-based Nexus Institute aims to unite scientists and policymakers on digital tools, ecology, and cross-border climate solutions
ALMATY, Kazakhstan (MNTV) — Kazakhstan and Germany have launched the Kazakh-German Nexus Institute, a new Almaty-based hub designed to turn science into policy for Central Asia’s most urgent environmental challenges.
According to the independent regional outlet The Times of Central Asia, the institute was set up by the Kazakh-German University, the National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan, and the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, with support from Germany’s Hanns Seidel Foundation.
Headquartered at KazNARU, the center will coordinate joint research, curricula, and pilot projects that connect laboratories with decision-makers.
Initial priorities include sustainable land and water management, deployment of digital tools to monitor rivers and aquifers, measures to prevent desertification, and workforce training for climate-risk response. German partners will contribute technical expertise and funding through collaborative research and modern learning platforms.
The agenda reflects the region’s vulnerability: accelerated glacier retreat in the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai threatens seasonal flows to the Syr Darya and Amu Darya basins, while soil degradation and dust storms erode livelihoods from the steppe to the Aral Sea’s former shores.
Policymakers increasingly seek data-driven instruments that can align day-to-day management with long-term adaptation.
Momentum for the launch built around the September 19 forum “Central Asia’s Sustainable Development Goals in a Changing Global Order,” co-organized by Kazakh and German universities in Almaty.
Researchers, officials, business leaders, and civil society discussed cross-border water cooperation, integrating science into public administration, and building sustainable value chains that reduce climate and supply-chain risks.
Next steps outlined by organizers include roadmaps tailored to mountain and glacial ecosystems, expanded academic mobility and research exchange, technology-transfer mechanisms, and early frameworks for climate-risk financing.
Backers say the Nexus Institute marks a shift in Kazakh-German cooperation—from dialogue to implementation—supporting UN Sustainable Development Goals while translating regional climate commitments into action.
Organizers say early pilots will focus on data pipelines that fuse satellite observation with field sensors to inform basin-level planning and drought response.
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