Young people help to secure reliable access to adequate clean water in Central Asia
Young environmentalists in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are developing new ways to address severe water scarcity in their communities
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Climate change has already irreversibly changed the lives of everyone worldwide, with children carrying the heaviest burden. With concerns over water scarcity, air pollution and increased heatwaves, children and young people in Central Asian countries are taking steps to safeguard their futures.
Saving water in the classroom
Fifth-grade students from Shchuchinsk, Kazakhstan recently created an eco-project as part of a programme to develop social entrepreneurship in their schools and communities.
Yaroslav, who led the team of students was driven by his concern over problems caused by attitudes towards natural resources "Watching TV programmes about drying rivers and lakes causing people to suffer from water shortages has always impacted me," says Yaroslav.
Yaroslav had an idea. What if the team installed devices that monitored drinking water supplies?
“I have this vision in front of me of students approaching the water fountain to get a drink, turning on the faucet, and then getting distracted by their friends. Meanwhile, the water goes on and on. How much water is leaking out for nothing?” he explains. “So, when my teacher suggested that we participate in the project and told us what we would be doing, the idea just popped into my head: 'I'll make sure that water doesn't just flow away."
After passionate discussions among the team, all participants voted on moving forward with the school fountain idea. Promising, if the idea yielded positive results, they would also introduce sensors to other areas in the school such as sinks and washbasins.
"Whether or not we can make our idea a reality, participating in the project has taught us a lot. We realized that saving nature is our responsibility. Each of us, even a middle school student, has something to offer. And, most importantly, we have support. Adults are not the only ones taking steps to protect nature, but school students can do their part as well."
Choosing to live in a beautiful world
Children in Tajikistan are using art to express the importance of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. Fotima is a sixth-grade student in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and one of the winners of a nationwide art competition dedicated to Youth and Children’s Water Forum, hosted by UNICEF.
“My drawing has a main key message” Fotima says. “The choice is yours! You can choose to live in a beautiful world or live in a world with poor environment. Everything in the world depends on water, if there is no water, there is no planet.”
“Many people use water improperly,” she continues. “For example, they throw trash into the water, or keep the tap open when they leave. This is not right and we need to preserve the water.”
“Without the water we are gone.”
Creating innovative technology for water
Shakhzoda and her team recently took the first place in a regional competition #SeedsForTheFuture for the best #TECH4GOOD project.
“In Uzbekistan, we face a significant issue with water scarcity, leading some farmers to rely on groundwater for irrigation. Unfortunately, this water often contains high levels of salt and heavy metals, making it unsuitable for agricultural purposes,” says Shakhzoda.
To address this challenge, Shakhzoda and a team of eight other students developed ‘Aquatibia’, a water filter capable of desalinating and purifying water, equipped with specialized sensors.
The product works as a smart filter to purify water by removing salts, heavy metals and other particles so that farmers can use safe water for irrigation. The filter works by using a natural filtration product extracted from wood waste while the sensors collect data on water quality and send it to the cloud using energy-efficient Long-Range technology. Data is collected and made accessible to farmers through a mobile application, providing valuable insights for irrigation management.
The team behind the initiative aims to reduce wood waste in Uzbekistan and contribute to the circular economy through the utilization of wood waste in the filtration product.
“This idea was a collaborative effort. The initial concept was proposed by the chemical engineering student in our team, who had conducted research on the filtration product to improve water desalination and filtration. However, myself and other students with backgrounds in Computer Engineering contributed to making it "smart" and more insightful,” explains Shakhzoda.
“It's significant for our country, as Uzbekistan heavily relies on the agricultural sector.”
Shakhzoda participated in COP28 in the United Arab Emirates.
“Coming from a STEM background, I didn't know much about the amount of carbon emissions humanity produces every year. However, I've since learned more, including the fact that the water sector is also responsible for a quite big part of emissions. It was certainly eye-opening for me to learn about the decarbonization strategies and goals in the water industry set by some nations.”
“Moreover, my favorite part of COP28 was visiting the Startup Village in the Green Zone, where I learned a lot about startups focused on sustainability. One of these startups was working on collecting and recycling water from humid areas like seashores, with the aim of using the water for various purposes.”
Millions of children across Central Asia experience severe water scarcity. Water scarcity is based on composite measure of baseline water stress, seasonal variability, interannual variability, ground water table decline and drought risk. Higher values indicate higher exposure to water scarcity risks.
Around 3.8 million children lack basic drinking water and 4.5 million children face extreme water vulnerability. UNICEF’s water vulnerability index is based on composite measure of water scarcity and drinking water service levels.
UNICEF works with with partners in countries across the region to strengthen water systems and ensure reliable access to adequate safe water for children and families.
