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.

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. 

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.

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 director of the El-Too Public Foundation and a board member of the Association of Legal Entities “Green Alliance of Kyrgyzstan,” shared her ideas and experience implementing ecological projects. There are things people can do, at all levels, to help the land adapt to a changing climate. 

She noted that specific patterns of water allocation in villages have consequences. “Water for irrigation is mainly given to large plots. Gardens and zones within the village receive little water,” Syrgak said. “Therefore, we wanted precisely these small areas to become the center of attention.” 

Syrgak added that women, in particular, are good agents of change. “Men tend to be skeptical of anything new, especially at first, whereas women try to apply every new thing. In this sense, women are fantastic change agents. That is why we started working with them and later brought the men on board. As a result, we ended up with a family-based approach to agriculture.”

Beyond villages and gardens, parks can also be transformed into miniature sponges within urban landscapes.

“We often see these trees in our parks, which are not adapted to our climate,” Syrgak noted “Of course, they are beautiful. But at the same time they do not give more function. They do not give shade. They require a lot of work. And permaculture is such a philosophy, so that a person works less. And cooperates with nature to minimize work.” 

Syrgak stressed that there was no clear list of priority species for cultivation to fight climate change, but the centering of local species is a good place to start.

“If you look at our deserts or abandoned zones, there are always these elms, which is a local type of tree and does not require watering,” Syrgak pointed out. “Then there are a lot of species like local shrubs, which could be useful for changes. We often discussed [these plants] with biologists.”

Syrgak explained that this year, members of El-Too tried to contact construction companies building guesthouses in the Issyk-kul region.

“As soon as construction workers arrive in the area, they clear the entire area of ??native species. And this is, in fact, very dangerous because there are shrubs there, those roots grow up to 10 meters, and they hold the soil in place. If they are removed, of course, the soil will crumble, and there’s a risk of mudflows and floods. So why are floods increasing in our regions? By removing these roots, we are already destroying the natural environment.”

“We need to think more broadly,” Syrgak said, explaining that attention should be paid to specific conditions when considering what to plant. “For example, you can plant sun-loving plants precisely on the sunny side. Then, those that require more moisture, precisely on the shady side. Before that, you can simply map out and analyze the site to see where there is more shade. Attention should be paid to native species.”

The consequences of not doing so are obvious.

“We have plenty of examples – even, I think, these construction companies, wherever you go, they plant very pretty arborvitae, spruces; some of these decorative plants. Well, if maintenance isn’t good, they die off after a year. I think it would be better for construction companies to introduce some deciduous trees so they can provide shade.”

In lieu of clear central government guidelines and enforcement, individuals, urban planners, designers and local authorities could coordinate among themselves implement climate resilient initiatives. These initiatives could include, among other possibilities, planting specific species, implementing tool-sharing programs, providing a grant program for cisterns, catchment, and irrigation systems, and educational campaigns. Cities could even allocate free, otherwise unusable, lands to willing local gardeners for remediation. 

Surviving the scale of global climate change will require strong, coordinated international and state-level interventions to avoid the worst outcomes: mass migration, famine, and war over scarce resources. The state structures that are willing to make unpopular decisions today may be the ones to survive tomorrow. Even sponge cities, after all, were not initially popular with city planners and developers in China. Moreover, while there are specific requirements for labeling a city a sponge city, and Kyrgyzstan faces significantly different climate related challenges from the monsoon rains of Southeast China, importing policies and exogenous knowledge, like sponge city concepts, permaculture, or xeriscaping, from other geographies may be the only way to keep climate-vulnerable states from total collapse.