EC IFAS is ready to launch dissemination phase of the modeling tool for economic analysis of water use in the Aral Sea Basin. By this moment the Manuals on model use in their final version are accessible on our website:

BEAM Programmer's Manual beam_programmers-manual_final_en.pdf [1,61 Mb] (downloads: 0)
BEAM User's Manual beam_users-manual_final_en.pdf [1,78 Mb] (downloads: 0)

Please, follow our updates on the news section for the information on the BEAM practice online. BEAM model itself will be available on the webportal these days.

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BEAM[1] – An economic model for water use in transboundary river basins customized for the Aral Sea Basin

The water resources of the Aral Sea basin are under increasing pressure, particularly from the different sectoral needs in water use. The purpose of the BEAM model is to explore the impact of changes to water allocation and investments in water management infrastructure on the overall welfare of the Aral Sea basin.

BEAM is developed as a decision support system to facilitate putting “value on water use” and sustainable use of water resources in support of development.  The model estimates welfare changes associated with changes to how water is allocated between the five countries in the basin (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; water use in Afghanistan is assumed to be fixed). Water is allocated according to economic optimization criteria. In other words, the BEAM model allocates water across time and space to different uses so that the economic welfare associated with water use is maximized. The model is programmed in GAMS (General Algebraic Modeling System) – a software developed by a group of economists at the World Bank.

The model addresses the Aral Sea Basin as a whole – that is, the rivers Syrdarya and Amudarya, including Kashkhadarya and Zerafshan, and the Aral Sea. The model representation includes water resources, including 14 river sections, 6 lakes, 28 reservoirs and 19 catchment runoff nodes, as well as land resources (i.e. irrigation). The model covers 5 sectors: agriculture (crops: wheat, cotton, alfalfa, rice, fruit, vegetables and others), hydropower, nature, households and industry. The focus of the model is on welfare impacts associated with changes to water use in the agriculture and hydropower sectors.

The model aims at addressing the following issues of relevance for economic management of water resources:

[1] On behalf of the International Fund for saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) and USAID a project team consisting of experts from DHI, COWI and Global Water Partnership CACENA has developed an economic model for water use in the Aral Sea Basin, named the Aral Sea BEAM (or simply BEAM). BEAM stands for Basin Economic Allocation Model. The model was developed during a period of a little more than one year - from August 2011 to October 2012.