Special Issue on Green Transformation in Uzbekistan: Bridging Science, Policy and Community Action for Sustainability

Context

Uzbekistan, the most populous country in Central Asia, is characterized by a distinctive landscape of arid lowlands, intensively irrigated river valleys, and semi-desert and desert ecosystems. Situated in the heart of the ancient Silk Road, the nation depends heavily on the transboundary waters of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya—two rivers that sustain the majority of the country's agricultural production, including cotton, wheat and horticulture. The sustainability of Uzbekistan is challenged by a pressing water–energy–food–environment (WEFE) nexus. Decades of large-scale irrigation expansion, combined with aging infrastructure, have resulted in widespread soil salinization and waterlogging. The consequent desiccation of the Aral Sea stands as one of the most severe anthropogenic ecological disasters in modern history.

Climate change is further intensifying these pressures. Rising evaporation rates, more variable river flows, and increasingly frequent droughts threaten water security, agricultural livelihoods, and rural stability. Biodiversity is under growing strain due to habitat loss, overgrazing and land degradation. Meanwhile, air quality issues—particularly elevated concentrations of dust and sand originating from dried lakebeds and disturbed landscapes—pose public health risks across the region. Nonetheless, despite recent policy reforms aimed at agricultural modernization, water-saving technologies and a transition toward a greener economy, gaps remain in scientific knowledge, policy implementation, and community-level action.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land)—provide a framework for operationalizing sustainability in Uzbekistan's vulnerable dryland systems. This Special Issue invites interdisciplinary research that addresses the country's environmental and developmental challenges. It seeks to bridge science, policy, and community action by promoting integrated approaches to sustainable water use, land restoration, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation, with an emphasis on transboundary cooperation and local stakeholder engagement.

Topics

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

(1) Mountain and foothill ecosystems: biodiversity, land use, and community stewardship;

(2) Water resources and irrigation systems under climate change;

(3) Sustainable agriculture and crop diversification in irrigated lowlands;

(4) Transboundary water governance and the water–energy–food–environment (WEFE) nexus;

(5) Desert ecosystems, land degradation, and the Aral Sea environmental crisis;

(6) Climate change impacts, adaptation, and mitigation pathways;

(7) Policy, institutional frameworks, and technological innovations for a green transition.

About Regional Sustainability

Regional Sustainability is an international, peer-reviewed journal sponsored by Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Served as a platform for researchers to explore the relationships among environment, economy and society, the journal publishes high-quality articles in multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary subjects relating to environmental protection, economic development and social development.

The journal operates under an open access model. All published articles are made immediately and permanently available under an open access license. This ensures that readers worldwide can freely read, download, copy, and distribute the work in accordance with the journal's sharing policies.

In 2025, the journal received its second Journal Impact Factor (JIF) following its inclusion in ESCI, achieving a score of 5.9. This placed the journal in the Q1 category for Environmental Studies (35/202) and Q1 for Environmental Sciences (92/395). In 2026, the journal attained a Scopus CiteScore citation metric of 8.9, ranking within the Q1 category in the fields of Urban Studies (12/295; 96^th), Development (19/314; 94^th), and Geography, Planning and Development (66/876; 92^nd).

Important Deadlines

• Submission deadline: 30 September 2026
• Editorial Acceptance Deadline: 25 February 2027

Submission Instructions

The "Green Transformation in Uzbekistan: Bridging Science, Policy, and Community Action for Sustainability" Special Issue Editor Team invites original research and review articles that align with the scope outlined above. Submissions should focus on green sustainability in Uzbekistan. Comparative studies and methodological papers are also welcome, provided they are relevant to the topics of this Special Issue.

Please carefully read and follow the Guide for Authors at: http://regsus.xjegi.com/EN/column/column23.shtml

Before submitting paper, please create a user account and submit all relevant files online at: https://www.editorialmanager.com/regsus

When submitting manuscript online, please select the "VSI: Green Transformation in Uzbekistan" in the Editorial Manager system, then proceed with the submission.

Guest Editor-in-Chief

Yuanming Zhang, Director General of Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (E-mail: zhangym@ms.xjb.ac.cn)

Aziz Abdukhakimov, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Environment, Chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change Republic of Uzbekistan (E-mail: a.abdukhakimov@eco.gov.uz)

Guest Editors

Turdikulova Shahlo, Professor, Vice President of Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan (E-mail: Shahlo.ut@gmail.com)

Dilfuza Egamberdieva, Professor, National Research University of Uzbekistan (E-mail: egamberdieva@yahoo.com)

German Kust, Professor of the Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences (E-mail: kust@igras.ru)

Keping Ma, Professor, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (E-mail: kpma@ibcas.ac.cn)

Hossein Akhani, Professor, Department of Plant Sciences School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran (E-mail: hakhani@ut.ac.ir)