Key findings
- TR provides a structured method to translate academic analysis into policy priorities and local insights.
- Central Asia prioritizes water quantity, deteriorating irrigation systems, and infrastructure rehabilitation.
- Mira–Mataje communities emphasize water quality, pollution from extractive industries, and recognition of Indigenous and Afro-descendant rights.
- Despite their differences, both regions face aging or insufficient infrastructure, rising climate-related hazards, and weak water governance.
- Effective solutions depend on knowledge synthesizers who can connect science to action and facilitate participatory decision-making.
How the research was conducted
The study applied TR in
three stages:
- Synthesis of scientific evidence
Review of 150 publications on the Aral basin and 30 on Mira–Mataje, identifying shared challenges across five dimensions: household/urban water security, economic uses, environmental status, hazards, and governance.
- Translation to policy practice
Delphi surveys with experts (115 in Central Asia, 27 in Latin America) to determine priority issues and actionable interventions.
- Central Asia: technical and infrastructural solutions dominate.
- Mira–Mataje: governance reforms, community engagement, and environmental protection.
- Translation to community realities
Fieldwork in Kazakhstan and Ecuador revealed:
- Kazakhstan: concerns about scarcity, upstream dependence, and competition among sectors.
- Ecuador: water seen as sacred; acute impacts from pollution, land degradation, and limited sanitation.
Author’s research trajectory
This article synthesises work from Dr Assubayeva’s PhD at Nazarbayev University (water security in Central Asia) and her postdoctoral research at JLU Giessen, which expanded the scope to Latin America through the SDGnexus Network.
The project was carried out with:
- Prof. Stefanos Xenarios – conceptualization and water security framework design
- Dr Alicia Correa – fieldwork and data analysis in Latin America
- Dr Jorge Forero – coordination of Ecuadorian field research and community engagement
Why it matters
More than 300 transboundary river basins globally face similar tensions over allocation, governance, and climate impacts. The study demonstrates that TR can operationalize water security by:
- clarifying how different actors define and prioritize water needs
- revealing mismatches between scientific indicators and lived realities
- enabling informed, inclusive decision-making under uncertainty
The authors argue that future work should expand community co-design, involve more riparian countries, and deepen analysis of how professional identity shapes water security perceptions.
The article is
open access in
iScience and available here:
Full text: https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(25)02205-9