When Ecology Becomes Economics

Water scarcity and urban flooding may seem like opposing problems. For Central Asia's rapidly growing cities, they increasingly exist side by side: over the course of a year, a city may face water shortages, while just a few days of intense rainfall can place critical strain on its engineering networks.

Urban overheating, denser development and the loss of natural surfaces only intensify this pressure. Yet water, greenery, buildings, engineering systems and financing are still too often treated as separate concerns.

Blue-green infrastructure brings water, vegetation, soil, buildings, streets and public spaces together into a single system. Around it, a market is emerging – spanning design and engineering technologies through to monitoring, certification, verification and financing.

We have touched on this subject before:

What Rain Costs a CityLet’s take a closer look at why climate resilience is becoming part of the economics of the urban environment.mag.humodoc.com

Water infrastructure is not just a pipe

The first speaker, — Deputy Director of the Department for the Development of Water Management Facilities at the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan Beksultan Begaliyev — fielded questions on the priorities for modernising water infrastructure and the role of water conservation, water reuse, digitalisation and modern engineering solutions.

In his presentation, the speaker also addressed the culture of water conservation. Outreach and educational efforts cover schoolchildren, college and university students, supported by dedicated video materials.

From green objects to an urban framework

An architect-urbanist and expert in nature-based urban development, Kazan-based speaker Daria Tolovenkova describes greenery as a resource in its own right.

For Central Asia's established cities, this raises a practical question: where to begin building such a framework, and which interventions can deliver rapid, measurable results?

The answer increasingly depends not on the number of green objects, but on how well they are connected to one another and to the city's engineering infrastructure.

Nature is not landscaping

Architect-designer, urbanist and member of the Almaty Urban Planning Council Zhanna Spooner was asked at what stage of construction blue-green infrastructure should be introduced.

In her presentation, she showed two scenarios: in the first, the building and parking location are determined first, with the remaining space greened afterwards. In the second, the project begins with existing trees, water flows, topography, heat-island zones and shade – these parameters then shape the placement of buildings, courtyards and public spaces.

For Almaty, this approach is particularly telling.

Rainwater as a resource

Founder and CEO of the RoofCoat Technologies group of companies Dmitry Kuzyakin shifted the discussion towards concrete engineering.

More details can be found in Dmitry Kuzyakin's article:

A Roof That Holds the Rain: Why Water Management Should Start with the BuildingWhen streets flood after heavy rainfall, the conversation usually starts with the stormwater drainage system. Is it capable of handling the volume? Where do the pipes need to be enlarged? Why isn’t the water draining away quickly enough? Yet the important role played by urban rooftops is often overlooked.mag.humodoc.com

According to the Optigrün presentation, a portion of precipitation is retained on site and used by vegetation, while the excess is released at a controlled rate. The aim of this approach is to achieve 'zero runoff'. In one of the examples presented, the maximum rainfall volume is 323 l/s, with a discharge rate of 0.8 l/s.

This is no longer simply green roofing. The system is calculated using a rainwater model: it accounts for area, drainage, permanent and maximum water retention, maximum discharge and the number of outlets. Without the model and its simulation report, the presentation states, calculating the flow limiter is impossible.

For different solutions, water retention is claimed to range from 75 l/m² for extensive green roofs to 80 l/m² and above for intensive roofs and gardens on stylobates.

In this model, the building becomes part of managing the urban water balance. And in that case, what is the cost – not only of the water-retaining roof itself, but of the burden on the city's systems that it is able to relieve?

The sustainable building as an economic asset

Expert at the Kazakhstan Green Building Council KazGBC and Associate Professor at Satbayev University Zhannat Bekbolatova:

But how can one prove that a building is genuinely sustainable?

This is where measurable indicators and certification come in. In Bekbolatova's presentation, citing the WorldGBC, data shows that green buildings can command a sale price roughly 30% above the market, rental rates 5–7% higher, and operating costs 11–20% lower.

At the same time, "energy-efficiency decisions are often made too late — after the architecture, structural design and core engineering systems have already been determined".

The price of sustainability is largely determined by when it enters the project.

When an environmental project becomes financially "green"

Head of ESG Project Development at CAIER, expert and verifier Assem Syrlybay draws a distinction between an ecological idea and a project capable of qualifying for green finance:

Such projects may include water collection and treatment, water conservation, flood protection, rain gardens, river and ecosystem restoration, green roofs and energy-efficient buildings.

The difference is fundamental: it is not enough to declare environmental benefit — it must be measured and verified.

An independent verifier is precisely what confirms a project's compliance with established requirements, reducing the risk that "greenness" remains a marketing claim.

From environmental impact to capital

Vice-President of the Client Office at the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange KASE, Aldiyar Kamalkhanov, was posed a distinctly financial question: what does a project and an issuer need to actually issue green bonds?

What emerges is a distinctly market-driven sequence: environmental challenge → project → measurable impact → verification → financial instrument → investor.

Another mechanism was presented by Dina Khusnutdinova, coordinator of the GEFF programme at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development:

GEFF's partners are listed as Bank CenterCredit and Shinhan Bank Kazakhstan. For loans up to the equivalent of US$300,000, the Green Technology Selector with pre-approved solutions is used. Larger projects are assessed by GEFF consulting engineers.

One Kazakh case is a warehouse centre financed in 2025, covering four hectares on the outskirts of Almaty, with an investment value of around US$1.176 million and claimed emissions reductions of 290 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

Here, green finance is no longer a concept but a concrete investment instrument.

What does doing nothing cost?

As long as blue-green infrastructure is treated as an additional line item, the calculation reveals the cost of a green roof, water retention, landscaping or certification.

But inaction has a price too.

What does an overloaded stormwater network and the consequences of flooding cost, or urban overheating, lost rainwater, or network upgrades, if every new development continues to add to the burden?

And who should invest today when part of the benefit tomorrow accrues to the entire city?

Therefore, the economics of such projects do not end with CAPEX, the initial capital expenditure. The calculation should also include OPEX — the cost of operation, the cost of the entire life cycle, the damage prevented and the long-term value of the territory.

A new market emerges between industries

Blue-green infrastructure spans urban planning, architecture, landscape, water management, engineering systems, materials, monitoring, operation, certification, verification, bank lending and the capital market.

The technologies already exist. The main gap lies between the actors involved: the state, the city, the client, the architect, the engineer, the ecologist and the financial sector.

That is why one of the most important questions remains open: where should the centre of responsibility for a blue-green project lie, and who should connect its participants before design even begins?

The answer determines whether green solutions remain isolated projects or become infrastructure.

A new market emerges where there is an urban problem, a client, technical requirements, a measurable outcome, accountability and a financing mechanism.

Then water, greenery, architecture and ecological impact gain what they often lack in today's urban model — economic value.

This material was prepared by HD magazine in partnership with Aquatherm Almaty, following the panel session "Blue-Green Infrastructure in Central Asia: New Markets for Development, Engineering and Investment".