Dr. Peter Liebelt

Since 2019, Dr. Peter Liebelt has headed the representative office of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and the affiliated Central Asia Sustainable Innovation Bureau (CASIB) – a project bureau funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) whose mission is to strengthen research cooperation between Germany and Central Asia in the region. 

Dr. Liebelt studied geography at MLU and Bashkir State University, obtaining his doctorate from MLU in connection with a Volkswagen Foundation project on post-Soviet changes in land use in Russia. He subsequently participated in a collaborative project funded by the BMBF concerning sustainable land-use management in Russia and lectured at MLU’s Institute of Geosciences and Geography.

Dr. Liebelt has been the DFG Liaison Scientist for Central Asia since 2025. His core responsibilities include raising the profile of the DFG and the German research landscape in the region, strengthening their networks and supporting researchers in pursuing joint research activities. 

He sees the particular significance of his work for the DFG in the context of Central Asia’s growing importance, both generally and for German research in particular: 

The five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan feature immense natural diversity, ranging from high mountains and steppes to deserts. The particularly severe impact of global climate change in the region is placing its ecosystems under increasing pressure, however, creating a need for evidence-based responses that are also relevant to Germany. This makes the region an ideal ‘laboratory’ for research into the environment, the climate and biodiversity. 

Archaeology is another very fascinating field of research in the region: the civilisational roots of the Central Asian countries extend back to the Bronze Age, with numerous excavations continuing to yield exciting new discoveries. Combined with the region’s rapidly developing universities and research institutes and its interest in and openness to international cooperation, this thematic diversity is making Central Asia increasingly attractive to the German research community.

Contact

Dr. Peter Liebelt
DFG Liaison Scientist for Central Asia
Tel.:  +7 705 116 90 29
Mobile: +77051169029
E-mail: peter.liebelt@casib.eu(externer Link)

CASIB – Central Asia Sustainable Innovation Bureau
Zheltoksan 111A
050000 Almaty 
Kazachstan