Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has announced that 2024 will mark the transition to an emergency mode of water saving in the country. This initiative will be coordinated by Adiz Boboev, the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Economy of Finance.
The announcement was made during a meeting held on November 29, focusing on measures for the rational use of water resources in Uzbekistan and reducing their losses. The President highlighted that despite 20% of the country’s water resources being formed within its borders, the volume of water resources has decreased by 20% over the past three years due to climate change.
The President expressed concern over the irrational use of water, particularly in agriculture, which consumes 90% of the country’s water resources. He pointed out that countries with similar climates and soil conditions manage to use 2-3 times less water through proper water management and loss prevention.
Despite allocating about $1bn annually to water management, the expected results have not been achieved due to incorrect calculations and the preservation of outdated approaches to water resources management.
Addressing the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Water Resources, Minister of Agriculture, and regional and district mayors, the President emphasized that the primary task is to concrete canals and dung. It is estimated that an average of 14bn cubic meters or 36% of water is lost per year in irrigation systems with natural coating, resulting in an economic loss of $5bn in revenue per year.
The President believes that the only solution to the problem is to have concrete canals. By concreting 447 of the most important channels, losses can be reduced by 30% or 4bn cubic meters. The President announced a “sleave year of concreting canals” in the water sector, intending to concrete 1500 km next year, and at least 2,000 channels in 2025.
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