Water resource management has emerged as a key policy focus in Kazakhstan, with the government showing increasing concern over the issue. The Ministry for Water Resources and Irrigation is advocating for a "contractual framework" with China and Uzbekistan to regulate the use of transboundary rivers.
In addition to engaging with Tashkent and Beijing on river management, Kazakhstan plans to leverage its chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) to advance a sustainable system for sharing water resources. IFAS, which brings together all five Central Asian states, is poised to play a more active role in addressing regional water-management issues under Kazakhstan's leadership. President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev underscored the vital role of IFAS in ensuring security, stability, and sustainable development in Central Asia during the organization's recent summit.
"Our aim is to encourage Kyrgyzstan's closer engagement with IFAS,"
noted Kazakh officials, highlighting the importance of broader regional cooperation. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan remains vigilant about developments in Afghanistan, where the Taliban government's construction of a canal could disrupt the already strained Amu Darya River's water flow, potentially impacting the region's delicate water balance.
Kazakhstan established its Ministry for Water Resources in late 2023, signaling a renewed focus on water management initiatives. Minister Nurzhigitov outlined measures to promote the rational use of resources within the country, including upgrading irrigation systems and hydraulic structures to meet standards and embracing automation and digitalization in water supply processes.
Uzbekistan as one of 33 nations anticipated to confront water scarcity by 2040, research conducted by the World Resources Institute and the Economist Intelligence Unit from Britain has pinpointed.
Uzbekistan predominantly relies on the Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers, along with internal water bodies and underground reservoirs, as its primary water sources. These water sources are encompassed within the Aral Sea basin, which historically has had an average water flow of 116 bn cubic meters. The Amudarya basin contributes 67.4% of this flow, while the Syrdarya basin accounts for 32.6%.
In recent times, the region has grappled with the impacts of global climate change, leading to decreased snowfall and rainfall, diminished water reserves in glaciers and major river basins, and reduced water availability in smaller water bodies. Consequently, the per capita water supply has dwindled by 53% over the past three decades, plummeting from 3048 cubic meters to 1438 cubic meters.
Despite these formidable challenges, the government has set an ambitious target of expanding irrigated arable land to 4.6 mn hectares by 2030.
Uzbekistan's dedication to water conservation is evident in its remarkable rankings. Presently, the nation holds the top position in Central Asia, ranks second among CIS countries, fourth among Asian nations, and thirteenth globally in terms of the adoption of water-saving technologies. The government aims to implement these technologies across 2 mn hectares, covering 54% of the total irrigated land in the country, by 2025.
Uzbekistan has made notable progress in embracing water-conservation technologies, with 472,000 hectares implementing drip irrigation, 48,000 hectares utilizing sprinkler irrigation, and 97,000 hectares adopting diverse water-efficient methods. Laser leveling has been employed across 649,000 hectares of land, leading to significant water conservation. In the year 2023 alone, these initiatives collectively preserved a remarkable 2 bn cubic meters of water, equivalent to the annual consumption of the entire Bukhara region.
Tajikistan possesses abundant water resources, as per to reports from World Bank in 2023. However, its water infrastructure demands substantial investment. In 2023, only about 55% of the population in Tajikistan has access to safely managed water supply services, representing the lowest percentage in Central Asia. Disparities are evident between urban and rural regions, with just 24% of rural residents benefiting from piped water supply services. Moreover, existing piped infrastructure is often outdated, deteriorated, and lacks the capacity to accommodate population growth adequately.
Decades of underinvestment and insufficient operation and maintenance have posed significant challenges to Tajikistan's water supply sector. Estimates suggest that an investment of at least $800 mn will be required by 2030 to ensure universal access to safe water supply services. In 2023, Tajikistan allocated only around 0.2% of its GDP from the annual budget to water supply and sanitation, which is notably lower than the average of 1.5–2% in Europe and Central Asia.
Turkmenistan is among the 17 countries globally experiencing "extremely high" levels of baseline water stress, ss per to World Resources Institute (WRI), a research organization headquartered in Washington, D.C,. This designation applies to nations where irrigated agriculture, industries, and municipalities withdraw more than 80% of their available water supply annually, on average. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also evaluates Turkmenistan's water stress levels, estimating them at nearly 144%, a figure that surpasses the average in the former Soviet Union.
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