Tajik Paper Calls for New Mechanism in Energy, Water Use in Central Asia

A newspaper article looks in the problem of water management in Central Asia. It says the current mechanism of joint use of water resources in Central Asia does not suit Tajikistan. The articles adds that the country has to build new hydroelectric power stations to improve the situation in terms of energy supplies in the country. The following an excerpt from Kh. Asadov’s article “Balance needs to be sought together”, published by the Tajik newspaper Narodnaya Gazeta on 15 August; subheadings inserted editorially:

The problem of using water resources in Central Asia is still topical. Over almost 16 years since the regional countries gained their independence, they have managed to avoid water conflicts. Nevertheless, the ongoing debates on changing the system of using the transborder rivers of Syr Darya and Amu Darya are causing serious tension and giving rise to justified fears about the future of our region.

Neighbours’ criticism unfounded

Steps that are planned and being implemented to develop the economy’s energy sector in Tajikistan have started to arouse unfounded and negative reaction from neighbouring countries of late. This concerns, in particular, Tajikistan’s intention to set up a number of hydroelectric power stations on the rivers of Zarafshon and Panj, and to resume the construction of the Roghun and Sangtuda hydroelectric power stations. It is not accidental that of late there have been numerous articles and publications on problems of water supply and the management of water resources in Central Asian countries. Most of such publications accuse Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan of violating international norms of using water, ignoring the interests of neighbouring countries, causing the danger of environmental and humanitarian disasters in the region and so on.

The issue of transborder rivers is a special topic for Central Asian countries. As is known all the republics of the region

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

are located on the same Aral Sea basin with two main rivers of Amu Darya and Syr Darya.

An important feature of Central Asia is that its two countries

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are located in the zone of accumulating river waters (a total of 64 cu.km out of 115 cu.km of regional river waters are formed on the territory of Tajikistan). The remaining countries are located where the river waters scatter. Accordingly, the countries have different interests and priorities in the hydro-energy sphere. For Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan this means using water for developing the hydro-energy sector, while for Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan this means irrigation of farming land. Here one should note two points of principle. The hydro-energy sector does not use water irretrievably but it only lets water pass through power station turbines. While irrigation farming takes water irretrievably, and if it retrieves some small part of water through the drainage system, then it is of very poor quality.

[Passage omitted: background]

Plans to build new power stations

In developing its hydro-energy sector, Tajikistan does not intend to inflict damage to its neighbours. At the current economics of the transition period – when people living in the countryside, who make up 70 per cent of the country’s population, are supplied with electricity several hours a day during winter and virtually not supplied with natural gas

Tajikistan opts for those projects of building hydroelectric power stations which are highly cost effective.

The country plans to build a coordinated system of hydroelectric power stations on the rivers of Zarafshon, Fondaryo, Obihingoy, Suhrob and so on. The planned power stations will have small dams and reservoirs of daily regulation, which cannot be used for regulating water flow in the interests of irrigation. At the same time, Tajikistan has already been working in coordination with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan at its existing hydroelectricity power stations Nurek and, in particular, Qayraqqum and protect the interests of irrigation farming in these countries.

Unfortunately, even here Tajikistan is making losses by carrying out regulation. By giving water it gives Uzbekistan electricity that is 1.5 times greater than what it receives from Uzbekistan.

In the new political and economic conditions, the former mechanisms of water and energy exchange do not work. Central Asian states face a difficult problem of setting up a [new] economic mechanism for using water, which is a quite achievable task if the countries show good will. This is because a coordinated system of hydroelectric power stations, reservoirs and other hydroelectric faculties was set up [in the past] to manage water resources. All these facilities need to be maintained and used in the common interests.

[Passage omitted: background on the summit of Central Asian states in Dushanbe in October 2002]

Originally published by Narodnaya Gazeta, Dushanbe, in Russian 15 Aug 07 p2.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Central Asia. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.