Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
unece.org
by Cosimo GrazianiTashkent (Agenzia Fides) – At the end of May, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan signed a trilateral agreement regarding the allocation of water from the Bahri Tochik reservoir in Tajikistan during the harvest season from June to August. In the allocation of the reservoir’s resources, located on the course of the Syr Darya, one of the region’s two most important rivers, Kazakhstan was allocated 499 million cubic meters of water for agricultural irrigation, reports the Kazinform newspaper. The agreement demonstrates that the countries of the region – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – have begun to address the issue of water management, often through bilateral agreements. Water in Central Asia is becoming increasingly scarce. As a result of climate change and reckless management during the Soviet period, when canals were built to irrigate cotton fields dozens of kilometers from the riverbeds, the region’s two most important rivers, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, have dried up in their final stretches, ultimately leading to the drying up of the Aral Sea. The summer months are the most difficult to manage: the drought is becoming increasingly severe. The agreement between the three countries has positive effects not only on agriculture, but also on the energy policies of the participating countries and, more generally, on the joint management of water resources. In the past, there have been episodes of tensions leading to real conflicts over control of waterways and lakes. Kyrgyzstan has been the most frequently involved in this type of conflict. In 2014, clashes occurred on the border with Tajikistan; a brief armed conflict erupted in 2021, and the crisis continued the following year, resulting in one hundred deaths. The water supply situation calmed down when an agreement was reached in December of last year on border demarcation and, consequently, access to water resources. This was followed by another agreement involving Uzbekistan, which also covered energy supply issues related to water use. The Amu Darya was also at the center of the agreements signed between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in 2021 and 2022. According to the 2022 agreement, any decision that could affect the river’s course, including hydropower infrastructure, must first be independently assessed by the two states. Uzbekistan signed a similar agreement with Kazakhstan the same year, likely also due to political changes, on the management of the Pretashkent groundwater, which stretches between the two countries. Although these agreements demonstrate a certain willingness to jointly address the problem of water resources, two problems hamper these attempts. First, there is a lack of consensus in the region that encompasses all states. One attempt has been made in the past with the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC), established in 1992 to protect and use the waters of the Aral Sea, and the Chu Talas Water Management Commission, which includes Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. These two initiatives, which have remained isolated, require further support to adequately address the problem. Another problem is the intention of other countries to exploit the region’s water resources. While it is relatively easy to reach an agreement for the Syr Darya, the waters of the Amu Darya form the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and Afghanistan also wishes to use them. The Taliban government plans to build the Qosh Tepa Canal, which will flow south from the river for 285 kilometers and facilitate the resumption of agriculture in the country. Construction was 80% complete in March, and the completion of the canal is causing concern for Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan: the canal is expected to divert up to 20% of the river’s current water flow, reducing their water supplies by 80% and 15%, respectively. Concerns include the impact on agriculture in both countries and the maintenance of the canal, which is feared to be built using poor technology and will lead to further water problems in the region in the future. (Agenzia Fides, 27/6/2025)
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