Water management infrastructure on the Kazakh side of the Aral Sea (Photo: gov. kz)
By AFP - Agence France Presse
Kazakhstan says agreement with Uzbekistan will improve water sharing
by AFP Staff Writer
Astana, Kazakhstan (AFP)
Kazakhstan on Tuesday announced an agreement with neighboring Uzbekistan on measuring the levels of the Syr Darya River, a key waterway in an arid region where water shortages are expected to worsen.
The two neighbors are in Central Asia, a region which, according to the UN, is more affected by climate change than the global average and where water scarcity is a regular source of tension between the countries.
The Syr Darya River passes through four Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) and is threatened by excessive agricultural use, water waste, and climate change.
“Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have agreed on the specific techniques for monitoring the measurement of water in the Syr Darya River,” said Kazakhstan's Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.
The announcement came months after the countries, both of which are mostly covered by steppes and deserts, identified the 10 zones where the water meters would be installed.
According to Kazakhstan, the agreement should “guarantee full transparency in water measurements”.
Kazakhstan said it is “actively promoting this issue in negotiations with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan” - which have had disputes over control of water resources.
Despite growing and unprecedented interstate cooperation in recent years, the water-sharing system in Central Asia - inherited from the Soviet era - remains fragile in this region of some 80 million inhabitants.
Currently, countries exchange water - needed not only for agricultural use but also to power hydroelectric plants - according to a precise schedule.
At over 2,200 kilometers (1,370 miles) long, the Syr Darya is estimated to be the longest river in Central Asia, ahead of the Amu Darya.
Both rivers in this landlocked region were overexploited in the Soviet era, mainly for cotton cultivation, which contributed to the drying up of the Aral Sea.
This trend has been exacerbated by climate change - particularly acute in Central Asia, where the glaciers that feed the rivers are melting - and by the waste of water due to aging infrastructure.
bur/yad
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