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Employees of several government departments of Turkmenistan participated in the mini-forum of Small Basin Councils (SBC). The meeting was held in the format of an online conference. The agenda was devoted to the basin planning approach implemented in the pilot territories and comparison of preliminary data with the results of actual SBC activities.

The basin councils are aimed at promoting reforms in the water sector of cross-border water management facilities in Central Asia. Dovran Charyev, head of the Reclamation Department of the State Committee for Water Management of Turkmenistan, told foreign colleagues about the work carried out under the project since December 2019 on the cross-border Murghab River.

At that time, with the assistance of the Central Asian Regional Environmental Center (CAREC) under the project “Water, Education and Cooperation – Smart Waters” in the riverbed near Daskopri village, it was launched Miass 400/40 dredger – a ship designed to clear the channel and strengthen the banks.

During the dredger operation, the condition of the river bottom has improved, being gradually freed from silts, and the risk of flooding of settlements and railways located near the waterway has also decreased.

Within the framework of the CAREC project “Water, Education and Cooperation – Smart Waters”, experts developed an analysis on the rivers of Central Asia, including the waterways of Turkmenistan. Regulatory documents governing the approach to the rational use of available water resources have been created.

An important result of the carried out work is the introduction of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Turkmenistan. Since the establishment of the structure, trainings, webinars and educational events have been held for employees of the country’s water sector. Students have the opportunity to improve their skills and offer independently developed projects to improve the environmental situation on water bodies.

A program for measuring and monitoring the water level in the Murghab riverbed was developed specifically for Turkmenistan’s special benefit. In future, the digital equipment system will be put into operation, which will allow to monitor changes in water levels in real-mode, rationally use water resources, promptly solve problems, and minimize the likelihood of possible difficulties in the future.

Selbi CHARYEVA