CAREC: rethinking the water issue in Central Asia
December 26, 2017 | 08:31 |371
The Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC), together with the German consulting office "Adelphi", has studied the field of water cooperation in the countries of Central Asia. A study entitled "Rethinking the Water Issue in Central Asia: the Price of Inaction and the Benefits of Water Cooperation" was held between June 2016 and March of this year. Executive Director of CAREC Iskander Abdullaev in his interview for the portal Nuz.uz said that data collection and statistical analysis were conducted with the involvement of experts from all countries of the region, including from Turkmenistan. Among ways of solving the problems considered in the report, Abdullayev named joint monitoring of the quality and quantity of water resources, strengthening of regional cooperation on conventions and agreements on the most important rivers of the region, such as the Amudarya and Syrdarya. The head of CAREC also noted the successful work of regional institutions, such as the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC) and the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), which is chaired by Turkmenistan in 2017-2019. Abdullaev notes that during the work of interstate institutions a trend to cooperation has emerged and is developing. "Interstate working groups Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan and others have already been established. This shows that there is a systematic work that needs to be gradually strengthened," notes Abdullayev. He also noted that it is worth paying attention to the benefits of cooperation in this area, as they contribute to increasing the efficiency of the agricultural sector, developing hydropower, and attracting international investment.Arslan KEMALOV
