DUSHANBE, October 12, 2010, Asia-Plus — The Ecology Movement of Uzbekistan organizes an international conference entitled “The Cross-Border Environmental Problems in Central Asia: Application of International Legal Mechanisms for Solution of Them” in Tashkent from October 16-17.
Uzbek media report the main objective of the conference is analyzing, generalizing and classifying materials as well as devising proposals on rational use of water resources in Central Asia, reduction of environmental risks related to the construction of large hydropower facilities in the upper reaches of trans-border rivers of the Aral Sea basin.
The conference is also dedicated to discuss problems of a long-distance environmental pollution caused by industrial enterprises and its impact on the health of the population of the region.
The conference is expected to bring together representatives of NGOs from foreign countries, profile international organizations, diplomatic missions accredited in Uzbekistan, Uzbek non-profit NGOs and local authorities, the Uzbek media report.
We will recall that during his trip Karakalpakstan autonomous republic last week, Uzbek President Islam Karimov reiterated that Tajikistan’s plan to build the Roghun hydropower plant (HPP) would leave Uzbekistan facing water shortages for eight years until Roghun dam filled with water.
In the meantime, for Tajikistan with the rich reserves of water and power resources but no hydrocarbons, harnessing the power of water is the obvious solution. With Roghun Tajikistan could one day export electricity to neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistan and China. The Tajik government says the dam will start producing electricity by 2012. It hopes that the techno-economic, the environmental and social impact assessments conducted for the Roghun hydroelectricity project will reassure Uzbekistan that Tajikistan’s efforts to keep the lights on will not stop the water from flowing.
