DUSHANBE, January 27, 2009, Asia-Plus — Last year’s drought may haunt Tajikistan and other Central Asia’s states this year as well and this year’s summer in the Central Asian region may be also dry, Land Reclamation and Water Resources Minister Said Yoqubzod remarked at a press conference in Dushanbe on January 26.
Although plentiful precipitation was reported in the country last autumn and this winter, a year of drought may haunt Central Asia’s farmers within further three years, the minister said.
He named considerable decrease in water levels at reservoirs powering Tajik Norak station and Kyrgyz Toktagul station as one of main factors that will contribute to serious water shortages in the region. According to him, water levels at the Toktagul reservoir decreased by 3.5 billion cubic meters compared to the previous years.
He added that the current serious energy situation in Tajikistan might also cause serious water shortages in Central Asia.
“Uzbekistan interrupted Turkmen power supplies to Tajikistan on January 1, forcing the country to keep the Norak and Qairoqqum hydropower stations operating at maximum level, using water from their reservoirs for production of electricity, while in the winter period, we should stock water for summer. And we should not only stock water for our consumers but also take into account requirements of neighboring countries in water,” Yoqubzod stressed, noting that the Central Asian countries would face serious water shortages if the situation does not change fro better.
The minister noted that compared to 2007 water levels at the Qairoqqum reservoir in the Sughd province decreased by nearly 1 billion cubic meters last year. Similar serious situation is at the Norak reservoir as well.
