DUSHANBE, July 18, 2009, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan and Uzbekistan intend to set up a joint commission to study impact of large industrial enterprises of the two countries on environment of border areas, Asia-Plus has learned from Shams Nazarov, an official with the Committee for Environmental Protection.
According to him, the commission will be set up under an agreement that was singed by the Tajik-Uzbek joint commission for economic cooperation in Dushanbe in February this year.
“The Tajik side has already prepared a list of its members of the commission,” said Nazarov, “Among them are members of relevant ministries and organizations; the list has already been submitted for consideration to the government.”
On the issue of Tajik aluminum smelter’s impact on the environment of border areas of Uzbekistan, Nazarov said monitoring by the Committee for Environmental Protection and the laboratory of Analytical Control Center had revealed that the volume of concentrates did not exceed the admissible level and the smelter did not have any negative impact on the environment of border areas of Uzbekistan.
“In 1998-2008, waste products of Tajik Aluminum Company (Talco) amounted to 23,000 tons per year, while in 1986-1996, they were up to 40,000 tons per year,” Nazarov said.
Asked about the overall volume of emissions of the country’s industrial enterprises, he said, “The overall volume of emissions of Tajik industrial enterprises reaches some 200,000 per year, while Uzbekistan’s emissions are estimated at 2.5 million tons per year.”
