Eurasianet says Uzbekistan expects the volume of water in the region’s two main rivers to shrink by 20 percent in the coming irrigation season as compared to a recent multi-year average.
In an emergency presidential decree on economizing water that came into effect on April 3, a 10-15 percent reduction of the volume of the Syr Darya is forecast, while the amount of water in the Amu Darya is seen contracting by an even more dramatic 15-20 percent. Both rivers once flowed into the Aral Sea, 90 percent of which has vanished since 1960.
This bleak forecast is reportedly part of a long-term pattern and is attributed by experts to poor water management, outdated irrigation methods and a rapid increase in consumption caused by population growth. To make matters worse, Afghanistan has said it has this year made important strides toward completion of a 285-kilometer canal that is intended for the irrigation of up to 550,000 hectares of farming land. The Qosh Tepa Canal, which is to be filled with water drawn from the Amu Darya, is expected to draw some 10 billion cubic meters of water from the Amu Darya every year.
The Uzbek government is reportedly eager to be seen taking the initiative in preventing dramatic fallout from this imminent collapse in river water levels.
Uzbek authorities say 25 percent of irrigated areas in Uzbekistan currently benefit from water-saving technologies and that this figure should and will be expanded. Around 3 billion cubic meters of water were reportedly saved in 2022 through economizing.
Going forward, countries in the region may need to cut back on the agreed amounts they are taking from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. Under a deal thrashed out in January under the auspices of the Interstate Coordination Water Commission of Central Asia, the five member states collectively agreed to the withdrawal of 55.4 billion cubic meters of water from the Amu Darya and 4.2 billion cubic meters of water from the Syr Darya through to October 1.
Tajikistan reportedly has an allowance to take 9.8 billion cubic meters from the Amu Darya. Uzbekistan’s quota is for 23.6 billion cubic meters from the Amu Darya and 3.3 billion cubic meters from the Syr Darya.
