Water Diplomacy in Central Asia

Water scarcity is becoming an increasingly pressing issue not only in Uzbekistan but also worldwide. Climate change, the modern environmental crisis, and human-made factors are increasing the value of life-giving water and require conscious and targeted efforts for its conservation. In this regard, states, the international community, and authoritative global organizations are developing concrete measures aimed at preserving this vital resource. If we do not take necessary actions today, it will be difficult to achieve positive results tomorrow.

By 2030, Uzbekistan's water deficit could reach 15 billion cubic meters. Most of the country's water resources come from neighboring states. Depending on annual precipitation, only 15–20% of the country’s total water resources are formed within its territory. Over the years, water volume in major and minor rivers and streams has decreased due to declining rainfall in the region. This is evident from the fact that instead of the 60–64 billion cubic meters of water that were previously used annually, the current water supply has decreased to 51–53 billion cubic meters.

At the same time, thanks to the wise and pragmatic policies of our President in recent years, the management of transboundary water resources among regional countries has been conducted based on good neighborliness and mutual respect. This approach has made it possible to resolve long-standing issues in the field with greater ease.

Active bilateral and multilateral cooperation continues in matters of integrated water resource management, the joint use of transboundary waters, and the management of shared water facilities with neighboring countries. Notably, a series of important meetings were held last year, and certain agreements were reached.

At the meetings of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC), discussions are held on the allocation of water withdrawal limits for the growing and autumn-winter seasons in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins, the use of transboundary water resources in the region, and other current issues.

In 2024–2025, within the framework of bilateral working group meetings and commissions, Uzbekistan reached a number of important agreements with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan on the rational use of transboundary water resources, the operation of water facilities, and their automation. In June 2024, a tripartite protocol was signed between Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan to coordinate the operating regime of the Bahri Tojik reservoir, resulting in an additional billion cubic meters of water being secured for Tashkent, Syrdarya, and Jizzakh regions during the growing season.

The cleaning and repair of the Great Gissar Canal on the border with Tajikistan in Surkhandarya region will allow the annual supply of an average of 350 million cubic meters of water.

As a result of positive solutions achieved through the Uzbek-Turkmen Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Water Management, over five billion cubic meters of water have been accumulated in the Tuyamuyun reservoir, which is 500 million cubic meters more than in previous years.

Due to close cooperation with Kazakhstan, last year approximately 700 million cubic meters of water were released from the Shardara reservoir into the Aydar-Arnasay lake system to improve the ecological situation. Additionally, in December 2024, based on agreements with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Uzbekistan received 1.4 billion cubic meters of water from the Shardara reservoir. Moreover, the lake system receives 5.5–6 million cubic meters of water per day through collectors, averaging 3.5 billion cubic meters per year.

Under the Presidential Decree "On Measures to Improve the Water Resource Management System and Increase Efficiency at the Local Level," issued on January 5, 2024, state institutions called "Suv Yetkazib Berish Xizmati" (Water Supply Service) were established in districts. To ensure water availability for dehkan and farming lands, local councils of people's deputies approve irrigation water withdrawal limits based on the availability of water sources.

Furthermore, in cases where water-saving irrigation technologies are used and the volume of water withdrawal is determined using water meters, a reduced coefficient of 0.5 is applied to the water tax rate. If only one of these conditions is met, a coefficient of 0.7 is applied. If neither condition is met, an increased coefficient of 1.1 is applied.

Based on this, awareness campaigns are being conducted in the regions to educate farmers and dehkans about the benefits of implementing water-saving technologies and equipping water withdrawal points with water meters. In 2023, thanks to the "Suv Yetkazib Berish Xizmati", consumers received 26.2 billion cubic meters of water, including 22.2 billion cubic meters from rivers and canals, and 1.7 billion cubic meters from the collector-drainage network. Additionally, 2.3 billion cubic meters of water were used for land washing.

As a result of accurate water resource accounting in 2023, tax authorities received reports on water consumption by individual users. According to the reports, agricultural producers—farmers and agro-clusters—used 8.6 billion cubic meters of water. In 2024, this figure increased 1.7 times, reaching 14.3 billion cubic meters.

Another important aspect: in Uzbekistan, 165,600 km of irrigation networks are used for agricultural irrigation. Of these, 28,700 km consist of main, inter-district, and inter-farm canals, while 136,900 km are internal irrigation networks.

In 2023, only 10,700 km (38%) of main canals were lined with concrete. Therefore, at the video conference chaired by the President on November 29, 2023, the year 2024 was declared the Year of Canal Lining to significantly reduce water losses in irrigation networks. Last year, 700.5 billion UZS from the state budget and $19 million in loans and grants from international financial institutions were allocated for canal lining. A total of 437.3 km of canals were lined using budget funds, while 48.2 km were lined with funds from international financial institutions.

Following the President’s video conference on November 7, 2024, which focused on the rational use of water and energy resources and reducing losses in agriculture, 80 billion UZS were allocated for lining irrigation networks managed by the "Suv Yetkazib Berish Xizmati". To date, 9,200 tons of cement have been purchased at reduced prices for 6.4 billion UZS, and 2,700 km of internal irrigation networks have been lined with concrete.

Water consumers themselves are actively participating in these reforms. Farmers and agro-clusters are also rapidly lining irrigation networks on their lands. In 2024, they lined 13,300 km of internal irrigation networks. This year, 15,000 km are planned to be lined, including 6,800 km that have already been completed.

As a result, last year 8 billion cubic meters of water were saved, ensuring a guaranteed supply of water for secondary crops.

Agriculture is one of the sectors with the highest consumption of water and energy resources, particularly through pumping stations. Therefore, the year 2025 has been declared the Year of Increasing the Efficiency of Pumping Stations, which will benefit agriculture, dehkans, and farmers alike.

It is also worth noting that in the past five years, numerous incentives and preferences have been provided to expand the use of water-saving technologies. In 2019, the total area covered by such technologies was only 28,000 hectares (1% of the total irrigated land), but today it has reached 1.9 million hectares (46%). Between 2017 and 2024, the following water-saving irrigation technologies were implemented:

• Drip irrigation: 560,000 hectares

• Sprinkler irrigation: 90,000 hectares

• Discrete irrigation: 59,000 hectares

• Other methods

Additionally, 1.1 million hectares of land have been leveled using laser equipment.

Since water management is a priority issue, efforts to promote its efficient use must not slow down. Along with the "Water Specialists School" project, the creation of demonstration fields in universities and farms across the country has become a timely initiative.

By 2030, it is planned to increase the share of concrete-lined canals to 46% (13,200 km) and expand the area covered by water-saving irrigation technologies to 2 million hectares. As a result, irrigation system efficiency will rise from 0.67 to 0.68, saving 10 billion cubic meters of water in the agricultural sector.

Shavkat Hamrayev
Minister of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan