Water conference may encourage regional approach

An international conference on fresh water facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is set to take place this weekend in Tajikistan, and may go some way to solving pressing disputes in Central Asia. This year is the International Year of Fresh Water under the theme of "Water, Environment and Security". "Tajikistan initiated this [conference] due to the fact that though it has huge water resources in Central Asia, the water problems are of huge importance," Jalil Buzrukov, the coordinator of the working group organising the conference, told IRIN from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe. The 55th UN General Assembly session, at the urging of Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov, decided to announce the year 2003 as the International Year of Fresh Water. The aim is to increase public awareness of the importance of fresh water, and undertake relevant action at different levels. Buzrukov also pointed out that water resources in the region were unevenly distributed, hinting at the need for regional cooperation. "Access to clean drinking water is a problem not only for Tajikistan, but also for Central Asia [as a whole]," Buzrukov maintained. Since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, countries in the region have failed to reach agreement on equitable water use. Central Asia’s agricultural economies are largely dependent on irrigation. The region’s five countries - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - must share scarce water resources. But of these, only Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan control the sources. David Lewis, the head of the Osh mission of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based international think-tank, told IRIN from the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, that the main problem was a major difference between downstream and upstream countries in Central Asia. "The downstream countries need a lot of water for their agriculture, but they don't have their own water resources. The upstream countries have a lot of water, like Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, but they tend to use it for hydroelectric power and not for agriculture in the same level as downstream [countries]." Referring to the conference, Buzrukov said it would once again emphasise the importance of water problems and issues. "The most important thing is that we will be able to share experience with those countries that have such problems or already solved them," he said, adding that it would help facilitate their solution. The forum may prove to be a good opportunity to raise awareness, promote good practice and motivate policy makers to ensure basic human needs are met through sustainable water management. Issues of water and interstate cooperation, water and health, water conservation and productivity in agriculture, along with information-sharing for strengthening water partnerships, will be discussed at the conference. "The most important thing is to get an agreement between the countries in the region, a political agreement on effective and fair sharing of the water resources," Lewis said, noting that many agreements at the moment were not very flexible and did not cover the new economic differences between the countries. He also said that the agreements needed revision and there needed to be a more effective (water) management system for the whole region. Tackling this issues meant getting all regional heads around the table and getting a political agreement among the Central Asian presidents, which was always difficult, Lewis said.