Environment - The Times Of Central Asia

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Eco Expo

Eco Expo Opens in Samarkand as Uzbekistan Pushes Green Investment

Eco Expo Central Asia 2026 opened on June 2 at the Expo Center of Silk Road Samarkand, placing Uzbekistan’s green economy plans before officials, lenders, companies, scientists, and environmental groups already gathered in the city. The exhibition is scheduled to run through June 4 and is being held alongside the Eighth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility, one of the main global forums for environmental finance. The timing gives Uzbekistan a rare week of attention on climate, water, biodiversity, and clean technology. The GEF Assembly runs from May 30 to June 6 in Samarkand. The GEF says its Assembly is its highest governing body, made up of 186 member countries, and meets once every four years. GEF Council meetings are scheduled from May 31 to June 3, before the formal Assembly sessions later in the week. Eco Expo has a more practical focus. Its exhibition sections include protected natural areas, clean technology, green construction, transport, and energy, sustainable agriculture, green finance and green cities, ecotourism, water-saving technologies, environmental education, artificial intelligence in ecology, and the Aral Sea region. The business program includes lectures, seminars, panels, and roundtables for registered visitors. Uzbekistan’s state news agency UzA has said that approximately 10,000 participants from Uzbekistan and abroad are expected. The exhibition will include more than 68 pavilions for environmental products, plus 20 pavilions for startup projects from Central Asian countries. Organizers also plan more than 50 forums, presentations, and discussion platforms on green energy, waste recycling, water resource management, and sustainable development. The exhibition - organized by Uzbekistan’s National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change with Business Congress Management - is designed to turn local environmental plans into fundable projects. Regions and districts across Uzbekistan have prepared proposals for donors and investors, covering climate adaptation, better use of natural resources, and practical steps to make local economies more resilient. For Uzbekistan, the meetings are a chance to move from broad pledges to project lists, budgets, and partners. Farms need more efficient irrigation; cities need cleaner transport and better waste systems; protected areas need long-term funding. The expo brings those needs into one room with development banks, UN agencies, foreign governments, and companies looking for green projects. The GEF meetings bring the process closer to the expo floor. The fund says it has provided more than $26 billion in financing over three decades, and has helped mobilize another $148 billion for country-led environmental projects. In Samarkand, the 71st GEF Council meeting opened ahead of the Assembly and Eco Expo. Its agenda includes biodiversity protection, sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, energy storage, the GEF-9 programming strategy, and support for vulnerable countries. Uzbekistan already has a working portfolio with the GEF, which includes 13 projects worth $56 million and five more projects worth more than $30 million in the pipeline. The projects cover biodiversity, snow leopard protection, restoration of ecosystems in the Aral Sea region, climate resilience, land management, and waste management. The week arrives as Uzbekistan faces rising climate stress. The World Bank has described...

Waste Management

Dushanbe Considers Waste-to-Energy Plant as Part of Green Development Strategy

Authorities in Tajikistan’s capital are considering the construction of a modern waste-to-energy facility that would process municipal solid waste while generating electricity, as part of efforts to develop more sustainable urban infrastructure. The proposal was discussed during talks between Tajikistan’s minister of energy and water resources, Daler Juma, and Environmental Protection Committee chairman Bahodur Sheralizoda, and representatives of the Chinese company Wangneng Environment, which specializes in waste treatment and energy recovery technologies. The parties explored the possibility of introducing municipal waste-processing technologies, including electricity generation through waste incineration and other forms of energy recovery. Such systems are used in a number of major cities in Asia and Europe as part of broader waste-management and urban sustainability policies. For Dushanbe, the project is gaining importance as the city’s population continues to grow and household waste volumes increase. Experts note that the existing landfill-based waste-management system is gradually becoming inadequate for the needs of a rapidly expanding urban center, particularly amid rising environmental pressures and limited land resources. If implemented, the facility could address several challenges at once by reducing the volume of waste sent to landfills, improving environmental and sanitary conditions, and adding to the capital’s electricity-generating capacity. The initiative is also being presented as one element of Tajikistan’s push to promote environmentally sustainable economic growth and expand the use of green technologies. In recent years, the country has supported international initiatives focused on climate adaptation, sustainable resource management, and cleaner energy development. Environmental and economic specialists note that waste-to-energy projects can help reduce pressure on landfills while providing an additional source of electricity for fast-growing cities. At the same time, they say strict environmental safeguards, modern filtration systems, and transparent monitoring would be essential to minimizing air pollution and ensuring compliance with international standards. Following the discussions, the parties expressed their willingness to continue consultations on the project. Key parameters of the proposed facility, including waste-processing capacity, electricity generation volumes, environmental requirements, and financing mechanisms, are expected to be determined during the next stages of negotiations.

Wildlife Restoration

Kazakhstan Releases New Group of Przewalski’s Horses Into the Wild

A group of five Przewalski’s horses has been released into the wild in Kazakhstan’s Kostanay Region as part of a reintroduction program to restore the species to its historical habitat, according to the country’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. Przewalski’s horse is the last surviving horse species. Once widespread across the grasslands of Central Asia, including present-day Kazakhstan, the species is distinguished by its stocky build, large head, and dun-colored coat with a dark mane. By 1969, Przewalski’s horses had disappeared from the wild and survived only in captivity. Kazakhstan launched a reintroduction program aimed at restoring a self-sustaining population in the country’s vast steppe ecosystems. The first seven horses arrived in Kostanay Region in the summer of 2024. A second group of seven horses was transported from Prague Zoo and Hungary’s Hortobágy National Park in June 2025. On May 25, five horses from that second group were released into the Altyn Dala State Nature Reserve. The group consists of Galvan, a stallion brought from Prague, and four mares from Hungary’s Hortobágy National Park. According to the Kazakhstan's Ministry of Ecology, the animals spent the past year in large acclimatization enclosures, where veterinarians and other specialists monitored their condition. Officials said the horses adapted to the local climate, survived the winter, and were considered ready for release onto the steppe. Before the release, Galvan was fitted with a GPS collar to allow researchers to monitor the group’s movements and gather data on their behavior in a natural environment. According to reserve specialists, the horses are in good condition and have already begun exploring new grazing areas and watering sites. Following their release, the animals remain under the supervision of state wildlife inspectors. Specialists will continue tracking their movements and adaptation to life in the wild. The ministry said that the release of these Przewalski’s horses is an important milestone in a reintroduction project that began in 2024, involving partnership between Ministry of Ecology and numerous European zoos. The initiative draws on Prague Zoo’s previous experience reintroducing Przewalski’s horses to Mongolia, one of the world’s most successful conservation programs for the species. The first group of seven horses brought to Kazakhstan in June 2024 remained under veterinary and zoological supervision throughout its adaptation period. The animals successfully endured their first winter in the Torgai Steppe, where temperatures dropped to as low as -30°C, and completed all necessary veterinary procedures. Six of those horses were released into the wild in early June 2025 after a year of acclimatization. Kazakh authorities plan to bring approximately 40-45 Przewalski’s horses to the country by 2029, a number considered sufficient to establish a breeding population capable of sustaining itself in the wild.

Water Security

Opinion: Water Without a Guarantor – Central Asia’s Next Security Test

The Fourth High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development,“ taking place in Dushanbe on May 25-28, comes at a difficult moment. Central Asia's water problem is no longer only about environmental management; it is moving into the field of regional security. The conference agenda is familiar and necessary: climate, investment, innovation, transboundary cooperation, and the implementation of the Water Action Decade. The harder question is what happens outside the conference hall. Does Central Asia still have a credible way to stop water stress from becoming an interstate crisis? For decades, the region operated in a post-Soviet setting in which Moscow shaped many security calculations, even though it was never a formal water arbiter. That setting has weakened. Russia has not disappeared from Central Asia, and it still retains military, economic, and institutional leverage. But since 2022, its role as the assumed external stabilizer has become less convincing. The result is not a simple vacuum. It is a more awkward reality: a region with many outside actors, but no trusted water-security guarantor. The Old Backdrop Is Weakening Central Asia's water system was built around a Soviet-era division of functions. Upstream republics, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, controlled the mountains, reservoirs, and hydropower potential. Downstream republics, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, depended on seasonal water flows for agriculture, food security, and social stability. The Soviet system managed those tensions through central planning. After independence, cooperation became more fragile. Water, energy, borders, electricity, and agriculture were separated into national strategies. The rivers, however, remained transboundary. For many years, Russia remained the largest external power around which regional security calculations were organized. That did not make Moscow an effective water manager, but it helped shape the political environment. Today, that environment has changed. The CSTO did not prevent the Kyrgyz-Tajik border escalations of recent years. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan eventually reached a border agreement through direct negotiation rather than outside enforcement. That difference is not academic. Water disputes are rarely settled by conferences alone. They need trusted channels for mediation, compensation, and restraint when pressure builds. Central Asia has plenty of statements about cooperation. It has fewer tools for managing coercion when water becomes scarce. Three Pressure Points The region's water-security stress is already visible in three places. The first is Afghanistan's Qosh-Tepa Canal. The canal draws water from the Amu Darya, a river system critical for Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Because Afghanistan was not part of the old Soviet water-allocation arrangements, the Taliban government is creating a new upstream reality outside the inherited regional framework. Estimates of the canal's downstream impact vary widely. Some analyses suggest it could divert between 15 and 30% of the Amu Darya's flow, depending on the completion timeline, irrigation efficiency, and water-management practices. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that reduced Amu Darya flows could indirectly affect Kazakhstan if Uzbekistan compensates by drawing more heavily on the Syr Darya. Carnegie has described the Qosh-Tepa as a serious test for regional water cooperation. The second pressure point...

Irrigation Water

Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan Agree on Summer Water Releases from Bahri Tojik Reservoir

Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have agreed on water releases from Tajikistan’s Bahri Tojik reservoir for the June-August 2026 irrigation period, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has announced. The agreement was formalized in a trilateral protocol signed by Kazakhstan’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, Tajikistan’s Minister of Energy and Water Resources Juma Daler, and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Water Resources Shavkat Khamrayev. Under the agreed schedule, water from the Bahri Tojik reservoir will be released during the summer to support agricultural producers in Kazakhstan’s Turkestan region, particularly in the Maktaaral and Zhetysai districts, where irrigation demand rises sharply during the growing season. “The issue of supplying irrigation water to the southern regions remains under special control,” Nurzhigitov said in comments released by Kazakhstan's ministry. “The agreements reached are the result of constructive interaction and mutual support between Central Asian countries. The measures taken will help ensure a stable growing season and support domestic farmers.” The ministers also reaffirmed their intention to strengthen regional cooperation on the rational and mutually beneficial use of shared water resources, a longstanding challenge in Central Asia, where agriculture depends heavily on transboundary rivers and reservoirs. The Bahri Tojik reservoir, formerly known as the Kairakkum reservoir before being renamed in 2016, is one of Tajikistan’s largest artificial water bodies. Located in the northern Sughd region on the Syr Darya River, it has operated since 1959 and plays an important role in seasonal water distribution across the region. The latest agreement follows a similar arrangement reached in June 2025, when the three countries approved the coordinated use of reservoir water during the summer irrigation season. At the time, Kazakhstan expected to receive 491 million cubic meters of water to help offset shortages in southern farming areas.

Compensation Mechanisms

Kyrgyzstan Calls for Compensation Mechanisms to Maintain Regional Water Infrastructure

Kyrgyzstan is calling for compensation mechanisms with neighboring countries to help finance the maintenance of water infrastructure and glacier preservation. Officials warn that shrinking glaciers and declining precipitation already pose serious risks for Central Asia. The issue was raised by Erlist Akunbekov, Kyrgyzstan’s deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and minister of water resources, agriculture, and processing industry, during the opening of the Fourth High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development,” 2018-2028, in Dushanbe on May 26. Akunbekov described the melting of glaciers as a regional challenge, not solely a national problem. “Without glaciers, there will be no water in the rivers, and without water in the rivers, there will be no life in the valleys,” he said. He presented Kyrgyzstan as a critical upstream supplier, saying it is the only country in Central Asia whose water resources are formed entirely within its own territory. On that basis, he called for mutually beneficial and equitable compensation mechanisms in the water and energy sectors. Kyrgyzstan uses only around 30% of its available water resources, while the majority is consumed downstream by neighboring countries, Akunbekov said. At the same time, the country bears substantial costs for maintaining reservoirs, hydraulic infrastructure, and glacier ecosystems that benefit the entire region. “However, we must frankly admit that today our country is not receiving adequate compensation for these efforts,” Akunbekov said. For decades, Kyrgyzstan has also incurred indirect economic losses because land has been used for reservoirs and infrastructure serving regional water needs, he said. “Maintaining hydraulic facilities and preserving glaciers in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan requires enormous expenditures,” he said. Akunbekov added that Kyrgyzstan allocated approximately $80 million to the water sector last year and around $259 million over the past five years. Despite those investments, the resources of a single country are insufficient to fully modernize the aging water infrastructure inherited from the Soviet era. “We need additional consolidated financing to build an effective and modern water management system for all countries in the region,” Akunbekov said, adding that the time has come to introduce compensation mechanisms that would allow upstream countries to maintain water infrastructure for the benefit of all Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan remains one of the principal sources of irrigation water for downstream Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Akunbekov also drew attention to environmental risks facing Lake Issyk-Kul, one of Kyrgyzstan’s most important natural landmarks and a a biosphere territory of regional significance. He noted that over the past decade, the number of rivers flowing into the lake has declined from 100 to 30. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has also proposed that international donors and development partners jointly develop and implement a comprehensive program to preserve Lake Issyk-Kul and address climate-related risks affecting the wider region.