Environment - The Times Of Central Asia

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Air Pollution

Kyrgyzstan’s Junda Oil Refinery Faces Pollution Complaints During $194 Million Upgrade

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said his government would consider relocating residents of Kara-Balta if living near the Junda oil refinery was harming their health. A resident had asked him to close the Chinese-owned plant or require better pollution controls. At the November 8 meeting in Kara-Balta, about 60 kilometers west of Bishkek, the woman described cases of allergies, hair loss, and high blood pressure that residents associated with the refinery. Japarov defended keeping the plant open, saying Kyrgyzstan needed to develop its industries and produce more of its own fuel. In a November 11 response, Junda said its modernization project was nearing completion. It is installing a vapor recovery system that the company says will capture petroleum vapors during storage and transport and return them to production. It also plans to plant trees on about two hectares of refinery land in spring 2027. Kyrgyzstan is trying to reduce its reliance on Russian gasoline and diesel by refining more crude at home. Junda is the country’s largest refinery, with the capacity to process 800,000 metric tons of crude oil a year. The upgraded plant is expected to produce K4- and K5-grade fuels, which have tighter limits on sulfur content. At full capacity, the company says the plant could meet more than 35% of domestic demand for fuels and lubricants. The refinery began producing fuel in 2014, shut down in early 2020, and resumed operations in 2024. Residents had complained repeatedly about odors and air pollution before the shutdown. The locally registered operator, China Petrol Company Junda, is 99% owned by China’s Central Asia Energy Company. Kara-Balta’s DaDe Service Company holds the remaining 1%. Estimates for the upgrade rose from about USD 160 million in 2024 to USD 167 million in 2025. Kyrgyzstan’s National Investment Agency now puts the investment at USD 193.75 million. The project missed its July 31, 2026, completion deadline. On August 25, the agency and the Chinese investor signed an agreement for the next phase. At an October 9 briefing, an environmental inspector said the work was expected to finish by April 2027. Officials at the briefing also said inspections prompted by residents’ complaints had resulted in two fines and orders to correct violations. After visiting the refinery on November 11, agency head Ravshanbek Sabirov called on the investor to meet its commitments. The agency gave no date for the upgraded plant to enter service. The new fuel standards do not, by themselves, establish whether residents will breathe cleaner air. In September, Kyrgyzstan’s environment ministry published air quality readings for Kara-Balta. Some spring readings for nitrogen dioxide exceeded the daily average limit, while sulfur dioxide remained within the limit in spring and summer. The ministry did not trace the pollution to Junda. The company’s response cited no independent measurements of its emissions or medical studies assessing residents’ symptoms.

COP31

Uzbekistan Proposes Regional Disaster Warning System at COP31

Uzbekistan has proposed establishing a joint early warning system for natural disasters in Central Asia. The plan also calls for greater climate data sharing and coordinated efforts to fund land restoration. The initiative was presented by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on November 11 at the COP31 leaders' summit, part of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Antalya, Türkiye. “No country can address the challenges of climate change on its own,” Mirziyoyev said. Mirziyoyev proposed beginning with the exchange of information on climate risks, supported by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The next step would be to establish common indicators for monitoring long-term changes, including glacier retreat. Two additional areas of cooperation would involve soil restoration technologies and new financing mechanisms for arid regions. For Central Asia, accurate forecasting has direct economic implications. Much of the region's river runoff originates in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, while most water withdrawals are used to irrigate agricultural land in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and southern Kazakhstan. According to the World Bank, agriculture accounts for approximately 90% of freshwater withdrawals in the region. Information on snow cover, precipitation, and expected river flows allows authorities to adjust reservoir operations and irrigation schedules in advance. During the 2025 glaciological year, which ran from October 2024 through September 2025, most monitored glaciers in the Tian Shan and Pamir mountains experienced substantial mass loss. The WMO attributes this to insufficient winter precipitation and elevated temperatures between May and September. Glacier retreat is changing the seasonal distribution of river flows on which agriculture, hydropower generation, and water supplies depend. Shared Forecasts Instead of Fragmented Monitoring Central Asian countries already exchange some hydrometeorological information. With World Bank support, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have modernized their monitoring networks and expanded data sharing with regional centers, including the existing WMO-designated regional meteorological center operated by Uzhydromet in Tashkent. According to the bank, the sharing of real-time observations has improved forecast accuracy and helped national agencies warn neighboring countries about flooding risks along transboundary rivers. The proposed mechanism would extend this practice to other climate threats. On November 10, the day before Mirziyoyev's address, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo outlined possible functions for a new regional climate center serving Central Asia and the Turkic states at an event in Antalya. Such a center could produce seasonal forecasts, assess drought risks, and help national meteorological agencies monitor glaciers. Establishing the center would require agreed rules for data exchange, a division of responsibilities, and sustained funding. The WMO has emphasized that national meteorological services would retain responsibility for forecasts and warnings within their respective countries. Uzbekistan intends to address some of these issues during its 2027–2029 chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). The fund was established by the five Central Asian countries in 1993 to promote cooperation on water management in the Aral Sea basin. On November 9, Mirziyoyev was presented with 133 projects worth a combined $3.3 billion. They include modernization of water management infrastructure, automated water monitoring and distribution, and a...

Aral Sea

Uzbekistan Announces $3.3 Billion in Aral Sea Projects

Uzbekistan has prepared 133 projects worth a combined $3.3 billion for its 2027–2029 chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). The initiatives include upgrading water infrastructure and establishing a regional early warning system for floods and droughts. Uzbekistan plans to obtain financing from international development banks and climate funds. The $3.3 billion represents the estimated cost of the proposed projects, rather than funding already secured. Under a separate November 5 presidential resolution, Uzbekistan plans to plant forests across 50,000 hectares of the dried Aral Sea bed in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan heavily affected by the desiccation of the Aral Sea. Work is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2027. Planting trees and shrubs on the exposed seabed helps stabilize the soil and limit the spread of salt-laden dust. The five Central Asian countries established IFAS in 1993 in response to the Aral Sea crisis. The fund coordinates regional cooperation on water management and environmental protection across the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins. The Aral Sea shrank dramatically after Soviet irrigation projects diverted water from its two main feeder rivers to agriculture, particularly cotton farming. The retreat devastated fishing communities and exposed a salt-covered seabed, creating dust storms that damage farmland and threaten public health. Some of these dust storms are so vast they are visible from space, carrying salt and agricultural chemical residues across the region. By 2007, the sea had lost approximately 90% of its original water volume. Uzbekistan will take over the fund's chairmanship from Kazakhstan in 2027. Its plans also include improving access to drinking water and establishing a shared database for the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins. Uzbekistan also hopes to generate revenue by selling carbon credits associated with carbon dioxide absorbed by the new vegetation. The resolution calls for talks with potential foreign partners and directs that net proceeds from carbon-credit sales, after project costs, go to Karakalpakstan's local budget. Separately, a study has suggested that restoring water cover over parts of the Aral Sea could prevent the release of up to 605 million metric tons of CO₂ from exposed sediments. Researchers estimated the potential value of those avoided emissions at $3.6 billion to $18 billion in carbon credits.

Caspian Sea

Shrinking Caspian Sea Challenges Kazakhstan’s Transport Ambitions, Environmentalist Warns

Kazakhstan’s plans to develop the Trans-Caspian transport route face a growing environmental challenge as the Caspian Sea shrinks. Environmentalist Vadim Ni questioned the coordination behind those plans in an interview with The Times of Central Asia. "Negotiations on the Trans-Caspian Corridor are taking place at the presidential level and among the economic ministries, while the Ministry of Ecology still does not know what its role is within this route. It only recently became involved in negotiations on the issue. But how can you develop the Trans-Caspian Corridor if the sea continues to shrink?" he emphasized. Ni, an environmental law specialist and founder of the Save the Caspian Sea movement, also called for greater domestic environmental spending. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan should increase their own funding rather than relying primarily on international climate funds, he argued. His comments come as the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) opens on November 9 in Antalya, Turkey. The conference runs through November 20. The Caspian Sea Is Shrinking as Transport Ambitions Grow The falling water level of the Caspian Sea is already affecting coastal ecosystems, fisheries, and transport infrastructure. For Kazakhstan, the problem has taken on additional economic significance because of the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which connects China and Central Asia with Europe via the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus. According to the Kazakh Research Institute of the Caspian Sea, water levels in Kazakhstan's sector fell by 2.45 meters between 1996 and 2025. In July 2026, the monitoring station on Kulaly Island recorded a level of 29.42 meters below the reference elevation datum, the lowest reading in the observation record. Between 2016 and 2025, the sea's surface area shrank by approximately 11,200 square kilometers. Along some sections of the northeastern coast, the shoreline retreated by more than 20 kilometers. [caption id="attachment_60278" align="aligncenter" width="1440"] Satellite images show the northern Caspian Sea on September 20, 2006, and September 19, 2022, revealing exposed land as waters receded. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview.[/caption] In October, Kazakhstan began large-scale dredging operations at the Port of Aktau. The project involves removing about 1.3 million cubic meters of sediment and deepening the port area to 6–7 meters. According to the Ministry of Transport, this could increase freight volumes along the route by up to 30% and reduce maritime transportation costs by 10–15%. Ni believes the shrinking Caspian Sea has received the political attention it needs, although the problem cannot be resolved without coordinated action by the countries bordering the sea. "The issue of the Caspian Sea's falling water level is being addressed relatively well because it has been raised to the highest level – that of Kazakhstan's president. The same can be said of the Aral Sea. There are many difficulties, and the problem depends on coordinating decisions among several countries, but progress is being made," he explained. He also warned about the environmental consequences of the retreating water....

Water Security

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s Mineral Ambitions Depend on Water

At the Shalkiya lead-zinc mine in Kyzylorda Region, engineers have designed a processing plant that could handle four million metric tons of ore a year. To keep it running, a pumping station would send up to 2,400 cubic meters of water back through the plant every hour. Even with that water going round again, the plant would still need fresh supplies. How much would it draw in a dry summer, when farmers in Kyzylorda are already working within irrigation limits? Investors need an answer before they commit to building it. Kazakhstan has good reason to process more of its ore at home. It would keep skilled jobs in the country, along with a larger share of the export earnings. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov made that case at the mining congress in Astana in June. The Development Bank of Kazakhstan has launched a $1 billion program to finance rare and critical materials projects through 2030. At Shalkiya, some of the costs appear in a separate set of plans. These cover rebuilding the mine’s water intake and the pipeline from Zhanakorgan. Both belong in the plant’s budget alongside the machinery that will process the ore. What Farmers Already Face During the 2025 irrigation season, Kazakhstan withdrew 11.01 billion cubic meters of water for agriculture, with the south accounting for 98% of it. For 2026, the government set irrigation limits of 3.8 billion cubic meters for the Turkistan Region and 3.2 billion for Kyzylorda. It also asked farmers to devote less land to particularly thirsty crops. By September 1, 2026, farmers across Kazakhstan were using water-saving systems on 702,300 hectares. The Water Ministry estimates that the systems in use the previous year saved about 874 million cubic meters. For a factory looking for a water supply, though, it is important where those savings were made and who depends on the water downstream. Some water never makes it as far as the farm. Kazakhstan plans to upgrade more than 14,000 kilometers of irrigation canals by 2030 and cut losses along the way from 50% to 25%. A World Bank-backed program has already rehabilitated more than 800 kilometers of lined canals and improved water management on more than 100,000 hectares of farmland. In Kyzylorda, anyone planning decades ahead also has to reckon with hotter conditions. Between 1976 and 2025, the region’s average annual temperature rose by about 0.53 degrees Celsius per decade, according to Kazhydromet. Across Kazakhstan as a whole, the increase was 0.40 degrees per decade. Where the Water Will Come From Stepnogorsk, north of Astana, has a different starting point. Companies there are studying a rare earth separation plant that could produce 8,000 metric tons of rare earth oxides a year. Existing utilities may make the site attractive, but irrigation figures from Kyzylorda are of little help this far north. Investors need to know how much water the plant would draw and whether the local source could supply it through a dry year. In Ekibastuz, the developer of Data Center Valley puts the...

COP31

Opinion: What is on the agenda for Central Asia at COP31?

The 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP31, is taking place in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20. Delegations from almost 200 countries will participate in the event, including all the Central Asian republics, but Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan will play an outsize role in coordinating their messaging and ensuring the regional environmental agenda gets the time it needs in the spotlight. The buzzword for the C5 in Türkiye is “cooperation.” Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources will host a meeting for Central Asia’s five environmental ministers at its national pavilion to discuss regional cooperation and joint climate initiatives. Uzbekistan is committed to contributing to common positions on glacier retreat, water security, adaptation needs, and equitable access to climate finance through the multilateral Mountain Group and the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs). Turkmenistan will continue pushing for the formation of the Ashgabat Climate Dialogue as a new multilateral platform for promoting climate change initiatives. In line with its Mountain Agenda, the Kyrgyz Republic will be lobbying for support to establish the Global Mountain Resilience Center in Bishkek. Mobilizing affordable climate finance is critical for all the republics. According to the Climate Policy Initiative, global climate finance reached $2 trillion in 2024, against estimated annual mitigation finance needs of $7.8 trillion through 2030. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, Aziz Abdukhakimov, Presidential Adviser on Environmental Issues and Chair of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, stated: “Access to adequate, predictable and affordable climate finance remains essential for developing countries to achieve their climate goals. For Uzbekistan, the implementation of our national climate commitments is estimated to require approximately $33.7 billion for mitigation and $15.7 billion for adaptation by 2030.” Closing, or at least narrowing, that gap requires building support among international financial institutions, multilateral development banks, development partners, and private investors. The GEF Council, meeting in Samarkand ahead of the Eighth GEF Assembly, endorsed a $3.9 billion replenishment package (GEF-9), demonstrating donor interest and tangible commitment to climate projects, including for a restoration project in the Chu and Talas river basins shared by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and for a risk mitigation facility to attract private investment into Uzbekistan’s renewable energy sector. But there is hope that commitments at COP31 will go further. In September 2026, during Climate Week NYC, President-Designate Murat Kurum announced that Uzbekistan would be one of the first five pilot countries to receive support under the Climate Implementation Bridge (BRIDGE), the flagship initiative of COP31. This represents an important opportunity to translate national climate priorities into investment-ready projects and facilitate access to international financing. In his interview, Abdukhakimov stated that Uzbekistan’s focus will be “mobilizing investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate-resilient infrastructure, sustainable water management, agriculture and ecosystem restoration.” At the same time, Kazakhstan will be presenting its plans to establish a national climate investment platform, plus a framework partnership program for developing the circular economy across Central Asia. Tajikistan will be...