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Uzbekistan Pushed to Clean Up Cities Amid Air Pollution Protests

Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent continues to suffer from high levels of air pollution. According to the IQAir portal, on the morning of August 2 the concentration of PM 2.5 (fine particles in the air) in the city was 5.4 times higher than the WHO base indicator. Protest groups have been holding flash mobs in Tashkent this summer. One participant, Temurkhan Jahangir, believes that the main factor for the city's dangerous air is the government's poor urban planning policy. “The urban development strategy, implemented at the expense of urban densification, was a complete mistake from the start. It is foolish to sell land in the city center and build more buildings between multi-story buildings,” he said. According to the Ministry of Ecology, about 49,000 trees have been illegally cut down in the Tashkent region recently, which has also had a negative impact on air quality. At a meeting on January 29, the country's president Shavkat Mirziyoyev spoke about ecological problems. In particular he criticized the implementation of construction projects that don't consider environmental protection. He instructed the ministry to develop a “master plan” for each city and district of Uzbekistan, for local governors to improve the ecological situation by the end of the year. “On average, 730,000 motor vehicles move in Tashkent every day. In addition, 160,000 to 300,000 motor vehicles enter from the regions. Engines using A-80 gasoline, which does not meet international standards, emit harmful emissions into the atmosphere, exceeding the norm,” the Ministry of Ecology says. Mirziyoyev has also tasked the ministry with comprehensively abandoning A-80 gasoline from 2025 onwards, and developing sustainable public transport. He added that encouraging the population to switch to electric cars must be introduced to support green energy, prevent environmental problems, and reduce harmful emissions.

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Kazakhstan Prepares for the Second Phase of North Aral Sea Restoration

On August 1, Kazakhstan’s minister for water resources and irrigation, Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, chaired a meeting on preparations for the second phase of the North Aral Sea restoration project. The North Aral Sea is the portion of the former Aral Sea fed by the Syr Darya River. It split from the South Aral Sea in 1987–1988, when water levels dropped due to water diversion for agricultural use. The meeting reviewed the preparation of a feasibility study for the project. The project consists of three components. The first component improves conditions for fisheries and the aquatic environment in and near the sea, and stabilizes wetlands in the Syr Darya River delta. The second component supports sustainable economic, social, and environmental activities in Kazakhstan’s Kyzylorda region by developing fisheries, livestock farming, tourism, and forest planting. The third component plans to improve water management systems in the Aral-Syr Darya basin. Nurzhigitov commented: "The project being prepared is a continuation of a large-scale project to regulate the Syr Darya River bed and preserve the North Aral Sea, which was implemented between 2002 and 2010 and positively affected the entire Aral Sea region. The second phase covers many different areas — from the stable provision of the North Aral Sea with water to developing economic and social projects."

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High Water in Kyrgyzstan’s Toktogul Reservoir Forecast to Boost Electricity Generation

On August 2, the volume of water in the reservoir of Kyrgyzstan's Toktogul hydroelectric power plant reached 11.922 billion cubic meters, which according to the plant's operator Electric Stations OJSC, is almost one billion cubic meters more than that recorded on August 1, 2023. Located on the Naryn River, which feeds the Syr Darya River that flows to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Toktogul HPP is the largest power plant in Kyrgyzstan and generates some 40% of the country’s electricity. The Toktogul reservoir currently receives 840 cubic meters of water per second and releases 475 cubic meters per second. The released water is used to generate electricity and then flows to downstream countries where it is used for irrigation. The reservoir has a maximum capacity of 19.5 billion cubic meters, with an average volume is 17.3 billion cubic meters, and the "dead" level at which the power plant would stop operating is 5.5 billion cubic meters. As reported by 24.kg news agency, Electric Stations OJSC expects the volume of water in the Toktogul reservoir to reach 12.5 billion cubic meters at the beginning of the next heating season (October 1, 2024) and at the end of 2024/25 season, fall to around 7.9 billion cubic meters. Toktogul HPP comprises four hydroelectric units with a total generating capacity of 1320 MW and on completion of the modernization of hydroelectric unit #1, later this year, the capacity will increase by 60 MW and reach 1380 MW. In recent years, because Kyrgyzstan has been unable to produce enough electricity to meet the country's growing demand, electricity has been imported from neighbouring states.

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Natural Disasters Have Cost Tajikistan $12 Million So Far This Year

The head of Tajikistan’s committee for emergency situations and civil defense, Rustam Nazarzada, has said at a press conference that the economic damage caused by natural disasters in the country this year has amounted to over $12 million. Floods, landslides, heavy rains, avalanches, rockfalls, and earthquakes, which have claimed over 100 lives this year, have also caused considerable damage to Tajikistan’s economy and private sector. Nazarzoda said that 532 emergency cases were registered during this period, 57 more than last year.

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Kyrgyzstan to Ban Plastic Bags

Following a ban of plastic bags in biosphere reserves and natural protected areas on June 1 2024, Kyrgyzstan is to prohibit their production, sale and distribution nationwide, from 2027 onwards. Regarding the move, the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Kyrgyz Republic stated: "Plastic and the pollution it causes, is detrimental to human health. Plastic enters the human body as micro- and nano-particles through food, packaging, water, and air. Plastic waste continues to pollute the environment at the disposal stage, and waste disposal workers suffer, especially from close contact with burning plastic." Asel Raimkulova, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of Kyrgyzstan, told the Times of Central Asia that whilst the use of plastic products which can be recycled within the country is under review and likely to continue, the ban on plastic bags throughout the country is absolute. Deputy ministers however, have opposed the use of plastic bottles but said that given the lack of alternatives available to Kyrgyz bottling companies, some exceptions will be made. According to eco-activists, Kyrgyzstan has some 80 plants to recycle plastic but since seven out of ten supermarket products are now fully or partially packaged in plastic, they do not have the capacity to process the ever-increasing volume of waste. "For example, in Kyrgyzstan, tetra paks—multi-layer juice or milk cartons that, at first glance, look like cardboard—are not recyclable. In addition to cardboard, such packaging contains a layer of aluminum and several layers of polyethylene. And separating them from each other is not easy,” stressed activists of the environmental movement Peshcom.

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Kazakhstan Reports on Renewable Energy Generation

The Kazakh minister for energy, Almasadam Satkaliyev, reported on July 29 that the country produced 60.4 billion kWh in the first half of 2024. The minister also reported on developing renewable energy sources, which accounted for almost 6.5% of the country’s electricity generation in the first six months of the year. According to the Ministry of Energy, Kazakhstan has 148 renewable energy facilities with a total capacity of 2,903 MW. These include 59 wind power plants with a total capacity of 1,409 MW; 46 solar power plants with a capacity of 1,222 MW; 40 hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 269.7 MW; and three biogas power plants with a capacity of 1.7 MW. In the first half of 2024, these renewable energy facilities generated 3.896 billion kWh of electricity (wind power plants -- 2.325 billion kWh; solar power plants -- 974.9 million kWh; hydroelectric power plants -- 595.3 million kWh; and biogas plants -- 0.43 million kWh), or 6.47% of the total electricity production volume. Satkaliyev also reported that in the first half of 2024, Kazakhstan produced 44.7 million tons of crude oil, 6.78 million tons of petroleum products, and 30.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas.