Local Politics - The Times Of Central Asia

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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."

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.

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.

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.

Censorship

Russia’s “Internet Isolation” Strikes Central Asia

According to numerous reports, including stories from emigre journalists formerly of the radio station, ECHO who now broadcast out of Lithuania, Russia’s purported throttling of YouTube is affecting swathes of the platform’s users across Central Asia. On forums and social media, users have complained that the site is not working properly. This comes as the authorities in Russia are attempting to wean its citizens off of YouTube, one of the sole remaining sources of uncensored news, and onto its replacement, RuNet, as part of a wider drive towards “internet isolation.” In a press release to state-owned news agency, TASS, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that “YouTube is not a neutral platform, it works out the political directives of Washington. In addition, YouTube ignores Roskomnadzor's demands to remove over 60,000 materials with violations.” Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Industry, Construction and Science-Intensive Technologies, former journalist Aleksandr Khinshtein has also stated that the “degradation” of YouTube. is a “forced step aimed not against Russian users, but against the administration of a foreign resource, which still believes that it can violate and oppose our legislation with impunity.” Khinshtein, an architect of legislation targeting the LGBT+ community for being an “element of hybrid warfare” against Russia, is subject to sanctions in the UK for his part in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Despite these open admissions, however, the Kremlin has also sought to lay the blame for the disruption on Google for using "grey and semi-criminal schemes" to manage server payments, which have caused its local subsidiary to go bankrupt. In the meantime, caught in the crosshairs of this wider battle, some users across Central Asia are continuing to have problems accessing the platform, with speeds down by as much as 70%.

Kyrgyzstan Aims to Achieve GDP of $30 Billion by 2030

The Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Akylbek Japarov, says that Kyrgyzstan aims to be among the world’s top 30 countries in terms of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. “The main goal is to achieve a GDP of $30 billion in the next six years," Japarov said on July 31. "This requires maintaining annual nominal GDP growth at 10-12%. According to the World Bank classification, Kyrgyzstan can confidently increase its GDP per capita and join the ranks of upper-middle-income countries by 2030, leaving the category of lower-middle-income countries,” he added. According to Japarov, Kyrgyzstan's economic growth demonstrates sustainable development. The average GDP growth rate in 2023 was 7%, and according to the National Statistical Committee, while it was 8.1% in the first half of 2024. Japarov added that in 2023, Kyrgyzstan crossed a historic milestone, with the country's GDP reaching an all-time high of $13.9 billion. He added that inflation in January-June 2024 was 2.4% due to a balanced monetary policy.