Turkmenistan Environment - The Times Of Central Asia

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Kazakhstan Secures Agreement for 11 Billion Cubic Meters of Water from Neighboring Countries by April 2025

Kazakhstan will receive approximately 11 billion cubic meters of irrigation water from the Syr Darya River by April 2025, following an agreement made by Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, with representatives from neighboring Central Asian countries. The accord was reached at the 87th meeting of the Interstate Coordination Water Management Commission held last week in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and attended by water ministry leaders from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, with Kyrgyzstan as an observer. This substantial water supply is expected to fill the Shardara reservoir in southern Kazakhstan by April 1, 2025, providing enough water for the region's 2025 irrigation season. Given Kazakhstan’s reliance on irrigation for agriculture, particularly in the arid south, the flow from upstream countries like Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan is vital. Nurzhigitov noted, "This year, thanks to negotiations and joint actions, we ensured the effective water distribution in the Syrdarya River basin. Agreements on water and energy cooperation with Kyrgyzstan were implemented, and measures were taken to coordinate the operating mode of the Bakhri-Tojik reservoir [in Tajikistan] during this year’s irrigation season.”

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Central Asian Leaders Arrive in Azerbaijan for UN COP29 Climate Summit

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) opened in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on November 11, drawing approximately 50,000 participants, including government representatives, politicians, investors, and environmentalists from 198 countries. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attended the Summit, where he was welcomed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Tokayev will open the plenary session and hold talks with various heads of state, as well as representatives of international organizations and businesses. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has also arrived at the conference and is scheduled to address the opening session on November 12. He will participate in the special session “High-Level Dialogue: Advancing the Mountain Agenda and Mainstreaming Mountains and Climate Change,” organized by Kyrgyzstan with the support of Azerbaijan and Mongolia. This discussion will also feature Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Nepali President Ram Chandra Poudel, and representatives of international organizations. Russia is represented at the summit by its Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Additionally, representatives of the Taliban, which the UN does not recognize as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, have been included in the delegation for the first time. Armenia, however, has not yet confirmed its participation due to ongoing territorial disputes with Azerbaijan. The Summit is being held at the Baku Olympic Stadium, with sessions set to conclude on November 22. COP29 has been termed a “finance summit” due to its primary focus on financing developing nations in the fight against climate change. Delegates are also working to establish a framework to improve national emissions reduction programs.

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Turkmenistan to Produce Food Additives from Locally Harvested Gleditsia Pods

In a significant step towards implementing innovations across various economic sectors, Turkmenistan has secured the copyright for galactomannan production technologies developed by the Biotechnology Department of the International Science and Technology Park. Galactomannans, polysaccharides consisting of D-galactose and D-mannose, are known for their ability to form gels and increase the viscosity of solutions. Thanks to these properties, they are in high demand in the food, agricultural, and printing industries, where they are used as thickeners and structuring agents. According to Altyn Rakhmanova, head of the biotechnology department of the Academy of Science of Turkmenistan, the development of galactomannan production technologies is part of Turkmenistan’s Biotechnology Development Program for 2024-2028, a vital aspect of which is the creation of feed additives for farm animals from local raw materials. Using galactomannans derived from pods of the Gleditsia triacanthos, a plant grown in Turkmenistan and described by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the National Leader of the Turkmen people in his book, Medicinal Plants of Turkmenistan, as having multiple valuable properties, helps reduce costs and maximizes the utilization of local resources . As detailed in the book, Gleditsia is a honey-bearing plant from which up to 250 kg of honey can be harvested per hectare. An efficient method of galactomannan extraction ensures maximum yield from the raw material, contributing to sustainable and autonomous production, as well as serving as a foundation for further technological advancements in the food and agricultural sectors and the utilization of local natural resources. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Turkmen bio-technologists from the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan have developed an innovative lactose-based gel designed to rejuvenate and correct age-related skin changes. Other scientific breakthroughs include a therapeutic ointment made from the Maclura, a tree species widespread in the country, which relieves inflammation and aids the healing of wounds, a cream based on oil extracted from silkworm cocoons for use in cosmetology, and crackers made from extracts from camel thorn.

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Central Asia: Working Together on Border Landscapes

Talk of closer cooperation among Central Asian countries has ebbed and flowed as far back as the period after independence from Soviet rule in the early 1990s. The goal of a more unified region is a work in progress, though one promising area of collaboration is a plan to restore and protect damaged ecosystems in border regions. The first regional meeting on the topic, held this month in Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, brought together government officials from the host nation as well as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The portfolios of the delegates were nature preservation, protected areas, emergencies, agriculture, and forestry. They talked about coordinating on wildfire alert systems in cross-border areas, erosion control, tree-planting and nature-oriented tourism in protected areas and other sites shared by Central Asia countries, according to the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia, a non-profit group based in Almaty, Kazakhstan that promotes regional dialogue on the environment. The group, which organized the Tashkent meeting, was created in 2001 by the five Central Asian states as well as the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme. The initiative is supported by a $256 million World Bank program to restore degraded landscapes in the region. The World Bank has noted big progress toward poverty alleviation and economic growth by Central Asian countries in the last decades. However, it has cautioned that oil and gas extraction in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan have taken a heavy environmental toll, while soil erosion and water scarcity have accompanied land development in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Arid conditions exacerbated by climate change and inefficient management threaten transboundary water resources, a problem that is becoming increasingly severe. “A key example of tragic impacts on livelihoods and health of communities in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and across the region are massive sand and salt storms originating from the land areas once covered by the Aral Sea,” the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia said. It cited an international disaster database as saying more than 10 million people in Central Asia have “suffered from land degradation-related disasters” since 1990, inflicting damages estimated at around $2.5 billion. Central Asian countries also seek to collaborate on early warning systems and other emergency precautions as they face a variety of natural hazards, including floods, landslides and droughts. Supported by United Nations agencies, the heads of the national emergency departments of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan convened in August at a lakeside resort town in northern Kyrgyzstan. There, they shared information and experiences.

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Central Asia’s Increasing Profile in Global Climate Policy

Between 11 and 22 November, the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan. In the run-up to this global event, Central Asian countries have been continuing their integration into the cooperative implementation of the global energy and environmental agenda. Such measures include, but are not limited to, commitments to reducing methane emissions, contributions to green supply chains, and — for Kazakhstan in particular — its nuclear policy based on multi-vector diplomacy. One may anticipate their especially enhanced presence in view of the fact that several them have strategic-partner relations with Azerbaijan, which is cooperating with them also in the implementation of the Trans-Caspian International Trade Corridor (TITR or "Middle Corridor"). The Central Asian states are using their implementation of global energy and environmental priorities as an instrument to integrate further into the international system. Following their participation at COP28 (30 November – 23 December 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates), all five of them signed the Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030. They have also stepped up their contributions to green supply chains, signalling their ambitions to become more important players in global geoeconomics. At the same time, these initiatives also seek to promote domestic economic diversification. Kazakhstan, in particular, continues to play a central role with its multi-vector approach, notably in the nuclear energy sector, positioning itself at the intersection of sustainability and global energy security. Kazakhstan holds 12% of global uranium reserves. It became the world’s leading producer in 2009 and in 2022 accounted for 43% of global production. In Central Asia, Uzbekistan has a Rosatom-sponsored NPP project under way, as does Kyrgyzstan. Along with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in particular actively engaged in discussions on climate policy at COP28, acknowledging the need to balance their resource-rich economies with global sustainability goals. One of the key outcomes was the region's collective involvement in the Global Methane Pledge. Global environmental policy bodies have assessed that methane emissions are a significant concern for global climate policy. The effect of this assessment will be to load still greater financial burdens on oil and gas companies by making development of hydrocarbon deposits, and the transmission of hydrocarbon resources to market, more expensive. Kazakhstan’s commitment to cutting methane emissions by 30% by 2030 exemplifies this shift, signalling a readiness to reform domestic industries in line with global climate targets. Turkmenistan has the highest methane emissions intensity in the region, but challenges remain in terms of monitoring and implementation. Uzbekistan’s leadership was also highlighted at COP28. The country’s ambitious plans to scale up solar and wind energy by 2030 align with broader regional goals of reducing dependence on hydrocarbons. This is Tashkent's (and the region's) way of enhancing their profile as "good global citizens" as policy decisions by political bodies at the international level increasingly emphasize decarbonization. Uzbekistan has made strides in "green supply chains" by focusing on the renewable energy sector...

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Anniversary of the Ashgabat Earthquake Tragedy

In every city's history, there are events that forever change its image and the fate of its inhabitants. The night of October 5-6, 1948, marked a turning point for Ashgabat, with a tragic event which still resonates in the hearts of those who lived through it. On that warm October evening, no one in Ashgabat could ever have predicted that the next few hours would forever change the fates of tens of thousands of people. Life in the city continued as usual, music played in the parks, lovers strolled along the streets, and students prepared for classes. The starry sky promised a peaceful night... Founded in 1881, when seismology was still young, Ashgabat grew and developed, oblivious to any impending danger. Traditional adobe construction —a mixture of clay and straw—seemed ideal for the dry climate. Year on year, residents renewed their clay roofs, adding new layers without considering that the increasing weight could be a death trap. “Only the stone building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan and a few other important buildings were made of quality bricks,” recalled one eyewitness. “It was these buildings, though damaged, that survived, while virtually the rest of the city was reduced to rubble.” [caption id="attachment_24231" align="aligncenter" width="300"] @mchs.gov.ru[/caption] “In the middle of the night - we heard- a menacing rumble, then rumbling and cracking as the ground shook and shimmered...” said one of the survivors, recalling the beginning of the tragedy. At 1.14 am on October 6, 1948, something happened that many Ashgabat residents believed was the start of a new war. Within but a few seconds, the city was a ruin. Academician Dmitry Nalivkin, who was at the epicenter of events, describes the harrowing event: “There was something incredible, impossible outside the window. Instead of a dark transparent starry night, there was an impenetrable milky-white wall in front of me, and behind it - horrible moans, screams, cries for help.” [caption id="attachment_24232" align="aligncenter" width="300"] @mchs.gov.ru[/caption] According to Nalivakin, the city was completely paralyzed. Telephone communications were interrupted, the train station turned into a pile of rubble, and the airfield was destroyed. Overnight, the capital of the republic was cut off from the outside world. In a matter of seconds, 98% of the city was rubble. Lieutenant Colonel of Medical Service Tikhon Boldyrev describes the first minutes after the catastrophe: “A deafening noise like a deep sigh swept through the city, and immediately there was dead silence. The air was filled with thick, suffocating dust. There was no sound, no cries for help, no animal sounds; it was as if every living thing had perished beneath the ruins.” In the darkness, in a dense veil of dust, survivors raked through the rubble with their bare hands, trying to save their loved ones. Alevtina Dubrovskaya, a resident of Ashgabat, recalls, “I found myself covered from head to toe with a mat hanging over my bed, but there was some space with air under it, which saved me from suffocation...” [caption...