Turkmenistan Environment - The Times Of Central Asia

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Central Asia Faces Devastating $9 Billion Annual Loss from Climate Crises

Central Asia faces a complex mix of development challenges, according to a study conducted by the Analytical Credit Rating Agency (ACRA). These include global issues such as climate change, rising inequality, and demographic shifts, alongside regional concerns like water crises, aging infrastructure, border conflicts, and lack of access to sea routes. The region’s challenges can be categorized into external and internal risks. Since gaining independence, Central Asia has been shaped by the influence of global powers. Trade, security, energy, and education ties with Russia remain strong, while China’s Belt and Road Initiative has led to significant investment in infrastructure. Western nations and multinational corporations are active primarily in the raw materials sector, particularly in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. While these international connections drive economic growth, they also heighten the region’s vulnerability to global shocks. For example, heavy reliance on remittances from migrant workers and low export diversification increase economic fragility. Climate change poses one of the most pressing threats to the region. Natural disasters—including floods, which affect about one million people annually, and earthquakes, impacting two million - result in $9 billion in annual GDP losses. Rising temperatures are expected to exacerbate issues such as water scarcity, droughts, heat waves, and the loss of agricultural land. Adopting sustainable development practices and green technologies could help mitigate these effects. Aging water and energy infrastructure is a major hurdle for the region. Energy insecurity, compounded by climate change, limits economic potential. Despite a rise in foreign investment from $1.5 billion in 2000 to $7.4 billion in 2023, the majority of funds are concentrated in raw materials, with only a small share allocated to infrastructure improvements. Transport development is equally critical. The lack of sea access places Central Asia at a 20% developmental disadvantage compared to coastal nations. Expanding roads, railways, and logistics hubs could significantly enhance regional and international trade. Territorial disputes, particularly around enclaves, remain a source of periodic clashes, with the Kyrgyz-Tajik border clashes of 2022 being a notable example. While these conflicts may not immediately affect economic stability, escalations could damage the region’s investment climate and trade prospects. A peace agreement signed later in 2022 has helped to stabilize the situation. Additionally, the situation in Afghanistan continues to present challenges, including terrorism, refugee flows, and border security concerns. These risks intensified following the regime change in Afghanistan in 2021, increasing the urgency for stronger border controls. Addressing these interconnected challenges will require coordinated efforts among all Central Asian nations. International organizations and major global partners must also play a role by supporting infrastructure and technological modernization. Such collaboration is essential to mitigating economic risks and fostering long-term development in the region.

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Afghanistan’s Electricity Restored Following Supply Issues from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan

The Afghan Power Supply Company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), recently announced disruptions in electricity imports from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. This has left many regions in darkness and sparked public dissatisfaction over the lack of a reliable power supply. The interruptions stemmed from technical problems on the Uzbek side and hurricane-related issues in Turkmenistan. Uzbek authorities confirmed that they were working to resolve the issue swiftly. On December 15, DABS confirmed that the technical issues had been resolved and normal electricity supply from both Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan had been fully restored. Afghanistan relies heavily on electricity imports from neighboring countries, particularly Uzbekistan. In 2023, Uzbekistan extended its contract to export electricity to Afghanistan, underscoring the continued energy partnership between the two nations. In earlier discussions, Afghanistan offered Uzbekistan opportunities to invest in its natural resources, including oil, gas, and copper deposits in the provinces of Ghazni and Herat, along with the potential to establish mineral processing plants.

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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.