Turkmenistan Environment - The Times Of Central Asia

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Turkmenistan Bans People From Talking About the Weather

For almost ten days Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat has been flooded with rain, in what local meteorologists think have been the worst downpours since the 1970s. The rain has caused significant damage to the city's infrastructure. The Akhal province has also been badly affected, with agricultural land flooded. Mudflows hit the cities of Anev and Kahka, and in many areas electricity and part of the rail network were shut down. However, there have been no reports in Turkmen media about the rains and the damage they are causing. Turkmenistan's law enforcement agencies have taken unprecedented measures to prevent photos and videos of the downpours from appearing on social networks. According to Radio Azatlyk, internet speed has slowed down, working VPNs are blocked, and IMO messenger has almost stopped working. A Turkmenabad police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said of the order from above: "We have been ordered to prevent the leakage of defamatory photos and videos abroad. It was explained to us that if defamatory information gets into the hands of the West or the U.S. State Department, this information can be used to destabilize the domestic situation." The situation is the same in Ashgabat. Security services are identifying and taking to police stations citizens who have shared photos and videos on social media of the rains, and the damage caused by the rains in Ashgabat and the provinces. "In Ashgabat, cars could not move along the streets, people were swept away by the water pressure, and some of them were badly hurt. In the suburbs, houses and farms were flooded, farmers may be left without any income. There are many casualties, but there are no fatalities among the residents. Now the situation is gradually normalizing, and the authorities are eliminating the consequences of the flooding," one Ashgabat resident told The Times of Central Asia.

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USAID Funds Improved Water Management in Turkmenistan

On 2 May the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Committee for Water Resources of Turkmenistan launched a new metering system to measure water flow on the Karakum River near Ashgabat. Financed with a grant from USAID Central Asia’s Regional Water and Vulnerable Environment Activity, the system offers a powerful means by which the country can sustain water availability and build climate resilience. As reported by the U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan, by providing real-time data to the State Committee for Water Resources, the new system will enable a more efficient allocation of water to agriculture, households, and industry. The World Bank has forecast that because of climate change, the volume of water flowing from tributaries of the Amu Darya River into Turkmenistan could drop by 25% in July and August, and consequently could impact supplies of drinking water and water needed to produce wheat and cotton. Within this context, the new metering system will provide the invaluable information about flow rates and water withdrawals on the Karakum River and in turn, allow the government to advise farmers of the precise amount of water needed for crop growth.

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Doing Deals: At Paris Forum, Turkmenistan Makes a Pitch to the West

OPEC’s secretary general appeared on the video screen in a conference hall in France and ticked off the statistics that have made Turkmenistan such a tantalizing prospect as an energy provider for Europe over the years, despite the convoluted geopolitics and high costs of moving natural gas from Central Asia to the West. “It is among the top 10 global natural gas producers, and the fourth largest in terms of proven gas reserves. And it has plans to expand its oil production capacity,” Haitham Al-Ghais told delegates to the state-backed Turkmen Energy Investment Forum, held in a plush hotel in Paris on April 24-25. The speech from OPEC headquarters in Vienna was short and upbeat. It came at a time when Turkmenistan, a traditionally isolationist country, is seeking to diversify energy customers and as Europe reduces demand on Russian natural gas amid war in Ukraine. Turkmenistan, which is not a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has long exported gas to China, its biggest customer. The Turkmen government says the construction of a pipeline that would deliver gas to India via Pakistan is making progress, though the infrastructure would pass through Afghanistan, where security is a perennial concern. Last year, Turkmenistan’s foreign ministry spoke positively about plans for a Trans-Caspian pipeline that would deliver gas to Europe, an idea that has circulated since the 1990s but is opposed by Moscow. Also, gas demand has been dropping in Europe and Brussels is reluctant to revive the complex Trans-Caspian project and its undersea pipeline, according to the Warsaw-based Centre for Eastern Studies. There has also been talk of sending gas to Europe through Iran under a gas swap agreement, though international tensions – evident in the recent strikes by Iran and U.S.-backed Israel on each other’s territory -- are likely to persist. “The options, including transport via the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan or through Iran’s pipeline infrastructure, reflect the complex regional dynamics and the need for diplomatic agreements to facilitate gas transit,” Melike Akin wrote in a March 7 analysis for the Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies, a research center. Ankara is the capital of Turkey, which said in March that it will begin receiving some Turkmen natural gas. Details on the delivery are lacking, but the transfer could serve as a playbook for Turkmen supplies to Europe, with Ankara positioning itself as a gas trading hub between Eurasia and the West. President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan said in a message to the Paris energy conference that priorities include collaboration with foreign companies on oil and gas facilities in the Turkmen section of the Caspian Sea, development of the huge Galkynysh gas field and construction of the TAPI pipeline to South Asia. The acronym stands for Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India. The president noted that Turkmenistan had made “significant progress” toward reducing emissions when it signed the Global Methane Pledge at the United Nations meeting on climate change, or COP-28, in Dubai in December. Under the agreement, more than 150 nations...

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Turkmenistan Using Almost All Available Water Resources With No Additions in Sight

Meteojournal has reported that Turkmenistan's State Statistics Committee has published a voluntary national review of its progress in implementing the global agenda for sustainable development until 2023 on its website. According to MeteoJournal, in 2021, almost all water resources in the country – 92% – went to agricultural needs. Another 5% was used by industry, and only 3% went to household needs. At the same time, Turkmenistan used almost all available fresh water resources, and due to increasing consumption, the country has no additional water sources. In 2016, the utilization rate of water resources reached 97.5%; in 2018, it had dropped to 89.9%, then in 2020 it reached 85.2%, and in 2021 -- 87.1 percent. Meteojournal stated that the increase in demand for fresh water can be met only through its rational use. According to the review, 95% of the population has access to clean and safe water, whilst 99.9% of the population uses water supply services organized in compliance with safety requirements. The share of safely treated wastewater in 2022 was 57.4%. Meteojournal, which familiarized itself with the review, noted that Turkmenistan - which possesses huge potential for using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy - is currently not harnessing its potential. The review mentioned the construction of a 10-megawatt (MW) hybrid power plant using solar and wind energy in Kyzil-Arvat. The project was planned to be completed in January 2024, but has yet to open, and local media haven't reported any updates on the pace and status of the work.

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Turkmenistan and Afghanistan Discuss Collaborative Projects

On March 4th, a large Afghan delegation led by Nooruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Trade of Afghanistan, participated in a Turkmen-Afghan business forum and exhibition of Afghan goods in Ashgabat. Issues discussed included Turkmen-Afghan partnerships in trade, industry, agriculture, transport, communications, and electricity supply. Also on the agenda were oil and gas which alongside textiles, comprise Turkmenistan’s main exports to Afghanistan. As reported by the Turkmen Foreign Ministry, special attention was paid to the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) high-voltage power transmission line. The group also focused on the establishment of transport routes and in particular, railways from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan. Azizi emphasized the desire of the Afghan business sector to further increase trade with Turkmenistan, develop Afghanistan’s infrastructure, and exploit the transit potential of both countries. Afghan TOLOnews, quoting Mergen Gurdov, head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan, reported that in 2023, trade between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan generated $457 million and this January alone, $46 million. The agro-industrial sector was cited as a promising field for Turkmen-Afghan cooperation, with the Turkmen Foreign Ministry raising the issue of transboundary water resources. Turkmenistan insists that the use of water involves cooperation with neighboring countries, conducted in accordance with international law, and based on principles of mutual respect and in the spirit of traditional good neighborliness. Afghan Minister Azizi pledged that regarding the use of transboundary water resources and construction of water facilities to further the prosperity of his people, Kabul will honour principles of mutual consent and respect for neighboring countries, especially Turkmenistan, with whom Afghanistan has long maintained an amicable relationship. The issue came to the fore last month following Afghanistan’s announcement that construction has begun on the second phase of the Qosh Tepa Canal; a project prioritized by the Taliban- led government since early 2022. By diverting water from the Amu Darya River, the canal will convert 550,000 hectares of desert into farmland in northern Afghanistan, but could also have an adverse effect on agriculture in downstream Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

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Record Numbers of Pink Flamingos Are Wintering in Turkmenistan

This year the Turkmen coastline of the Caspian Sea has hosted a record number of wintering birds. According to the international ornithological expedition, more than 207,000 birds have flown there since the fall. Pink flamingos, listed in the so-called Red Book of endangered species, are the emblem of Turkmenistan's Khazar State Nature Reserve. Scientists at the reserve counted 30,392 of these migratory birds in total. Turkmen ornithologist A.A. Shcherbina commented that "this is an official record, both according to recorded data and observations in our sector of the sea, which I have been engaged in since 1971." In Latin flamingo means fire or flame. This species is most commonly found in Africa, Southeast and Central Asia, the Caucasus, Central and South America, and the Mediterranean. In Central Asia there is a red-winged species of flamingo, which is usually called 'pink'. Nomadic peoples across Asia believe that seeing one will make them happy. Scientists carefully study, photograph and keep records of all coastal animal species of the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea. Specialists have noted that in the past years, endangered flamingos preferred to spend their winters in Iran. The current relocation of the birds, it seems, is caused by favorable changes in the water of the Caspian Sea and its coastline. Thanks to the efforts of staff from the Khazar reserve, natural conditions for nesting are improving on the Turkmen coast -- and the food base for protected birds is growing. According to their calculations, there are 50,000 more migratory birds this season than last season. The reserve, founded in 1934, took its name from the ancient name of the Caspian Sea -- Khazar. Most of the reserve's 270,000 hectares fall on the shores of the Caspian Sea.