Uzbekistan Environment - The Times Of Central Asia

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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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Uzbekistan’s Heritage Trees Added to International Monumental Trees List

The Ministry of Ecology of Uzbekistan reports that it has participated in the compilation of data on the country's aged and relict trees for inclusion in the international list of MonumentalTrees.com. MonumentalTrees.com is an electronic record of perennial, rare, and unique tree species of international importance located throughout the world, aimed to protect and promote national natural heritage sites. Species found in Uzbekistan currently listed on MonumentalTrees.com. include: Eastern Biota (1500 years' old) in the Forish district of Jizzakh ; Sycamore ( over 1160 years' old) in the Urgut district of the Samarkand; Juniper ( over 1000 years' old), Hazel ( over 800 years' old) and Sycamore (around 600 years' old) in the Bostanlyk district of Tashkent , as well as Sycamore (some 900 years' old) in the village of Sayrob in the Boysun district of Surkhandarya; Sycamore (over 750 years' old) in the territory of the Dorus-Saodat Memorial Complex in the city of Shakhrisabz in Kashkadarya , and a Boboyongok Hazel tree (about 700 years' old) in the Zomin national nature park in Jizzakh . Uzbekistan is the first Central Asian country and the third among the CIS republics to register its natural heritage species in this international list. Perennial trees located in Russia and Azerbaijan are also included.

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Thousands of Red-listed Birds Released in Uzbekistan

In Uzbekistan's Karakalpakstan, 2,680 Wigglers (Chlamydotis macqueenii), have been released in the wild. The rare birds, on the verge of extinction and listed in the Red Data Book of Uzbekistan and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, were released on October 11 on the Ustyurt Plain in the Kungrad District. Authorities are now planning the annual release of 2,000 and 3,000 birds to support the population and promote the recovery of one of the rarest bird species in Central Asia. The Wiggler, a member of the bustard family, is so-called on account of the way it darts from side to side. Males grow to a length of 65-75 cm and weigh between 1.8 and 3.2 kg, while females are slightly smaller at 55-65 cm and 1.2-1.7 kg, respectively. Their upper plumage is sand-coloured, and white below, with a distinctive gray crest and elongated white feathers with black tips on the sides. During the mating season, the bird shows off its decorative feathers by raising its collar and making an “hrrrr” sound.

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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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New Report From World Bank Condemns Tashkent Air Quality

A new World Bank report entitled "Air Quality Assessment for Tashkent and the Roadmap for Air Quality Management Improvement in Uzbekistan" gives a frightening assessment of the air quality in the country’s capital. The report finds that ambient PM2.5 concentrations in Tashkent, which peak in winter, substantially exceed international air quality standards. The annual average concentration exceeds six times the WHO’s average yearly guideline of 5 µg/m3. In Tashkent, PM2.5 ambient air pollution has considerable health and economic costs. It can be linked to health costs equivalent to 0.7% of Uzbekistan’s gross domestic product (GDP). Most air quality-related diseases and premature deaths in Uzbekistan and worldwide are linked to PM2.5, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified as the pollutant with the gravest health risk. According to IQAir, Tashkent, like other Central Asian cities, frequently ranks among the world's most polluted urban areas. According to the report, the primary sources of human-caused PM2.5 pollution in Tashkent are the heating (28%), transport (16%), and industrial sectors (13%). Cross-boundary sources like windblown dust (36% PM2.5 pollution) dominate in the summer, while commercial and residential heating is the primary source of PM2.5 pollution in the winter. The report’s AQM roadmap for Uzbekistan formulates priority actions such as updating air quality standards and legislation, developing a national AQM strategy and coordination mechanism, and taking measures in the industrial, transport, and heating sectors, which are most responsible for air pollution. The AQM roadmap recommends investments in emission reduction measures. The roadmap suggests that emissions from the heating sector can be reduced by improving the quality of fuels used and the efficiency of heating appliances, implementing energy efficiency measures, and switching to cleaner heating alternatives. At a government meeting on October 9, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a draft master plan for the city of Tashkent until 2045. Today the population of Tashkent is more than 3 million people, and it keeps growing. Over the past ten years, the average air temperature in Tashkent has increased by 1 degree Celsius. The number of cars is rising, and traffic is becoming increasingly congested. The new master plan takes these aspects into account. It plans to increase green areas in Tashkent and its suburbs threefold to 25,000 hectares, which will increase per capita green area from the current 3 to 6 square meters. Mirziyoyev emphasized the need to turn Tashkent into a city where at least 7.5 million people can live and work.

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Water Supply Plan to the Aral Sea is Almost 100% Complete

This year, the Aral Sea received 977 million cubic meters of water, which allowed it to fulfill the water supply plan by almost 100% during the irrigation period. This is the first time in the last five years it has got close to 100%. Deputy Head of Aral-Syrdarya Basin Inspection Zeinollah Kaztoganov noted that this year, the volume of water flowing into the Northern Aral increased to 60-70 cubic meters per second, ten times more than in previous years when the figure was 7-10 cubic meters per second. Now, the total volume of water in the Northern Aral is about 22 billion cubic meters. Additionally, more than 45 million cubic meters of water were directed to Akshatau, Sorgak, and Kamystybas lakes, which positively impacted fishing and tourism: water salinity decreased, and fish populations increased. If the catches of local fishermen earlier were only 400 tons a year, this year they reached over 7,500 tons. Kuntugan Turganbayev, a 76-year-old fisherman from the village of Karateren who has been fishing all his life, said that with the inflow of water into the Aral Sea, there is a prospect for the development of fisheries. He noted that this year, there are more fish than last year, and if the current water level in the Aral Sea is maintained, the fishery will continue to grow. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan's Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the World Bank are developing the second phase of a program to conserve the Northern Aral Sea. This program is aimed at improving water supply, construction, and modernization of water infrastructure. The main objective is to support sustainable water use, which includes the development of agriculture, tourism, and fisheries in the region. The project also provides for the establishment of an automated water management system, which will help control water flows effectively and ensure stable water levels in the Northern Aral Sea.