BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 8. Central Asian countries have agreed on approaches to water use and reservoir operations in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins amid pressure on regional water resources.
The information was reported by the press service of the Turkmen government following the 95th meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC) of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), held on October 7 in Turkmenistan’s Avaza National Tourist Zone.
Representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan reviewed water-resource use and reservoir operations in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins, according to the press service.
The participants focused on approving water-use volumes for the upcoming period and coordinating reservoir operating schedules, while also discussing monitoring of actual river flows and water releases for sanitary and environmental needs in the Aral Sea region.
The meeting also covered the implementation of joint programs to modernize water infrastructure and the use of digital technologies to automate water accounting in transboundary rivers.
Particular attention was given to equipping hydrological stations of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya water-management associations with new measuring equipment designed to improve the accuracy of water-flow measurements.
The participants also discussed measures to supply water to the deltas and basins of the Aral Sea and stabilize sands on the exposed seabed, according to the report.
The meeting included discussions with international organizations and financial institutions on approaches to implementing joint investment projects focused on water- and energy-saving technologies in the Aral Sea basin, the press service said.
The participants also emphasized the need for joint research to adapt water-management systems to climate change and changing patterns of glacier melt.
