BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 8. Central Asian countries discussed the modernization of water infrastructure and the expansion of water-saving technologies in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins.
The information was reported by the press service of the Turkmen government following a high-level meeting held yesterday in Turkmenistan’s Avaza National Tourist Zone, attended by heads of relevant ministries and water-sector experts from Central Asian countries.
The participants focused on strengthening interstate coordination on the use of the region’s two largest rivers, with particular attention to water supplies for agriculture and ecosystem protection, the press service said.
The meeting addressed the wider use of drip irrigation, canal lining to reduce water losses, and digital systems for monitoring flows in transboundary rivers.
The participants also discussed joint environmental projects aimed at preventing soil salinization and combating desertification, while considering competing water needs for hydropower generation upstream and irrigated agriculture downstream along the Amu Darya and Syr Darya.
Particular attention was given to the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) and the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC). Participants discussed ways to improve the effectiveness of the two regional mechanisms amid growing environmental pressures.
The meeting also highlighted Turkmenistan’s proposal to establish a Regional Center for Climate Change Technologies in Central Asia, according to the press service.
The initiative is intended to create a regional scientific and technological platform to address the effects of climate change on populations and agriculture, the report said.
The discussions come as water availability is becoming an increasingly important economic issue for Central Asia, where agriculture remains heavily dependent on irrigation and water resources are shared across national borders.
