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Water in Central Asia - European Parliament

BRIEFINGEPRS | European Parliamentary Research ServiceAuthor:Martin RussellMembers' Research ServicePE September 2018 ENWater in Central AsiaAn increasingly scarce resourceSUMMARYW hile it is rich in fossil fuels and minerals, Central Asiais poor in Water . However, Water plays a keyrole in the economies of the five Central Asian countries. In mountainous Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan,hydroelectricity is already a vital energy resource; new dams could also make it a major exportrevenue earner. Downstream, river Water irrigates the cotton fields of Uzbekistan and Water use, particularly in agriculture, is putting Water supplies under pressure.

An abandoned fishing boat on the former bed of the Aral Sea. In this Briefing Central Asia's waterresources Water use in Central Asia Security implications of water scarcity: ... Source:FAO(2014). 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 KAZ KGZ TJK TKM UZB Rainfall Total internal renewable water resources EPRS | European Parliamentary Research.

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Transcription of Water in Central Asia - European Parliament

1 BRIEFINGEPRS | European Parliamentary Research ServiceAuthor:Martin RussellMembers' Research ServicePE September 2018 ENWater in Central AsiaAn increasingly scarce resourceSUMMARYW hile it is rich in fossil fuels and minerals, Central Asiais poor in Water . However, Water plays a keyrole in the economies of the five Central Asian countries. In mountainous Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan,hydroelectricity is already a vital energy resource; new dams could also make it a major exportrevenue earner. Downstream, river Water irrigates the cotton fields of Uzbekistan and Water use, particularly in agriculture, is putting Water supplies under pressure.

2 Central Asiancountries have to share limited resources fairly,whilebalancingthe needs of upstreamhydroelectricity generation and downstream agriculture. For this reason, cooperation is ,competition for Water has often been a source of tensions, particularly betweenUzbekistan and its upstream situation has improvedrecently, now thatUzbekistan's new president has taken a more constructive approach to resolvingtheseregionalwater-related use also has many environmental implications. Soviet engineers succeeded in turning desertsinto fertile farmland, but at the expense of the Aral Sea, a formerly huge inland lake that has all butdried up.

3 Intensive agriculture is also polluting the region's rivers and irrigation infrastructure and unsustainable greening projects are wasting huge amounts ofwater. In future, more efficient Water use and closer cooperation will become increasingly necessary,aspopulation growth and climate change pile pressure on the region's scarce Water EU has made Water one of the main priorities of its development aid for the region. Amongother things, EU funding supports regional cooperation and improvements to Water abandoned fishing boat on the former bed ofthe Aral this BriefingCentral Asia's waterresourcesWater use in Central AsiaSecurity implications of Water scarcity:cooperation or conflict?

4 Environmental impact of Water use in CentralAsiaSolutions to Central Asia's Water problemsWhat the EU is doingEPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service2 Central Asia's Water resourcesThe five main river basins in Central Asia areformed bythe Amu Darya, Syr Darya, Balkhash-Alakol,Ob-Irtysh, and Uralrivers(Figure 1).Before a large partof the Aral Sea dried up, the Amu Darya and Syr Daryariversused to flow into it. The rivers of the Balkhash-Alakol basin flow into Lake Balkhash, an inland sea insoutheast Kazakhstan. Thewaters oftheUralbasinflowinto the Caspian Sea, while thoseof the Ob-Irtysh basinultimately flow into the Arctic Ocean.

5 This briefingfocuses on the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, by far the twolargest rivers of Central Asia(Figure 3).Between them, the Amu Daryaand Syr Darya riverbasins: provide90%of the region's river Water ; cover 37% of the land area of ex-Soviet CentralAsia, including most of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistanand Uzbekistan,as well as large parts ofTurkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Some parts ofnorthern Afghanistan are also within the AmuDarya basin; are home to nearly 80% of Central Asia' 1 Main riverbasins of Central AsiaSource:Climate Volatility and Change in Central Asia: Economic Impacts and Adaptation, Mirzabaev A.

6 , 2 Water resources(rainfall:long-term annual average, mm/year; total internalrenewable Water resources = internally producedgroundwaterandsurface Water , 100 million m3)Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan get the most rain,and therefore have the most Water resourcesrelative to their sizeSource:FAO(2014).0100200300400500600 700800 KAZKGZTJKTKMUZBR ainfallTotal internalrenewable waterresourcesEPRS | European Parliamentary ResearchWater in Central Asia3 The Amu Darya originates inTajikistan's part ofthe Pamir Mountains, whereas the source of the SyrDarya is in Kyrgyzstan's Tien of Central Asia is aridorsemi-arid.

7 In the Amu Darya and Sri Darya basins,rainfall is heaviestinthe mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which therefore also are the most plentifully endowedwith Water supplies(Figure 2). Water use in Central AsiaFigure 3 Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basinsSource:CAWater-Info, 4 Water use in CentralAsian countriesand theEUWater use by sector, % of total useTotal Water use,millionm3/yearTotal per capita wateruse, m3/yearCentral Asian countries use most of their Water for irrigation, and therefore have very high total waterconsumption. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are the biggest :FAO, European Environment | European Parliamentary ResearchEPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service4 AgricultureMost Water is used for agricultureCentral Asian countries are major agricultural producers, including of Water -intensive crops such ascotton, but with little Water coming from rainfall they rely on irrigation.

8 Between them, the fivecountries have a total irrigated area of some100000 km2 three times the land area of Belgium,requiring huge amounts of river Water . Due to the massive amounts of Water used for irrigation,agriculture is by far the biggest Water user in Central Asia,and per capita Water use inCentral Asia ismuchhigher thanin European countries (Figure 4).Agriculture puts heavy stress on waterresourcesA combination of heavy Water use and limited waterresources puts considerable stress on Water supply. Waterstress can bemeasuredby totalfreshwater withdrawal( Water use), as apercentageof total renewable to theEuropean Environment Agency,a figure of 20% or over points to Water stress (mostEuropeancountriesare well below this threshold, with someexceptions in southern Europe).

9 By this measure, four of thefive Central Asian countries are Water -stressed, in particularUzbekistan and Turkmenistan (Figure 5).EnergyKyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have hugehydroelectricity potentialEnergy resources are shared unevenly between the five Central Asian countries. Kazakhstan,Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have abundant fossil fuel reserves, enabling them to meet domesticenergy needs and earn money from contrast, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have very littleoil and gas of their own; unable to benefit from hydrocarbon exports, they remain impoverished,anddepend on energyimports from their neighbours.

10 On the other hand, they have plenty ofmountains andwater, and thereforestronghydropower present, Kyrgyzstan uses just10%of that potential, while for Tajikistan, that figure falls to5%; even so, both countriesalreadyproduce over 90% of their electricity from hydropower(Figure6).Even if it is technically and economically feasible todevelop only a small part of the two countries'unused hydropower potential, it is clear that there isenormous scope for additional production. Suchexpansion is urgently needed, as there are chronicelectricity shortagesin both countries not least inwinter when sub-zero temperatures push energyconsumption up.


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