‘WATER FOR LIFE’-CONFERENCE HELD IN TAJIKISTAN
On June 8, the high-level International Conference “Water for life” was held in Dushanbe. The conference was organized jointly by the Government of Tajikistan and the United Nations, and dedicated to the mid-term comprehensive review of the implementation of the International Decade for Action “Water for Life 2005-2015”. The main goal of the conference was a stocktaking of the progress achieved in the implementation and prospects for the fulfillment of international commitments on water and water related issues by 2015.
Representatives of UN member states, UN Institutes, international and regional organizations, international financial institutions, business circles, NGOs, civil society as well as scholars and experts participated in the Conference. Overall, the conference brought together high-level representatives from about 77 UN member-states, 64 international and regional organizations, and numerous water experts and scholars from all over the world. The high-level guests included the host of the conference, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, and the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Sha Zukang.
The conference constituted a platform for discussing a large spectrum of development goals related to water, including transboundary water cooperation, water resources, adaptation to climate change and others.
Water issues are a topical problem for Central Asian countries nowadays. Hydro-energy controversies between the regional states divide the region into two opposing camps: The riverhead countries Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on one side, and the downstream states of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan on the other. Unsurprisingly, all debates at the conference concentrated on water related conflicts in Central Asia. As was predicted by many experts, the construction of the Rogun hydropower station caused heated discussion between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The Rogun station is an incomplete construction project on the territory of Tajikistan, dating from Soviet times. The project was frozen following the collapse of the Soviet Union, since the construction required large financial resources. The project was recommenced in 2007. According to the original technical plan, Rogun is to become one of the largest plants in the region with a 335 meters high dam. The station will be able to produce 3.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
Polemics between the Uzbek and Tajik delegations were reminiscent of court pleadings. The head of the Uzbek delegation, first deputy Minister of Economy of Uzbekistan Galina Saidova, claimed that the construction of the Rogun station could result in a devastating disaster for the whole region. According to her, the station is situated in a dangerous seismic zone. She presented scientific computation disclosing that in case the dam is destroyed, not only Tajikistan but also half of Uzbekistan will be flooded.
Gul Sherali, the Minister of Industry and Energy of Tajikistan answered the claims of Uzbekistan’s delegation, calling their arguments ill-founded. According to the Minister, Tajikistan is now rehabilitating only those areas at the station which were constructed during Soviet times, when 44-50 percent of the station was completed. He claimed that further construction will be implemented only after a feasibility study is completed.
The Tajik delegation also raised the most sensitive issue in the region’s hydro-energy disputes, which is rational water usage. According to experts, more than 80 percent of the water flow originates in the riverhead countries Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, while Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan consume more than 85 percent of all water in the region, mainly for irrigation. At the same time, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan suffer from serious energy shortages during winter, possessing no alternative natural resources like gas or oil. According to Tajikistan, in such a situation water may serve as leverage in relationships between the Central Asian states.
Tajikistan’s position was supported by some international experts and delegations. According to Kori Udovichkie, Director of the United Nations Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, “water should not be used as a free resource … water is much undervalued and should be considered as an invaluable resource which ensures life and development”.
Most experts agree that water is becoming a most topical issue on the global agenda. According to UN data, more than 80 countries in the world face water shortages while drought and desertification threaten the livelihoods of more than 1.2 billion people in the world. In the Central Asian region, water has become a subject of political and economic controversies. The Dushanbe conference was intended as a first step toward cooperation on water related problems in the region. However, the parties are far from a compromise.
