Representatives of Turkmenistan took part in a regional seminar for Central Asian countries dedicated to the exchange of experience in reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals in the field of water, the development of cooperation, and assistance in developing specific measures to achieve the SDGs in the region.

The meeting took place on February 12-13 in Tashkent and brought together water industry workers from five Central Asian countries, reports “Turkmenistan: Golden Age”.

Availability of clean water is key to maintaining prosperity in the semi-arid region of Central Asia, where sustainable water management and transboundary cooperation have supported sustainable economic growth for decades.

Five Central Asian states calculate water use and quotas for the withdrawal of water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya for the growing season of agricultural crops twice a year, and more often if necessary, based on an analysis of the water content of the annual season. The distribution of the resource is separately discussed by the “troikas” of countries that are the main water users of one of the two waterways of the region.

Experts from state water management bodies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan involved in the study, conservation, distribution of surface and groundwater, improving the efficiency of hydraulic structures, as well as environmental protection, raised key issues of water use within transboundary river and lake basins, and the use of aquifers at the basin level.

The meeting was organized by regional experts from the Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Coordination Water Commission of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (SIC ICWC IFAS), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and the International Water Assessment Center.

The event was held with the financial support of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). Representatives of international and public organizations joined the meeting.