Abstract
Central Asia comprises five countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, with a total population of more than 72 million people, sharing major transboundary waters across diverse landscapes with a continental climate.
The major transboundary waters include the Amudarya, Syrdarya, Chu (Shu), Talas, Zeravshan, Tedzhen (Herirud), and Murgab rivers. These are used mainly for irrigation and energy production, regulated through flow regulation schemes, which were designed to meet competing sectoral needs and to enable the sharing of costs and benefits.
Significant natural and anthropogenic challenges means that the water resources are managed with the goal of achieving important social, economic and environmental objectives across the five countries. According to what (Source), the water stress in CA (SDG 6.4.2) exceeds 71%. While the level of household and drinking water supply and sanitation is relatively high, aging infrastructure now requires considerable investment and upgrade. The growing adverse impacts of climate change call for improved adaptation measures so as to sustain water-related ecosystems (SDG indicator 6.6.1), and to combat desertification and land degradation, especially with the continued drying up of the Aral Sea, deterioration of mountain ecosystems, decreasing quantities and qualities of water resources and declining aquatic biodiversity.
Many actions are required to address these compelling challenges, including innovative and joined-up legal and regulatory regimes to ensure the equitable and reasonable use of the shared water resources across CA at international, regional and national levels.
Identifying and implementing agreed rules of law across the regulatory implementation levels will contribute to the sustainable development of the transboundary waters shared across CA in line with the UN SDGs in ways that address current hard challenges.
The major transboundary waters include the Amudarya, Syrdarya, Chu (Shu), Talas, Zeravshan, Tedzhen (Herirud), and Murgab rivers. These are used mainly for irrigation and energy production, regulated through flow regulation schemes, which were designed to meet competing sectoral needs and to enable the sharing of costs and benefits.
Significant natural and anthropogenic challenges means that the water resources are managed with the goal of achieving important social, economic and environmental objectives across the five countries. According to what (Source), the water stress in CA (SDG 6.4.2) exceeds 71%. While the level of household and drinking water supply and sanitation is relatively high, aging infrastructure now requires considerable investment and upgrade. The growing adverse impacts of climate change call for improved adaptation measures so as to sustain water-related ecosystems (SDG indicator 6.6.1), and to combat desertification and land degradation, especially with the continued drying up of the Aral Sea, deterioration of mountain ecosystems, decreasing quantities and qualities of water resources and declining aquatic biodiversity.
Many actions are required to address these compelling challenges, including innovative and joined-up legal and regulatory regimes to ensure the equitable and reasonable use of the shared water resources across CA at international, regional and national levels.
Identifying and implementing agreed rules of law across the regulatory implementation levels will contribute to the sustainable development of the transboundary waters shared across CA in line with the UN SDGs in ways that address current hard challenges.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Type | Policy Brief |
| Media of output | Document |
| Publisher | Deutsch Kasachische Universitat |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Publication status | Published - 22 Mar 2023 |
Keywords
- water
- Law
- Central Asia
- transboundary waters
