Water related environmental issues in central asia

Abstract

This article addresses the need for a sustainable water resource management in the Central Asian region with a hot, dry and continental climate. This research and its results meet sustainable development’s goals and also specifically the potential to solve or softening consequences of the Aral Sea ecological disaster. The urgency of this concern is felt most deeply in areas lacking potable water, most notably the larger Aral Sea region. During the long summer (from May until October) water consumption increases sharply and water sources cannot meet the demand. Intensive water use and sharply increasing of the water demand misbalances water flow in the main rivers as Syr Darya and Amu Darya which feed the Aral Sea. The primary challenge facing water supply and sustainability specialists in Central Asia and specifically in Uzbekistan is to balance competing water supply demand and water sources preservation in the region. Among these demands is the urgency of halting further depletion of water in the Aral Sea, and, ideally, to augment the water in that basin. But there is also the need to develop high quality water delivery systems for human and industrial use. And, of course, there is the question of what water can be left for the agricultural sector of the dry and hot temperature region to irrigate its crops or just sustainable water resources management. This study will address water-related issues in the Central Asian Republics with special emphasis on the Republic of Tajikistan. The authors analyse a current situation and describe the factors that contribute to these issues and will provide recommendations for alleviating the Aral Sea disaster. Authors offer to solve this problem with wider team from different fields.