I welcoming remarks

partnership as well as in our republic’s cooperation with other
neighbors.
Crucially, such joint projects pave the way for
consolidation of our political dialogue, enhancement of cultural
and humanitarian ties, elevation of reciprocal support of our
initiatives and realization of our potentials.
These make us together stronger, more successful, more
attractive both on the regional and international arena.

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IV. UZBEKISTAN’S APPROACHES TO ADDRESSING
KEY ISSUES OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
AND SECURITY
On Uzbekistan’s approaches to fair and rational use of water
resources of trans-boundary watercourses
Boriy Alikhanov, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative
Chamber of Oliy Majlis
The territory of four Central Asian nations - Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as a significant
part of Kazakhstan’s is located in the Aral Sea basin, which is
formed by the Syrdarya, the Amudarya trans-boundary rivers and
their tributaries.
It is known that the economy, social sphere and other
aspects of the life of countries in the region decisively depend on
the regime of using the trans-boundary watercourses’ resources.
However, the Soviets’ short-sighted policy on the development of
agricultural production in Central Asia, especially cotton
cultivation, without taking into account the objective realities led
to the extensive, irrational use of water resources notwithstanding
the environmental consequences, which resulted in the Aral
catastrophe.
Today, we note with great concern that we are witnessing
an unprecedented environmental disaster in the Central Asian
region. The calamity has gone out of borders of the region,
turning into a global problem, and requires close attention of
international organizations, politicians, scientists and experts
around the world. There was no such case in the history of human
civilization as the disappearance of an entire sea in just one
generation.

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The volume of water in the sea reduced by more than 15
times, the water level decreased by 29 meters, the coastline
retreated by hundreds of kilometers within 50-55 years. Water
salinity reached 150-300 g/l.
Vast areas of white salt fields covered with sand and
turned into a new Aralkum desert – an area of about 5.5 million
hectares emerged on the dried-up bottom of the sea.
As a result, kulan, argali, striped hyena, cheetah
disappeared from the Aral fauna world, and an extremely difficult
situation arose with the population of saigas that are on the verge
of total extinction. 11 species of fish, 12 species of mammals, 26
bird species and 11 plant species were included in the Red Book
of Uzbekistan. More than half of the gene pool of plant and
animal life has already been lost.
Today, hundreds of lakes have disappeared in the lower
reaches of the Amudarya river, so have almost 90% of tugais
along with their inhabitants.
All the ongoing processes and phenomena of this region
are tougher, faster and more complicated against the backdrop of
global climate change on our planet.
The Aral catastrophe exacerbated the region’s climatic
conditions, increasing dryness and heat in the summer, extending
the cold and harsh winters.
The number of days with temperature above 40° C has
doubled in the Aral region, while in the rest of Uzbekistan it has
grown by one and a half times. Since the early 1950s, the average
temperature growth across the country has been 0.29° C per
decade. It is more than twice as high as the global rate of
warming.
Experts predicted that the air temperature in the region
can swell by a further 1.5-3° C by 2035-2050. The greatest air
temperature increase is expected in the Aral area.
There are also environmental, socio-economic and
demographic problems with planetary consequences in the region

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surrounding the Aral Sea. That was noted by UN Secretary-
Generals on their visits to the region: Mr. Ban Ki-moon in April
2010 and Mr. Antonio Guterres in June 2017.
The largest rivers in Central Asia turned out to be trans-
boundary after the USSR’s collapse, their channels pass through
the territories of several sovereign states: the waters of the
Amudarya cross the borders of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan,
Afghanistan and Turkmenistan; the Syrdarya waters flow across
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The most sensitive consequences of the Aral disaster have
been for Uzbekistan. Its irrigated lands and densely populated
regions depend on the Syrdarya (Ferghana Valley, Tashkent,
Syrdarya and Jizzakh regions) and the Amudarya (Surkhandarya,
Khorezm regions, southern districts of the Republic of
Karakalpakstan) water resources.
In this context, the rational and careful use of water
resources in the region is vital. Therefore, we consistently
advocate the reasonable use of trans-boundary watercourses
based on generally accepted norms of international law.
Uzbekistan is ready for close and active cooperation with the
states of Central Asia in solving the water and environmental
problems of the region on a constructive and mutually beneficial
basis, and in the spirit of good-neighborliness.
Uzbekistan consistently pursues a policy of rational nature
management, implements measures to improve land and water
resources management, intensify agriculture. Owing to the
measures taken towards rational water use, Uzbekistan has
managed to reduce the annual water consumption by 14 billion
cubic meters, and the specific water consumption per hectare in
agriculture is to be reduced by more than twice, to improve the
condition of more than half of the irrigated land.
The State Program for the “Strategy for Actions along
Five Priority Areas for the Development of the Republic of
Uzbekistan in 2017-2021” implementation approved by the

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President of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Year of Dialogue
with the People and of Human Interests includes a number of
measures to increase the soil fertility and perk up the irrigated
lands, preserve unique flora and fauna, recover the waste
management system, restore the ecological situation in the Aral
Sea area.
Successful water cooperation of the Central Asian
countries should be one of the components of a security, stability
and good neighborhood zone establishment in Central Asia. It is
stipulated in the mentioned Strategy of Actions.
The norms of international water law should be the basis
for the legal regulation of the use of international watercourses:
the provisions of the UN Convention on the Protection and Use
of Trans-boundary Watercourses and International Lakes (1992)
and UN Convention on the Law on the Non-Navigational Uses of
International Watercourses (1997). In accordance with them, all
states must “use an international watercourse in an equitable and
reasonable 
manner 
within 
their 
respective 
territories”.
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan became parties to
these conventions. The public in our countries are waiting for a
similar step from the upstream countries.
Uzbekistan’s stance on the use of trans-boundary rivers’
water resources in Central Asia consists of:
first, the use of trans-boundary rivers’ water resources in
Central Asia should be solved by taking into account the interests
of more than 65 million people living in the countries of the
region;
second, any actions carried out on trans-boundary rivers
should not have a negative impact on ecological and water
balance of the region;
third, the current international legal framework in the field
of water use and ecology should become the basis for building an
effective system for sharing the trans-boundary rivers’ resources
in Central Asia;

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fourth, the implementation of projects on trans-boundary
rivers should be carried out on the basis of constructive approach
and compromise. It should not infringe upon the interests of other
states and guarantee two necessary conditions: avoidance of
lowering the watercourse water balance for downstream
countries; avoidance of the ecological balance and security
violation in the region.
In this regard, it is important to focus international
organizations’ efforts to promote accession of the countries in the
region to the UN water conventions and promote multilateral
regional legal instruments on trans-boundary water resources
management on the basis of water conventions.
It should be emphasized that it is not a question of the
countries’ water resources in the region, but of only trans-
boundary rivers’ resources and watercourses use, that is, the
resources of those rivers that have always provided the vital
needs of the nations located in these rivers’ basin, and which are
the common property of the peoples in the region.
The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan emphasized
that states’ actions on transboundary watercourses “should be
implemented on the basis of a constructive approach and a
compromise that does not infringe upon other concerned states’
interests, as well as in accordance with the generally recognized
norms of international water law. In this regard, we support the
United Nations’ initiative to conclude international conventions
on the rational and equitable use of Amudarya and Syrdarya
water resources”.
Indeed, trans-boundary water resources use should not be
an “apple of discord”, but rather an important aspect of our
countries’ water partnership for many years to come, and
contribute to the development of our fraternal peoples.

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