With the arrival of summer, the problem of water for irrigation is becomes increasingly urgent in the Central Asian republics. With their considerable cultivated lands, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are looking at a substantial water shortage this summer. By producing electricity this past winter, Kyrgyzstan delivered considerable amounts of water to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in non-irrigation season from its reservoirs. That, in turn, results in a shortage of water in dry summer months. As this problem affects the lives of millions of people, regional cooperation is needed on the use of this scarce resource in the most rational and mutually beneficial way.

In Soviet times, water posed no problem. The upstream states, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, were collecting water in autumn and winter in large reservoirs and delivering it to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in the irrigation period. Downstream states, in their turn, provided upstream republics with coal, electricity and other energy resources. Thus, for 68 billion cubic meters of water collected and delivered to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan during 1986-1991, Kyrgyzstan received large quantities of coal, lubricants, and natural gas. By contrast, 78.125 billion cubic meters of water were similarly released between 1992 and 1997, but the downstream states were increasingly selling their resources on world market prices. Without possessing rich natural resources and being in a hard economic depression, Kyrgyzstan has not been able to pay for importing energy resources on time.

During energy crises these last few winters, Kyrgyzstan has been using water for the production of electric energy. But that does not allow water to be collected in reservoirs, and consequently downstream states have less water for their irrigational needs. Uzbekistan’s gas embargo in the winter of this year forced Kyrgyzstan to release water from reservoirs in order to provide the population with energy. This will obviously cause problems to the downstream states in the irrigation of their lands. According to the KABAR news agency, Uzbekistan may lose about $400 millions of revenues from the sale of cotton as a result of water deficit this year. Kazakhstan’s losses also seem to be significant: the cultivation of cotton and rice in the southern regions depends on water supply from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

This situation requires an urgent solution. The shortage of water may to some extent be explained by the irrational use of this resource by population. Galima Bukharbaeva, IWPR's regional director in Uzbekistan writes that according to Bioecology specialists, 40% of the water was lost in irrigation system in Karakalpakistan. In this light, rationalization of the use of water seems to be the most logical step to take for the Central Asian governments. Interstate management of water resources is also becoming one of the hottest issues in relations between republics. The idea of demanding a price to be paid for the water collected in reservoirs during winter is becoming more and more popular in Kyrgyzstan. Proponents of this idea argue that downstream states should compensate Kyrgyzstan’s shortage of energy caused by water collection in winter months. Another point raised is that the large reservoirs, serving the whole region, were built on arable land that could bring considerable revenue for agriculture. But opponents argue that water is to be considered as a common good, gifted by the God, which cannot be sold at all.

With the arrival of summer, agricultural fields will soon demand water. It is doubtful whether Central Asian states will be able to cooperate to arrive at a realistic way to provide them with water for irrigation. The political implications of high-level negotiations is also an open question. 

By Shairbek Juraev, American University in Kyrgyzstan