Involvement of National Specialists in Initiatives to Harmonize Approaches in Water Resource and Ecosystem Management in the CA Region

Date of publication: 25 June 2026 / Views: 181

National and International experts and researchers share serious concerns regarding the availability of minimum environmental flow in the Central Asian region, particularly within the Amu Darya Basin. The lower reaches of this and other rivers in our country suffer from reduced flow and poor water quality, which negatively impacts ecosystems and threatens biodiversity. In addition to the ongoing Aral Sea crisis, the situation in the Turkmen Aral Sea region is becoming increasingly acute.

Environmental water flows are essential, as they determine the volume, regime, and quality of water flows required to sustain freshwater ecosystems and the human livelihoods that depend on them. Key issues for the Central Asian region regarding the increase of environmental flow volumes were addressed at the Regional Seminar “Implementing Environmental Flow in the Central Asian Region: From Expert Analysis to Practical Actions,” held in Tashkent in June 2026 under the Blue Peace Central Asia Project. The initiative is led by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. K. Ovezmuradov, a member of the SUE “Tebigy Kuvvat” and the Aarhus Center in Turkmenistan, participated in the event; he currently also serves as the National Consultant on Institutional Coordination/Regional Water Management issues for the UNDP “Conservation of Land Resources in the Aral Sea Basin” project. Turkmen specialists from relevant organizations also took part in this specialized event.

An important highlight of the Regional Seminar was the acknowledgment that Central Asian countries are currently transitioning from an engineering- and resource-driven approach to integrated water management models that incorporate environmental aspects. It was also emphasized that environmental flows must be considered part of a broader water resource management system. At the seminar, the Blue Peace Central Asia Project presented the results of its study on the current status of environmental flows in Central Asian countries, along with a comparative analysis of the institutional, legal, and scientific-technical readiness of the region’s nations to implement these flows. This analysis also assessed readiness to adopt modern global approaches, practices, and tools in the field of environmental flows.Regarding the readiness analysis, presentations were delivered by representatives from the Central Asian countries, including a report by K. Ovezmuradov. This presentation outlined and proposed solutions for environmental challenges at both the national and regional levels, including joint action plans within water diplomacy aimed at strengthening regional cooperation to secure environmental flows. As a final outcome of this segment of the seminar, participants identified existing barriers to accelerating the implementation of environmental flows and agreed on next steps to integrate environmental flows into the national water management systems of Central Asian countries.

Aspects regarding tool validation were reviewed, including the presentation and discussion of applied tools such as the “E-Flow Glossary” web application prototype, alongside IWMI approaches and methodologies for implementing environmental flows in Central Asian countries, specifically the IWMI environmental flow calculator. In terms of methodology, this calculator is proposed as the foundational baseline and unified tool for implementing environmental flows across the Central Asian region.

Furthermore, representatives from Turkmenistan were actively involved in strategic planning sessions, which covered the presentation and endorsement of the Regional Roadmap and the Concept of the Community of Practice (CoP) on Environmental Flow, as well as the formation of the regional CoP platform. Based on the outcomes of this segment of the seminar, strategic recommendations were outlined for implementing the Regional Roadmap for environmental flow integration, including specific points concerning Turkmenistan.

The conceptual and organizational frameworks for the operations of the Community of Practice on Environmental Flow were also presented, detailing the positions and roles of Central Asian countries based on their achievements and contributions. For Turkmenistan, the designated role is that of a Strategic Observer, focusing on step-by-step engagement through international projects and technical adaptation, with the status defined as a Preparatory Phase to allow participation without rigid obligations for a smooth and comfortable integration.

This regional cooperation proved to be highly valuable, enabling information exchange, the sharing of national water management experiences, and the mutual presentation of visions and ideas. The regional seminar was thoroughly practice-oriented and united the countries of Central Asia in a format of truly effective collaboration, facilitating the coordination of efforts to recognize ecosystems as legitimate water users and to integrate environmental flows into water resource management systems. The seminar served as a platform to discuss the transition from theoretical analysis to practical implementation, including the future harmonization of approaches in water resource and ecosystem management at the regional level. The work accomplished during the seminar can be seen as part of the expert support and facilitation of dialogue among national agencies, international water management structures (including IFAS), and the UNDP Aral project. This dialogue aims to develop a unified position on sustainable water management measures, optimize institutional structures, and prepare specialized analytical materials on the role of environmental releases in preserving biodiversity.

Over the past decade, contradictions between actual environmental flows and the fulfillment of environmental treaty obligations have significantly worsened the ecological situation. The crisis in the Aral Sea region, including Turkmenistan, could deteriorate even further if irreversible water withdrawals from the Amu Darya continue. Joint efforts by experts and other stakeholders are urgently needed to overcome narrow sectoral agendas, address the dominance of the agricultural sector in water consumption, protect vulnerable ecosystems, improve access to relevant data, and enhance overall coordination to meet agreed-upon flow volume obligations. Along with national efforts, this fully applies to the transboundary and interstate levels.

Кurbanmurat Ovezmuradov.