Краткое содержание отчета по экологической оценке Проекта по уст ойчивом у управлению т верды м и от ходами

Geography and topography
181. 
Bukhara region is located in the central and southwestern part of Uzbekistan, it 
borders Kashkadarya and Navoi provinces and also the Republic of Turkmenistan. The total 
area of the province is 4,193.7 hectares, of which about 5% of the area is sown land, almost 
8
% of the territory is covered by forest, and more than 60% of the territory is pastures. The 
territory of the region is a wavy plain, with separate elevations, and a significant part of the 
territory is occupied by the sands of Kyzylkum. Only in the south, in the lower reaches of 
Zarafshan, there are small irrigated oases: Gizhduvan, Bukhara, and Karakul.
Climate
182. 
The climate is desert, sharply continental, with harsh winters and dry, hot summers. 
The absolute minimum recorded temperature was -34°С, and the absolute maximum 
recorded was + 46°С. The average duration of frost in the province is 51 days. Relative 
humidity varies widely throughout the year, with the highest values being observed in the 
winter months of December: in January its value is 70-80%. The average annual humidity in 
Bukhara and Karakul is 55-53%. The long-term average annual rainfall is only 186 mm in 
Bukhara, and 143 mm at Karakul. During the year, the overwhelming proportion of 
precipitation falls in the winter-spring period: moreover, in spring the amount is about 50% of 
the annual amount.
Surface w ater and ground w ater resources
183. 
The main waterway in Bukhara province is the Zarafshan river. In its lower reaches 
it is lost in the sands, forming salt lakes. The Amu-Bukhara, Amu-Karakul and other canals 
pass through the province. The Amu-Bukhara Machine Canal (ABMC) is designed to irrigate 
266,500 hectares of land in Bukhara, and 23,200 hectares of Navoi province by supplying 
water to the Amudarya river in an irrigation system previously fed from low-water Zarafshan. 
There is also a reservoir and more than 60 lakes, with a total area of more than 100,000 
hectares. More than 25 species of fish are found in the reservoirs of the region, five of which 
are of commercial importance.
184. 
The territory is poorly drained, therefore, on irrigated territory, groundwater levels lie 
close to the surface, causing soil salinization. With depth, the salinity of groundwater 
increases. The mirror of mineralized groundwater on the territory lies at depths less than 
critical, which leads to the development of an intensive process of soil salinization. The 
almost steady surface (i = 0.0005-0.001) creates difficult conditions for the outflow of 
groundwater, resulting in the formation of a hydrogeological region "B1” - an extremely 
difficult general inflow and outflow of groundwater with a depth and a regime that depends 
on local conditions.
185. 
Irrigation is concentrated within the Karakul delta. In the irrigated zone, groundwater 
with medium and high salinity (5-10 g / l and 10-20 g / l) is located close to the surface,
52

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determining the development of salt accumulation in the root zone. The main event in these 
conditions is the fight against salinization. Given the predominant medium loamy soil texture, 
a safe groundwater level (when salt accumulation in the upper soil horizons is virtually 
eliminated) is recommended at about 
2.2
m.
Soils
186. 
The soils of Bukhara province are mainly represented by meadow-oasis soils of the 
desert zone, salted mainly loamy, and to a lesser extent - takyr saline, clay and loamy in 
mechanical composition.