Māris kļaviņŠ, azamat azizov, JĀnis zaļoksnis environment, pollution, development: the case of uzbekistan

Figure 3.8. 
Amu Darya 
delta from space (Image 
courtesy of Earth 
Sciences and Image 
Analysis Laboratory, 
NASA Johnson Space 
Center)

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3. Water resources of Uzbekistan
 33
Before  the  1970s,  the  Amu  Darya  branched  into  a  number  of 
tributaries that emptied into the Aral Sea through an extensive delta. 
However, the Soviet government began diverting massive amounts 
of water from the river beginning in the 1950s to irrigate cotton and 
other crops grown in the river’s lower basin. The main section of the 
Karakum Canal was completed in the 1960s to carry water from the 
Amu Darya at Kerki, Turkmenistan, westward to Mary and Ashgabat. 
The diversion of water from the Amu Darya for irrigation decreased 
the  amount  of  water  entering  the  Aral  Sea,  which  consequently 
began  shrinking.  Increased  irrigation  on  the  hot,  dry  floodplains 
of the Amu Darya and in adjacent regions resulted in evaporation 
that  left  salt  deposits  that  make  the  soil  infertile.  Surface  runoff 
transported these salts into surface waters and increased the salinity 
of the Amdarya. By the 1990s the discharge of the Amu Darya into 
the Aral Sea stopped for one to three months in most years. Lakes 
and bogs dried up in the former Amu Darya delta, now far from the 
sea’s shores, and the wetlands fed by the river shrank to only a tiny 
percentage of their former size.
It begins with the confluence of the rivers Pyandj and Vakhsh 
in Tajikistan, and in the upper-reach it forms the border between 
Tajikistan,  Uzbekistan  and  Afghanistan.  From  the  mountains  it 
flows  into  the  desert  lowlands  of  Turan  through  Uzbekistan  and 
Turkmenistan  and  drains  into  the  Aral  Sea.  Along  the  main  river 
there are two reservoirs with hydroelectric power stations, re-
pre senting the main structures for management of water flow and 
salinity, several distribution points to serve irrigation water needs, 
main and side inflows, including return flow, and water intake for 
communal needs. 
Next to the quantity of water allocated to the environ ment, its 
quality is of equal importance. To conserve the remaining deltaic 
lakes and semi-natural vegetation to the desired extent, a certain 
amount of freshwater input is necessary. Water allocated to the 
environ ment consisting mainly of drainage. Severe alterations 
to  the  hydrological  regime  of  the  Amu  Darya  River  over  the  past 
40  years  have  caused  serious  degradation  of  the  environ ment  in 
the  whole  river  basin  and  especially  in  river  delta  and  Aral  Sea
1
. 
Desertification  processes  initiated  by  the  continuous  decrease  in 
river flow have significantly changed the ecosystems of the region. 
The deltaic lakes, pastures and riverine forests have been, and still 
are, to a large extent, the means of existence for the local human 
population. Their importance has even increased with the loss of the 
fishing industry in the Aral Sea. In this respect of major importance 
1 
Schluter M., Savitsky A.G., McKinney D.C., Lieth H. (2005) Optimizing long-
term water allocation in the Amudarya River delta: a water management model 
for ecological impact assessment. Environm. Modelling Software 20 529-545

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34 
ENVIRONMENT, POLLUTION, DEVELOPMENT:  THE CASE OF UZBEKISTAN
are approaches used for allocation of water resources and regulation 
of them. Allocation of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya transboundary 
water  resources  between  the  five  states  of  the  central  Asia  is 
still  based  on  existing  quotas  of  the  Soviet  times  at  first  covering 
irrigation water needs. However amongst countries of the region 
need for adjustments of the water resource management is widely 
accepted, considering changing needs in agriculture, the demands 
of the ecosystems in the deltas and littoral of the Aral Sea, effects of 
climate change, or other physical or socio-economic factors.