Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, March 24 / Trend H. Hasanov /
A two-day international conference on the ecological situation in the region was held in the Caspian city of Turkmenbashi today.
A large artificial lake, which will diversify drainage water, is being created in the Karakum Desert.
Addressing participants of the forum, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov said that the implementation of this project is of great ecological and socio-economic importance for the countries in the region.
The Turkmen president emphasized that irrigation is the basis of agriculture in the arid zones of the planet.
He said that the region, including Turkmenistan, has used the method of surface irrigation in the process of cultivation of agricultural crops since ancient times.
"Collection and processing of water, aimed at overcoming their negative environmental impact on the development of irrigated agriculture, are the most important modern problems and remain valid for all countries in the region," the message said.
Berdimuhammedov said that solving the negative impacts of collecting water in the middle and lower reaches of the Amu Darya River, polluting rivers, reducing water quality, increasing of groundwater, salinity and loss of soil fertility and flooding of pastures are major tasks today.
"Our main problem is not limited to the collection of waste water. We should ensure the effective development of thousands of hectares of virgin land, agriculture, livestock and fisheries, flora and fauna adjacent to the main drainage of the Altyn Asyr lake.