Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, July 16
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Turkmenistan is initiating development of a UN water strategy, Trend reports referring to the Neytralni Turkmenistan newspaper, which has published information from the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan.
Joint activities between countries and international organizations can become the basis for work on the preparation of the UN document on water, the source said.
The article says that one of the most important issues in Central Asia is the creation of a legal mechanism that takes the interests of all countries of the region with regards to the issue of integrated water resources management into account. It is particularly relevant considering the problem of climate change and reduction of water resources.
In this regard, Turkmenistan is implementing large-scale investment projects in the water sector. They include the "Altyn Asyr" artificial lake, the "Dostluk" reservoir, drainage and communication collectors in Ashgabat, and water treatment facilities. A general program for the provision of clean drinking water to settlements in Turkmenistan has been adopted.
Turkmenistan was one of the first to adapt the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level, the newspaper writes.
Turkmenistan unswervingly complies with its obligations, having ratified the UN fundamental environmental agreements including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, and the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World's Cultural and Natural Heritage, among others.
Turkmenistan borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Afghanistan and uses water resources coming in accordance with agreed quotas from four trans-boundary rivers, namely the Amu Darya, Tejen, Atrek and Murgab rivers. The Amu Darya River accounts for almost 90 percent of the total water supply in Turkmenistan.